Quality as Casualty

February 17, 1968 though the Pakistan Government dissociated itself from its Ambassador's candid expression of Pakistan's preferences, this did not mean the end of Arab-Iranian misunderstanding. In fact, it was only the beginning. Last week the Shah of Iran called off his visit to Saudi Arabia, which would have marked the beginning of vital negotiations for a Gulf Pact. This followed the Iranian action of driving an oil drilling rig out of the Saudi Arabian territorial waters. The incident and the postponement of the Shah's visit indicated that regional conflict, not cooperation, is in the offing.