World Notes IRAQ

Ever since Iraq credited its use of medium-range missiles against Iran with bringing a halt to the gulf war in 1988, the regime of President Saddam Hussein has relentlessly pursued high-tech advances in its military hardware.

Last week Baghdad claimed to have scored not one but two such gains: the successful firing of a three-stage rocket capable of lifting satellites into space, and the test firing of two surface-to-surface missiles with a range of 1,240 miles, more than twice that of the ones thought to be currently in the Iraqi arsenal.

Both claims had a slightly empty ring. Baghdad almost certainly does not possess a satellite or the technology to build one. As for the missiles, Western analysts express some doubts about the accuracy of any longer-range missiles under development in Iraq.