In a part of the world never known for unity, the oil-rich countries of the Middle East have been unusually har monious in demanding "akthar, akthar" (more, more) from the Western oil consortiums. The loudest voice has come from Syria, which has no wells but makes do with the next-best thing: a 305-mile stretch of the pipeline through which the Iraq Petroleum Co. pumps oil from its Iraq field to the Syrian port of Baniyas on the Mediterranean. Last week, after weeks of futile negotiations on new rates, Damascus seized the pipeline "to achieve the full rights of the...
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