The waters outside the Persian Gulf resembled a floating parking lot. Scores of empty supertankers, flying the flags of Panama, Japan, Pakistan and many other countries, lay at anchor last week in the Gulf of Oman, as did half a dozen U.S. warships. A menacing cluster of mines had brought the world's busiest oil traffic to a sudden and embarrassing halt. One after another, the explosives bobbed into sight. By week's end at least five had been spotted, and every tiny fishing boat that sailed by was carefully watched in case it tried to plant more of the dangerous devices.
The...
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