Gulf turmoil is changing alignment of Arab world

CAIRO Realignment of the Arab world is being forged as a resultof Iraq's invasion of Kuwait and the firm condemnation it generatedfrom the Arab League's summit conference here Friday.

Egypt emerged as the leader of a powerful new Arab bloc that iscommitted to the common defense of Saudi Arabia and is willing todeploy troops and military hardware alongside the alliance of Westerncountries spearheaded by the United States.

This bloc includes Syria, a country long regarded as a radical,pro-Soviet state that put its own national interests and objectivesahead of pan-Arab considerations. Its maverick role as the only Arabstate that backed non-Arab Iran in the Persian …