Nation: The Mid East: Search for Stability

THE Middle East, Richard Nixon had observed several times, is the greatest hazard to world peace because it could draw the superpowers closer to the ultimate conflict. The melancholy accuracy of his warning was established anew last week when Jordan's civil war threatened to go international. The column of tanks from the puny power that is Syria challenged more than King Hussein's army; it tested statesmanship and will in Washington, Moscow, and throughout the Middle East. Jordan's agony deferred still further any efforts to start Arab-Israeli peace...