WAR IN BRIEF : SOVIET UNION : Syrian Praises Iraqi Weapons

Syria’s defense minister, whose troops are on the allied side in the Persian Gulf War, said Iraq’s Soviet-supplied tanks and automatic rifles are superior to those of the West and that the Patriot missile-killer is vastly overrated. “If the Americans had to fight a ‘Star Wars’ conflict, as depicted in movies, they would suffer a catastrophe,” Gen. Mustafa Talas told the Soviet defense newspaper Red Star. Talas was in Moscow on a two-day visit. He implied that the U.S.-led coalition in the Gulf would face surprises in a ground war against Iraqi troops in Kuwait.