War IN BRIEF : JORDAN : Shipping Agents Charge Harassment

Jordanian shipping agents alleged that since the Gulf War began, the U.S. Navy has harassed and turned back four ships trying to bring food and other supplies to Jordan before the vessels could reach the port of Aqaba. A spokesman for the shipping company Amin Kawar and Sons Ltd. accused the warships of “a new form of piracy.” U.S. and British navy commanders, however, say they are inspecting merchant vessels in accordance with the U.N. embargo on Iraq. They say Aqaba is one of the routes used to smuggle goods to Baghdad.