WASHINGTON INSIGHT

OUTWARD BOUND: As a new Iraqi crisis loomed last week, officials at various Gulf embassies in Washington began speculating about when American reporters would start applying for visas. Visa requests have always been a telltale indicator of impending trouble--at least when the press believes problems will erupt. . . . “The turning point was Thursday,” said a source with the Saudi Arabian Embassy. Since then, the Saudis have been flooded. So far, they haven’t granted visas out of concern that to do so would be to confirm that trouble was indeed ahead.