SWEEPING SOLUTIONS

The arrival in the Gulf last week of the assault carrier USS Guadacanal carrying eight Sea Stallion mine-hunting helicopters gave, at last, some substance to American claims to provide a counter to the threat of Iranian mines in the Gulf. The United States has now assembled an operational fleet of 24 warships, including a battleship, six cruisers and an aircraft carrier, in and around the Gulf region. This is a formidable body of hardware but it has yet to prove that it can accomplish the task the Reagan Administration has set it.