Cheney to press Arab allies for help on Iraq

By Caren Bohan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. pleas for help in stemming chaos in Iraq and shared concerns about Iran's rising clout are expected to dominate discussions as Vice President Dick Cheney visits the Middle East to meet with Arab allies.

The White House has said the trip is a follow-up to last week's conference on Iraq in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, in which the United States held a top-level contact with Syria and signalled a willingness to do so with Iran.

Cheney, who left on Tuesday, will visit Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Jordan.

The trip comes amid tensions between the United States and Saudi Arabia because of Riyadh's worries that violence in Iraq will destabilize the region.

"The Saudis are disgusted with what's happening in Iraq," said Judith Kipper, a Middle East expert at the Council on Foreign Relations. "They are concerned with the lack of progress there and the catastrophe that is going on there."

Cheney is seen within the administration as an important emissary to Arab countries because of ties he developed with leaders there as defence secretary in the 1991 Gulf war and while he headed the oil-services firm Halliburton.

Cheney last visited Riyadh in November and this trip marks his fifth to the kingdom since becoming vice president.

While Cheney has a tendency to keep the substance of his conversations with foreign leaders close to the vest, several of his trips abroad have garnered strong interest because of speculation over whether he will be communicating new initiatives.