part
have been passive and disengaged. They have declined to provide debt
relief or substantial economic assistance to the Iraqi government.
Several Iraqi Sunni Arab politicians complained that Saudi Arabia has
not provided political support for their fellow Sunnis within Iraq.
One observed that Saudi Arabia did not even send a letter when the
Iraqi government was formed, whereas Iran has an ambassador in Iraq.
Funding for the Sunni insurgency comes from private individuals within
Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States, even as those governments help
facilitate U.S. military operations in Iraq by providing basing and
overflight rights and by cooperating on intelligence issues.

As worries about Iraq increase, the Gulf States are becoming more
active. The United Arab Emirates and Kuwait have hosted meetings in
support of the International Compact. Saudi Arabia recently took the
positive step of hosting a conference of Iraqi religious leaders in
Mecca. Several Gulf States have helped foster dialogue with Iraq's
Sunni Arab population. While the Gulf States are not proponents of
democracy in Iraq, they worry about the direction of events:
battle-hardened insurgents from Iraq could pose a threat to their own
internal stability, and the growth of Iranian influence in the region
is deeply troubling to them.

TURKEY. Turkish policy toward Iraq is focused on discouraging Kurdish
nationalism, which is seen as an existential threat to Turkey's own
internal stability. The Turks have supported the Turkmen minority
within Iraq and have used their influence to try to block the
incorporation of Kirkuk into Iraqi Kurdistan. At the same time,
Turkish companies have invested in Kurdish areas in northern Iraq, and
Turkish and Kurdish leaders have sought constructive engagement on
political, security, and economic issues.

The Turks are deeply concerned about the operations of the Kurdish
Workers Party (PKK)--a terrorist group based in northern Iraq that has
killed thousands of Turks. They are upset that the United States and
Iraq have not targeted the PKK more aggressively. The Turks have
threatened to go after the PKK themselves, and have made several
forays across the border into Iraq.

JORDAN AND EGYPT. Both Jordan and Egypt have provided some assistance
for the Iraqi government. Jordan has trained thousands of Iraqi
police, has an ambassador in Baghdad, and King Abdullah recently
hosted a meeting in Amman between President Bush and