Recent additions to the nations with envoys serving in Iraq:
- Jordan
- UAE
- Kumait
- Bahrain
The drive for deeper political ties is part of a balancing act playing out in capitals close to Baghdad. The moves come during a time of growing Iranian influence in the region. Under Saddam's rule, Iraq's Sunni Baathist leaders kept the regional ambitions of Shiite-dominated Iran in check; the two countries waged a bloody war in the 1980s that left both sides battered.
Iran is emerging as the real beneficiary of Saddam's fall.
The talk of a US time horizon for ending the occupation is forcing Gulf States to plan for the security void that is sure to follow.
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