Cheney asks Saudis for help in Iraq

US Vice President Dick Cheney has sought help from Saudi Arabia in dealing with Iraq’s spiralling violence and other trouble spots.

Cheney’s meeting with King Abdullah yesterday was brief, but it underlined the two allies’ concerns over upheavals across the Middle East, which many Arabs blame on US policies.

In a sign of the urgency of the US concern, president George Bush is scheduled to meet Iraq’s prime minister in the Jordanian capital on Wednesday and Thursday to discuss security matters.

Before the meeting, a Saudi official said Cheney was expected to ask Saudi Arabia to use its considerable influence with Iraq’s Sunni Arab minority to promote reconciliation with Iraqi Shiites and Kurds.

Sunni insurgents have staged some of the bloodiest attacks on US troops and Shiites.

In return, Saudi Arabia wants the US to help rein in Iraq’s Shiite militias, which have been blamed for sectarian attacks that have killed thousands.