Allied Partners Seek U.S. Favors

Mongolia, which has 174 troops in Iraq, wants a free trade deal with the United States. Turkey, which is considering sending 10,000 troops, just won $8.5 billion in U.S. loan guarantees. And Poland, Serbia, Romania, Latvia and others are pushing for contracts to rebuild Iraq's infrastructure.

"They've chipped in and they want a piece of the action," said John Pike of the defense consultancy GlobalSecurity.org. "They want to wet their beaks."

More evidence of returned favors will take the shape of future U.S. military aid or investment in Eastern Europe and other friendly states — which could come at the expense of old allies like France and Germany, both opponents of the war, analysts say.

Poland, with 2,400 troops in Iraq and command of a swath of south-central Iraq, finds itself reaping several windfalls.

The U.S. government spent about $250 million to airlift the Poles to Iraq, build their camps and provide equipment. Now, the Polish national airline, LOT, is among several European carriers with rights to operate flights to Iraq. And Polish Bank Millennium is one of a consortium of 13 banks chosen to run the Iraqi Trade Bank.

Stevedoring Services of America, the U.S. firm handling reconstruction of the Persian Gulf port of Umm Qasr, asked a Ukrainian company to handle part of the task, said a Foreign Ministry official who spoke on condition of anonymity. The official would not name the company.

Ukraine sent some 450 anti-chemical weapons troops to Kuwait during the war and now has 1,640 peacekeepers that are part of the Polish-led force.

Jordan, which didn't join the coalition but allowed the United States to base special forces in its eastern desert, is asking the Pentagon (news - web sites) to provide about $100 million worth of upgrades to its F-16 fighter jets and AH-1 Cobra attack helicopters, said Teal Group's Richard Aboulafia.

Even Serbia, which isn't a coalition member and has no soldiers in Iraq, has been boasting of a reward for helping the United States. The government hasn't described the particulars of its support, but local press reports have said Serbia gave the United States intelligence on Yugoslav-built military bunkers, airports and other installations in Iraq.

Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Zivkovic told reporters in Washington in July that Powell promised to include Serbian firms in the reconstruction in Iraq. Zivkovic also met with Bechtel, where he was shown how companies could register as willing subcontractors on Bechtel's Web site, said Bechtel's Valerie Kazanjian.