US Vice President Dick Cheney has not made meaningful headway on the thorny issues of Iraq, the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and the world energy crisis during his 10-day trip to the volatile Middle East, analysts said.

Cheney's tour, which included surprise stops in Iraq and Afghanistan, and scheduled visits to Oman, Saudi Arabia, Israel and the West Bank, "won't produce anything meaningful because he (Cheney) has got nothing to offer," Steven Simon, a US expert on Middle Eastern issues, said.

Cheney's trip, which he wraps up Tuesday, has been viewed as a move to express the US' continued concern over the situation in the region rather than one aimed at making any tangible progress.

Not much support for Iraq

Not much support for Iraq was secured from the Arab countries during Cheney's trip, which coincided with the fifth anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq on March 20, 2003.

The anniversary prompted intense rhetoric from critics of the invasion, even as the US military death toll in Iraq hit 4,000.

Cheney, who was one of the engineers of the war and continues to be one of its main defenders, was believed to have embarked on his Mideast tour at this juncture to rally support for the US' Iraq policy.

The US wants Saudi Arabia and other Arab allies to establish a diplomatic presence in Iraq and help the country's post-war reconstruction.