Several Arab countries are quietly sponsoring efforts to torpedo the Iraqi elections, intelligence sources say.

The Iraqi elections planned for Jan. 30 could hold the key to U.S. policy in the Middle East and the war against terrorism. U.S. officials say the failure of the elections would mark a tremendous victory for Sunni insurgents and could result in either civil war or the collapse of the interim government in Baghdad.

The U.S. intelligence community has also warned that the Iraqi elections would also serve as a litmus test for whether Arab dictatorships can resist democracy in the Middle East.

The community has determined that a successful Iraqi election process would galvanize the region and bolster pro-democracy forces in such countries as Egypt, Iran, Kuwait, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Syria.

Several Arab countries have scheduled elections in 2005 but don't want them to result in significant changes. Saudi Arabia has been pouring a huge amount of money and quite a few nationals to bolster the Sunni insurgency.