WASHINGTON, Aug 29: Disappointed with Sunni leaders’ refusal to sign Iraq’s draft constitution, US President George Bush has warned that the situation in the Arab state may worsen in the coming months.

The insurgents, he said, would step up their efforts to subvert Iraq’s constitutional process because they feared that they had no place in a democratic setup.

“As democracy in Iraq takes root, the enemies of freedom, the terrorists will become more desperate, more despicable and more vicious,” President Bush told reporters outside his ranch in Crawford, Texas.

“Of course there’s disagreement, we’re watching a political process unfold,” said Mr Bush when a reporter asked him what delayed the constitutional process in Iraq.

“Some Sunnis have expressed reservations about various provisions in the constitution, and that’s their right as free individuals in a free society,” Mr Bush said, adding that the scheduled referendum would give Iraqis a chance to “set the foundation for a permanent Iraqi government.”

Earlier this week, US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld announced plans to send as many as 2,000 more US soldiers to Iraq to raise troop levels before a referendum on the Iraqi draft constitution in October.

Pentagon officials said later that the troops, two battalions of the 82nd Airborne Division, were requested by senior commanders in Iraq who were concerned that insurgents might step up attacks to disrupt the referendum and national elections in December.

The extra soldiers will be part of a temporary increase in US troop strength in Iraq for the referendum, to about 160,000 from about 138,000 now.

With his approval ratings at an all-time low, Mr Bush is facing mounting war casualties and criticism for his Iraq policy from Democrats and from protesters camping near his ranch. Opponents are calling for immediate withdrawal of US troops from Iraq.

Thousands of protesters have descended on Crawford, spurred by Cindy Sheehan, who lost her son Casey in Iraq and began camping outside the ranch on Aug 6. She is demanding a meeting with Mr Bush to urge him to withdraw from Iraq.