WASHINGTON, Jan 7: President George Bush said on Friday the US military would do its best to give every Iraqi citizen the chance to vote on Jan 30 but acknowledged that guerilla action could disrupt voting in four provinces.

"Four of the 18 provinces are places where the terrorists are trying to stop people from voting," Mr Bush said. "And the reason they're trying to stop people from voting is because they understand that democracies stand in the exact opposite to what they believe."

Mr Bush also brushed off criticism from Brent Scowcroft, who was national security adviser in his father's administration, who said the elections may deepen the Iraqi conflict instead of marking a turning point.

Mr Scowcroft said the poll could increase divisions between Shias and Sunnis. Asked about his reaction to Mr Scowcroft's comments, President Bush said: "Quite the opposite. I think elections will be such a incredibly hopeful experience for the Iraqi people."

In Oval Office comments to reporters, Mr Bush acknowledged the challenges to voting in four of Iraq's 18 provinces, after Lt Gen Thomas Metz, commander of ground forces in Iraq, said on Thursday he could "not guarantee that every person who wants to vote...can do that safely".

Mr Bush said: "The job of the United States military is to do the best job we can to give every citizen the best chance they can to vote and to participate...And we'll do the very best we can."

Sunni politicians have urged that the elections be postponed because of attacks by guerillas. "I want everybody to vote," Mr Bush said when asked if he was worried about Sunni participation. "And I understand that parts of the Sunni area are being targeted by these killers. And their message is, 'If you vote, we'll kill you.' But the real message is that, 'We can't stand democracy.'"

He said a Pentagon team was going to Iraq to conduct a review of the US military's entire Iraq policy to prepare for the post-election period, when those elected to Iraq's national assembly will begin writing a constitution, and work to train Iraqi forces that so far have given an uneven performance at best in battle.

"That's precisely why the assessment team is going to Iraq: to make sure that, at this historic moment in the history of Iraq, there is a focused, determined strategy to help the new government to stand up the forces necessary to defend themselves," Mr Bush said. -Reuters