President George W. Bush and interim Iraqi President Ghazi al-Yawar vowed on Monday to press ahead with Jan. 30 elections in Iraq despite a surge in violence that has killed more than 70 in recent days. Insurgents have launched a series of attacks in Sunni areas since Friday, mainly targeting Iraqi security forces and civilians working with the U.S. military. Yawar, seated beside Bush in the Oval Office, came to Washington with a message that Iraqis want to vote on Jan. 30, and that only "some politicians" want to boycott the elections. "Right now, we're faced with the armies of darkness, who have no objective but to undermine the political process and incite civil war in Iraq. But I want to assure the whole world that this will never, ever happen, that we in Iraq are committed to move along," he said. Bush said U.S. commanders, working with U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte and Iraqi security forces, will do everything possible to make election sites secure. "You can never guarantee 100 percent security. But the Iraqi people have the chance to say to the world, 'We choose democracy over terrorism,'" he said. Bush is hoping successful Iraqi elections will improve the climate for peace in the Middle East that will allow for resolution of the long-running Palestinian-Israeli issue.
