President George W. Bush said on Friday the U.S. military will do its best to give every Iraqi citizen the chance to vote on Jan. 30 but acknowledged that guerrilla action could disrupt voting in four provinces. "Four of the 18 provinces are places where the terrorists are trying to stop people from voting," 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." 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. Scowcroft said the poll could increase divisions between majority Shi'ites and minority Sunnis who once ruled the country. Asked his reaction to Scowcroft's comments, 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, Bush acknowledged the challenges to voting in four of Iraq's 18 provinces, after Lt. Gen. Thomas Metz, commander of U.S. ground forces in Iraq, said on Thursday he could "not guarantee that every person who wants to vote...can do that safely." --More 1927 Local Time 1627 GMT
