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Powell says Iraq situation worsening; violence ahead

US Secretary of State Colin Powell sees the situation in Iraq "getting worse" as planned elections approach, and the top US military commander for Iraq says he expects more violence ahead.

Their comments Sunday followed a week in which US President George W. Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi spoke optimistically about the situation despite the beheadings of two more Americans and the deaths of dozens of people in car bombings.

In its latest report, the military said four Marines died in separate incidents Friday, adding to a toll that has topped 1,000 since the US-led invasion.

Powell said the insurgency is only becoming more violent as planned January elections near.

"It's getting worse," he said on This Week a television show. "They are determined to disrupt the election. They do not want the Iraqi people to vote for their own leaders in a free, democratic election."

Army General John Abizaid, commander of US troops in the Middle East, warned that voting may not be possible in parts of Iraq where the violence is too intense.

"I don't think we'll ever achieve perfection and when we look for perfection in a combat zone we're going to be sadly disappointed," he said on Meet the Press, another US television program.

Abizaid compared the situation in Iraq to the disputed US presidential election in 2000 that put George W. Bush in the White House following a protracted Florida ballot fight that ended up in the Supreme Court.

"I don't think Iraq will have a perfect election. And if I recall, looking back at our own election four years ago, it wasn't perfect either," he said.
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