Just three weeks before the scheduled elections in Iraq the commander of American ground forces in the country admitted that major portions of four of Iraq's 18 provinces were not safe enough to hold elections.

Lieutenant General Thomas Metz admitted that Baghdad, Anbar, Nineveh and Salahadin were the four areas that lacked adequate security to hold elections. They are all part of the Sunni triangle where the majority of the insurgency is coming from. The Sunnis make up a minority of Iraq's population but held power under the rule of deposed dictator Saddam Hussein. Cities in the area include Baghdad, Falluja, Mosul and Tikrit.

While Metz conceded that these were problem areas, he indicated that the United States has not given up securing the areas before January 30th. 'Today I would not be in much shape to hold elections in those provinces,' General Metz said. 'Those are the four areas that we see enough attacks that we are going to continue to focus our energies.'

According to General Metz, there will be 127,000 Iraqi security forces in place to maintain order during the election. Unfortunately, Iraqi officials have estimated that roughly 270,000 would be needed to adequately secure the entire country.

The general admitted voters may not be safe on January 30th. 'I just can't guarantee that everyone will be able to go to a poll in total safety,' he said. 'I cannot put a bubble around every person walking from their home to the polling site.'

Meanwhile, violence by the insurgency continued today around the country Thursday. Nine more American soldiers were killed including seven killed by a roadside bomb in the northwestern part of the country.