Poll position - Raymond Odierno, Commanding General, US Forces - Iraq

With Iraq's parliamentary elections due to be held on 7 March, General Raymond Odierno, commanding general, United States Forces - Iraq, told Jane's that there were several actors in Iraq who hope to undermine the elections.

In particular, Gen Odierno warned that Al-Qaeda may seek to disrupt the polls. He said: "You have Al-Qaeda who really wants to see the state fail, so the militants try to discourage people from voting and continually go after the governmental entities." In terms of its ability to carry out such attacks, he said: "Al-Qaeda's capabilities have been significantly degraded, but it still has the ability to carry out that type of attack." He also pointed to the political rather than lethal aims of "other groups that are interested in having the process [of democracy] fail".