"We told Gen. Abizaid that if he believes we need additional U.S. forces, that he'll ask for them and he'll get them. But at the moment, he does not anticipate that he will need additional U.S. forces," Rumsfeld said in a radio interview Tuesday, the test of which was released by the Pentagon Thursday.

Rumsfeld predicted the violence in Iraq and Afghanistan will escalate in the coming weeks and months as both countries face elections. On Thursday alone in and around Baghdad there were four car bombings that killed more than 40 people and wounded about 140.

Rumsfeld said three countries have agreed to send an undisclosed number of troops to protect U.N. election officials, and said there will be 50,000 additional Iraqi security forces in uniform by election time.

Of the 160,000 security forces in uniform in Iraq, only about 99,000 have had any training, and most of those have completed only eight-week courses.

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