WASHINGTON, Jan. 10 (Xinhuanet) -- U.S. President George W. Bush blasted critics of his Iraq war policy on Tuesday and urged Iraqis to put aside sectarian differences to achieve national unity.

    Addressing a gathering of foreign war veterans, Bush warned the war critics that they should watch what they say or risk giving "comfort to our adversaries" and suffering at the ballot box in November's congressional elections.

    With indications that his own Republican Party could lose its dominance of Capitol Hill in the elections, Bush's harsh words represented an attempt to neutralize the Democrats' ability to use Iraq as an election-year cudgel against Republicans.

    Without specifically mentioning Democrats, the president urged politicians to conduct the Iraq debate "responsibly."

    He termed "irresponsible" the critics "who claim that we acted in Iraq because of oil or because of Israel or because we misled the American people," as well as "defeatists who refuse to see that anything is right."

    Bush said such "irresponsible discussions" will harm the morale of U.S. troops overseas, embolden the insurgents they are fighting and set a bad example for Iraqis trying to establish a democratic government.

    On Iraq's political process, he said Iraqis must put aside political, religious and sectarian differences to be successful.

    "Compromise and consensus and power-sharing are the only path to national unity and lasting democracy," Bush said.

    He said Iraq was making progress in fashioning a democracy in Iraq, rebuilding the economy and training Iraqi forces to take over responsibility for the country's security from American military personnel.

    Bush also pressed foreign governments who have not yet followed through on their financial pledges to Iraq's reconstruction to do so quickly.

    It was the latest in a series of speeches by the president aimed at promoting his Iraq policy among American people.

    However, Bush's speeches appeared to be a hard sell. Last week, an AP-Ipsos poll found just 39 percent of those surveyed approved of his handling of the war, compared with 41 percent in early December. Enditem