Iraq expects insurgents to step up attempts to disrupt next month's constitutional referendum and believes the next three months are critical for the country's future as a democratic nation, Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said Wednesday. In a speech to the U.N. Security Council, Zebari said the international community has a "moral obligation" to help Iraq win the battle against foreign extremists and "thugs" from Saddam Hussein's ousted regime because the country is fighting "to protect the freedoms of the rest of the civilized world."He called on the United Nations to take "a more vocal and more visible role in Iraq" during next month's constitutional referendum and general elections scheduled on Dec. 15. He urged donors to provide the $107 million required for the elections and to accelerate reconstruction funding to improve basic services to the Iraqi people. And he said the U.S.-led multinational force must remain in Iraq until Iraqi security and military forces are trained and able to take over. "Nowhere are the goals of freedom, democracy and progress more at stake," Zebari told council members at an open meeting. "We know our clear way forward, but we need your help. We need the help of every member nation and this organization to win this fight. We stick together, or we lose together."