The Bush administration’s June 30 deadline for turning over sovereignty of Iraq to its people may need to be extended, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said Sunday. The security situation in some cities is in shambles and Iraqi police forces are not prepared to take over, said Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind. Asked whether the transfer of power is coming too soon, Lugar said, “It may be, and I think it’s probably time to have that debate.”
Lugar said there are still far too many questions about what will happen after June 30.
He said the administration has shared no plans with his committee regarding an ambassador, who the 3,000 embassy staff will be, and how they will be kept safe.
“This is a huge new exposure of Americans,” Lugar told ABC’s “This Week.”
He added, “At this point, I would have thought there would have been a more comprehensive plan.”
Delaware Sen. Joseph Biden, the top Democrat on the committee, echoed Lugar’s concerns about the administration’s post-occupation plans.
Biden told “Fox News Sunday” that training Iraqi forces will take years, not months.
“We’re going to end up with a civil war in Iraq if in fact we decide we can turn this over, including the bulk of the security, to the Iraqis between now and then,” he said.