Deadline may slip for Iraq home rule

The Bush administration's June 30 deadline for turning over sovereignty of Iraq to Iraqis may need to be extended, a leading Republican said yesterday.
Senator Richard Lugar, the chairman of the senate foreign relations committee said the security situation in some cities was a shambles.

The senator added that the administration's plans were sketchy, while Iraqi police forces were not ready to take over.

Asked whether the transfer of power was coming too soon, Mr Lugar said: "It may be, and I think it's probably time to have that debate."

He added: "At this point, I would have thought there would have been a more comprehensive plan."

The senior Democrat on the committee, Joseph Biden, echoed Mr Lugar's concerns.

"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," Mr Biden said yesterday.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/alqaida/story/0,12469,1185863,00.html

Not an editorial...