June 30 Questions At Last

At last, key Senate figures are asking why June 30 is such a holy, untouchable deadline. The AP story reports: "The Bush administration's June 30 deadline for turning over sovereignty of Iraq (news - web sites) 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."

It has seemed clear to me for a long time that this artificial deadline, which should have become a dead letter when the rest of the November agreement with the Governing Council (remember the caucus plan?) died a well-deserved death. The June 30 fixation - when everything else seemed open for negotiation - has been the main obstacle to preparing for real elections. It encourages Iraqi actors to focus not on building a future but on position themselves for the July 1 situation. And because most Iraqis and Arabs see it as motivated by American domestic politics, it encourages cynicism.

War hawks might also pause at this: the State Department's official response to the Falluja killings went something like "this is no Mogadishu, because the United States won't cut and run in its aftermath." But with June 30 fast approaching, it actually looks a lot like the US is cutting its losses and running. For the warhawks who scream at supposed Spanish appeasement, why so few doubts about how Islamists will interpret an American 'transfer of power' in the face of continuing violence and chaos?

Comments

[Nell Lancaster]

:: because most Iraqis and Arabs see it as motivated by American domestic politics, it encourages cynicism. ::

Don't most _sentient beings_ see the date as motivated by American domestic politics? I have trouble imagining what other reason someone could give for it, even if they were trying their best to give the benefit of the doubt.

W. took a moment out from fundraising in Charlotte NC to say that the date "remains firm." As does his resolve. I better stop here before this degenerates into a Jesus' General moment...