The debate in the Senate comes as Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has backtracked from a statement he made over the weekend that Iraqi forces could handle the country’s security any time the U.S. military chooses to leave. Maliki told NBC News on Monday that Iraq’s security forces have more work to do.

Nouri al-Maliki: “I hope this year will be the end of the building of our forces so they are prepared to take control of security. … This needs the cooperation of everyone involved, both us and the coalition forces.”

Gen. Peter Pace recently said that the number of Iraqi battalions who can operate wholly independently of the U.S. forces has fallen in the past year from 10 to only six. Meanwhile, Iraq’s former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi warned on Monday the violence in Iraq may get even worse.

Ayad Allawi: “The current situation is very bad. The country is slipping into more chaos or sectarianism and more divisions within the country. The bloodshed is becoming appalling and unacceptable, and frankly, I cannot see the political process continuing as is now because the country is on the verge of a big disaster. ”