What I remember is that the administration was very vague about how long the US would stay in Iraq. The Iraqis were screaming at the time that if the US didn't turn the country over to them within weeks of the end of the war, that they would then turn on the Americans.
Of course, anyone with any sense knew that the occupation would likely take years, and that turning the country over to the Iraqis would not be a very smart thing to do if we want to avoid warlord-take-all terrorist infested chaos. See Afghanistan as an example (although that place WILL get better over time if the central government stays in power an the US continues to help).
I believe the administration was quite clear. They repeated over and over ad nauseum...... "We will stay as long as necessary and NOT one moment longer."