WASHINGTON – After the Iraq Study Group issued its report to President Bush and members of Congress on Wednesday, Maine’s delegation said maintaining the status quo in Iraq is unacceptable.

“Today, with Robert Gates’ expected confirmation as secretary of defense and the release of the Iraq Study Group’s report, our nation is witnessing twin events to usher in a new era for American policy in Iraq,” said Republican Sen. Olympia J. Snowe.

On Wednesday the bipartisan group, which had been formed by the Congress in the spring, presented detailed guidelines for a change in course of action in Iraq, including the pullback of American troops by early 2008.

Fellow Republican Sen. Susan Collins called the report a “blunt assessment of where things currently stand,” and said it is a good starting point for the future of U.S. involvement in Iraq.

Rep. Michael Michaud, a Democrat, said two of the most important recommendations the Iraq Study Group made were to call for better diplomatic and political efforts in Iraq and the region, and a change in the primary mission of U.S. forces in Iraq.

“I believe that it is critically important that the United States engage all regional partners,” Michaud said. “By stepping up regional diplomacy and focusing our efforts on training, equipping and advising Iraqi forces, our troops will be able to leave Iraq sooner and the Iraqi people will be more capable of taking control of their own country.”

International diplomatic participation by key neighbors like Iran and Syria, Snowe said, will prove central to containing the conflict in Iraq.

“Ultimately, it is not in anyone’s interest to have a failed state where terrorism and sectarian violence flourishes in the heart of the Middle East,” she said.

Democratic Rep. Tom Allen, who has issued his own plan for redeployment from Iraq, said the group’s failure to set a deadline will make it hard for the U.S. to put pressure on Sunni and Shiite leaders to sort out their differences over political power and oil.

Snowe added that the Iraqi government “must understand in no uncertain terms that our presence is neither open-ended nor unconditional and that it is up to them to take control of their country by containing the escalating sectarian violence.”

The major question now, Allen said, “is whether President Bush will make the necessary changes in strategy and policy or continue to turn a deaf ear to criticism.”

The Senate Armed Services Committee, of which Collins is a member, will hold a hearing today to further discuss and examine the findings of the study group.

Collins said she plans to seek a better understanding of “why the study group believes the engagement of Syria and Iran without seeking preconditions will help stabilize Iraq. In addition, I will be interested to learn more about the recommendation that we embed additional troops while drawing down all our combat troops and, in particular, what the safety implications of such a strategy would be for our imbedded troops.”