Maine delegation pans president’s speech

PORTLAND – Members of Maine’s congressional delegation, Democrat and Republican alike, expressed disappointment with President Bush’s address in which he said progress in Iraq justifies preserving a large U.S. military presence there.

Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe, who is traveling to Iraq for another firsthand look at the situation, said she would be pleased to see some troops returning home but that bigger change was needed.

“While any redeployment is long overdue, I’m deeply troubled the president hasn’t been answering the central question – what are we buying time for, if there is no Iraqi plan for Iraqi national political reconciliation?” she said in a statement.

In his speech Thursday night, Bush said 5,700 U.S. forces would be home by Christmas instead of leaving Iraq beginning in the spring as originally planned. Four more combat brigades would pull out of Iraq as scheduled by July.

Under the withdrawal plan, troop levels would drop back to around 130,000 by next summer, close to where they were before the buildup.

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, also wants a change in direction in Iraq, saying the nation cannot continue “an open-ended, unconditional commitment of troops in Iraq.”

“While I welcome the modest drawdown of our troops that the president has ordered, it is not a sufficient response to the lack of political reform by Iraqi leaders,” Collins said after the speech.

Democratic Rep. Tom Allen, who hopes to unseat Collins, charged that the pending reduction in troops “is neither a policy change nor progress.”

“Congress must lead the way out of Iraq by setting a firm withdrawal deadline. We need leadership to end the mission, not change the mission. Mr. President, we need to bring our troops home,” Allen said.

Likewise, Democratic Rep. Michael Michaud expressed frustration.

“The president promised more of the same failed strategy. He proposed ending the surge as planned and returning to the status quo. This is not a new plan; it is simply returning us to where we were before the surge,” Michaud said.