Democrats: Panel's Findings Consistent With Their Proposals

Democratic leaders said the report underscores the message American voters sent in the November mid-term elections, when Democrats gained control of the House and Senate.

House Speaker-designate Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said in a statement that the study group's recommendations are consistent with Democratic proposals "to change the primary mission of U.S. troops in Iraq from combat to training and support, which would enable the redeployment of U.S. forces to begin."

"Now that the study group has endorsed this proposal, I hope that the president will recognize that he must take our policy in Iraq in a new direction," Pelosi said.

Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.), incoming chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the committee will hold "extensive hearings," beginning in mid January, to examine the report's recommendations.

"It will last probably six to eight weeks," Biden said of the hearings. "And we're going to bring in every reasonable person we can find -- left, right and center, military, civilian and government -- to discuss elements of this report and discuss what alternatives there may be beyond or included within the report."

Biden called the report a "significant contribution," but added, "The real hard, hard question is: What is the political consensus that will be arrived at among the Iraqis? And if they do not arrive at one, all the king's horses, all the king's men, all the international conferences in the world will be for naught."

While praising the report, some Democratic lawmakers said it didn't go far enough.

"Meeting the report's goal of getting our combat troops out of Iraq by early in 2008 is essential to forcing the diplomatic and political steps needed to achieve stability," Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) said in a statement. "I wish the report went further by making this a hard deadline for redeploying our combat troops."

Iraqi leaders, he added, "have proven time and again that they only respond to hard deadlines."

A Republican member of the House Armed Services Committee, Phil Gingrey (Ga.), said the report went too far by suggesting the United States hold talks with Iran and Syria.

"I just can't imagine either one of those countries being interested in fostering our foreign policy and helping us solve a terrible dilemma," Gingrey told MSNBC. "There's going to be a price demanded, whether Syria is going to say leave us alone and let us continue to play mischief in south Lebanon with Hezbollah or whether [Iranian President Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad says, look, turn your back while we continue to develop nuclear weapons."

It was unclear today what steps, if any, Bush will take in response to the study group report and another major review being prepared by the Pentagon.