By The Associated Press

Republican Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine praised President Bush for vowing to stay the course in Iraq and rejecting calls to scale back the U.S. presence before Iraq becomes a stable country in which Democracy can thrive.

Democratic Reps. Michael Michaud and Tom Allen, however, criticized Bush for failing to put forth a plan for bringing U.S. involvement in Iraq to a close.

Speaking at Fort Bragg, N.C., Bush told soldiers that the sacrifice in Iraq is “worth it” despite the heavy toll – 1,740 U.S. troops dead and many more injured.

During the speech, Bush rejected calls for a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq or sending more troops, counseling patience for Americans.

Snowe said the United States needs more help from other countries and from Iraqis themselves to succeed.

“To fail at this critical juncture could imperil the hard-fought achievements of our armed forces since the opening days of this conflict over two years ago. It would embolden the insurgents to expand their reign of terror not only in Iraq, but the region – threatening the potential for greater stability in the Middle East,” she said in a statement.

Collins, a member of the Armed Services Committee, said she agreed that there should be no timetable for a withdrawal. “Doing so would encourage jihadists and insurgents to wait us out and would increase the chances of a civil war upon our departure,” she said.

Michaud, however, said that the president failed to put forth a plan for failing to produce “a comprehensive plan to secure Iraq and an exit strategy.”

“In the year since the transfer of sovereignty, the administration has not developed a plan for ending the U.S. involvement and bringing our troops home, and the security situation has remained extremely hazardous,” he said.

Allen said the president failed to detail a “strategy for success.”

“Instead, we got another installment in this Administration’s crisis of credibility.’ An anxious and increasingly skeptical American public will no longer settle for the same unpersuasive upbeat forecasts and hollow rhetoric,” he said.

More than 9,300 troops from Fort Bragg are currently serving in Iraq.

The audience of 750 soldiers and airmen in dress uniform listened respectfully, breaking into applause when Bush vowed that the United States “will stay in the fight until the fight is won.”

Bush said he knows Americans are questioning whether the heavy sacrifices in Iraq – more than 1,700 Americans dead and $200 billion in war costs – are worth it. “It is worth it, and it is vital to the future security of our country,” he said.

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