After years of soldiers dying in Iraq, the patience of Mainers – like the rest of the nation – is running out, U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, said Saturday from Iraq.

During a two-day tour in Iraq, she told Iraqi officials they have a limited time to agree on how to achieve peace before losing U.S. combat troops, Snowe told reporters Saturday during a phone news conference from Baghdad.

Snowe, who is on her third visit to Iraq, said she continues to be impressed by the “tremendous” work of American soldiers. And there’s been some progress in security since her last visit in May, she said.

But there’s still too much violence, and Iraqi political leaders continue to fail to reach the national power-sharing plan needed for peace. Without that, the U.S. military has limited chance of success, Snowe said.

“The men and women in the American military have done their jobs. That’s abundantly evident here in Iraq,” Snowe said. “I visited many Maine men and women here today.” One was given the Bronze Star for saving a young girl. The American troops’ sacrifices “have been extraordinary.” Soldiers have done everything possible to pave the way for Iraqi leaders to achieve a political resolve critical to their future, Snowe said.

But Iraqi leaders have failed to do their part, she said. The political impasse that exists in Iraq creates incentive for insurgent violence, Snowe said. Even in places where she saw progress Saturday, “There’s still sectarian violence.”

She and two other senators will meet with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki today. Snowe said she plans to warn him that time “is of the essence” in Iraq’s efforts to achieve a plan for peace.

Snowe, who opposed Bush’s surge, supports an end to the troop surge and a change in mission in Iraq. She went to Iraq to get a look at conditions and help plan how the U.S. senators should respond legislatively to Bush’s latest call to stay the course in Iraq until the summer.

During Saturday’s meetings with Iraqi politicians, Snowe said they kept telling her that political reconciliation among their different sects will be a longterm progress.

“The message I was giving them today is we don’t have a long time,” Snowe said. Until now they’ve been given “six more months, then another six months.” With that “you get this incremental policy that doesn’t effect any change.” The United States can’t sustain its military efforts indefinitely, Snowe said she told them.

A recent poll showed that 57 percent of Mainers favor combat troops be pulled out of Iraq by the spring – regardless of what’s happening in Iraq. Snowe said that sentiment is consistent with national polling and with legislation she’s pushing for in the Senate.

That’s why it’s critical for Iraqi leaders to reach reconciliation, she said. “Time is of the essence. I’ll say it today to Maliki. … We have a limited window in terms of American patience. … We have to change the way forward. We are prepared and committed to making a change in policy.”

The troop surge Bush initiated in January was predicated on giving Iraqi leaders time to reach agreement, Snowe said. With that not happening, “rightfully, the American people are questioning” whether Iraqi leaders have “the resolve to take the steps necessary to bring about stability.”

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