"It's crucial that we succeed in Iraq," Hatch said. "Retreat is not an option, and I think the president made that case strongly. We have to win this. If we walk out of here without accomplishing our mission, Iraq will become a breeding ground for al-Qaida and other terrorist organizations."

Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, said he was "struck by how comprehensive" the speech was and it was clear Bush did his homework on the plan.

"I think we need to give this proposal an opportunity to work before we decide we have to move drastically in the other direction," Bennett said.

Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, said he did not have a specific number that would be the right number of troops to be in Iraq, but he knows "what we are doing now is not working."

"I commend the president's openness to new and different approaches as well as his resolve to defeat the ruthless and immoral enemies of our way of life," Cannon said. "Like other times in our history, winning a war is putting a tremendous strain on America, but, as before in history, the stakes demand that we see it through."

Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, called the plan a "multi-pronged approach" with military, diplomatic and political elements that "makes sense."

"President Bush and Prime Minister Maliki are wise to tie these elements together, realizing a long-term solution is going to take a comprehensive plan, and taking the steps needed to execute that plan," Bishop said.

But to Matheson the speech was lacking anything new or specific.

"This has been tried before," Matheson said. "What is this going to accomplish? What's different?"

Matheson said the president is still missing a long-term strategy for Iraq, and he did not discuss how this new plan plays into what will happen a year or more from now.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., along with other House and Senate Democratic leaders, said the new strategy "endangers our national security by placing additional burdens on our already over-extended military, thereby making it even more difficult to respond to other crises."

Instead of sending more troops to Iraq, the Democrats want to shift the mission of U.S. forces there to training of Iraqi forces, start a plan to bring troops home and implement an aggressive diplomatic strategy, according to a statement released after the speech.

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E-mail: wleonard@desnews.com; suzanne@desnews.com