Massachusetts lawmakers Tuesday praised an Iraq Study Commission finding that calls for a change of strategy for the war in Iraq, but expressed disappointment that the group did not advocate for a more immediate withdrawal.

They said the positive aspects in the report released Wednesday included an acknowledgement that current policies are not working, a call for diplomacy with Iraq's neighbors and an insistence that Iraq take more responsibility for its own security.

President Bush will have to consider a serious change in course now that a bi-partisan panel of highly respected political figures have called for new direction, they said.

"The verdict is in," U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., said. "There can no longer be any doubt that the violence and chaos in Iraq are getting worse, that our current strategy is failing, and that we need to work together on a new strategy that will make it possible for us to bring our troops home."

U.S. Rep. James McGovern, D-Worcester, had a similar take on the report. "This is a clear statement that our policy in Iraq has failed, and that has to change," McGovern said.

McGovern said he also was encouraged that the group, led by Bush family friend James Baker, said peace between Israelis and Palestinians is key to the region.

However, McGovern said the report fell short in some aspects.

He said he wanted to see benchmarks set for a quicker withdrawal of American troops.

The call for training of Iraqi troops to assume security responsibility does not go far enough.

"I thought that is what we have been doing. We keep hearing 'We will stand down when they stand up,' " he said.

McGovern said Iraq is engulfed in a civil war and American troops should not be in the middle of it.

By failing to put a deadline on American withdrawal, the study group has given the Bush Administration the "wiggle room it needs to continue to ignore reality," he said.

Kennedy and U.S. Sen. John Kerry said the Bush administration must take the report seriously.

"The only question is whether the White House will heed this clarion call and agree to change the perilous course we have been on in Iraq since Saddam Hussein fell and the chaos began. "More of the same failed policy that depends on an open-ended commitment of our military will not bring America closer to success. It will not stop the violence. It will only continue to undermine our own national security interests," Kennedy said in a written statement.

Kerry added:

"Not one more American soldier should die because politicians in Iraq or in the United States are unwilling to face reality and change direction. We need to change course now.

"Today, the bipartisan Iraq Study Group issued an urgent call for a new direction in Iraq. Their report acknowledges the futility of the current policy. If the Administration will accept its recommendations, this report can provide core elements of the way forward."

JIM HAND covers politics for The Sun Chronicle. He can be reached at 508-236-0399 or at jhand@thesunchronicle.com.