WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The situation in Iraq is "perilously close" to hopeless, former Rep. Lee Hamilton, the co-chairman of the Iraq Study Group, told a Senate panel Thursday, adding that having come that far, action must be taken quickly to change the course in Iraq.

Hamilton's co-chairman, former Secretary of State James Baker, agreed that the situation has not yet reached the point of no return, but added that the United States' political leaders have a responsibility to be realistic about the situation as they take steps to change it.

"Nobody can assure success if we take the right steps, but we can certainly secure failure if we don't take those steps," he said.

Several senators Thursday challenged some of the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group, but overall the members of the Senate Armed Services Committee had words of praise for the bipartisan work done by the 10-member
commission.