Something I think we will see mirrored across the country...
WASHINGTON - Even as the Bush administration heralds signs of progress in Iraq, Minnesotans by almost a 2-to-1 margin say things are not going well for the U.S. effort to bring stability to the war-torn nation, a new Star Tribune Minnesota Poll shows.
But Minnesotans' disenchantment with the war -- echoed by polls across the country -- is not matched by overwhelming support for a quick exit.
Given an array of possible solutions it broke down this way...
Given an array of options, only 15 percent say they favor an immediate withdrawal, matched by 15 percent who would make no troop cutbacks until a stable government can be achieved in Iraq, a goal considered likely by only about one-third of the respondents in the poll.
Another 28 percent say they would like to see troop withdrawals begin this fall, with all troops out by next spring, a view that lines up closely with several Democratic initiatives in Congress.
But much like in Congress, there is no simple majority in Minnesota for any particular course of action.
A plurality -- 39 percent -- favors leaving a substantial number of troops in Iraq but with the more limited mission of training Iraqi security forces and targeting Al-Qaida leaders. That option is much in keeping with last year's recommendations of the Iraq Study Group, as well as with the goals laid out last month by Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq.
...
"It's interesting that the Minnesota public has a somewhat more nuanced view of it than the polar opposites on the national political scene," he said. "People see that there are no good options."
The numbers leave a cloudy message for policymakers and politicians in Washington: little support for the war, yet less than overwhelming support for getting out now.
http://www.startribune.com/587/story/1470103.html
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