Huntsman visits Utah troops

On his second visit to the Middle East this year, Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. said he's offering thanks to Utah troops but expressing concern to foreign leaders about the lack of progress in Iraq.

During an overnight visit to Bagdad, Huntsman said he and the governors of New York, New Jersey and Oregon told an Iraqi deputy prime minister that Americans are beginning "to lose focus of what success means and what are our ultimate goals are" in Iraq.

That true even in Utah, the governor said, despite the state's strong support for President Bush and his efforts against terrorism, including what's now being labeled by some as a civil war in Iraq.

"I think anyone watching the evening news and reading the papers would have to be somewhat concerned about the level of progress and the willingness on the part of the Iraqi government to accept more responsibility," Huntsman said.

The four governors are in the Middle East at the invitation of the U.S. Defense Department and will travel to Afghanistan before returning this weekend. Huntsman said they have already visited troops in Kuwait and spent Tuesday night in Bagdad.

The governor said the "situation has deteriorated" in the Iraqi capitol since he was there in March as part of a delegation of governors and members of Congress led by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.

"It's a very disturbing turn of events," Huntsman said. While there's now a government in place, "while making the transition, they seem to be caught in a crossfire of sectarian angst and violent actions on the part of rebel groups."

Still, he stopped short of saying the country is in the grips of a civil war, even though that term is being increasingly used to describe the increasingly violent conflict between various factions.

"I've asked the best minds I could find whether they're officially at the point of civil war or not and even the best minds disagree," the governor said. "But one thing for sure is that its a dangerous environment and that will continue to escalate in the weeks ahead."