But on a weekend marked by violence, bombings, beheadings and the deaths of at least two more U.S. soldiers, Huntsman's request to visit a base near the volatile city of Ramadi, where hundreds of Utahns are stationed, was turned down for security reasons.

So rather than focusing, in his capacity as commander in chief of the Utah National Guard, on how troops from his state are faring in Iraq, Huntsman on Tuesday spoke mainly of his delegation's push for Iraqi leaders to "get their acts together." He warned that a civil war could emerge within months and the U.S. mission in Iraq "is not an indefinite proposal."

Huntsman said that as a governor whose state "has skin in the game" - about 2,000 Utahns are forward deployed - he told Iraqi officials that U.S. politicians must listen to public opinion. Polls show a months-long decline in American support for President Bush's handling of the war.

Huntsman stopped short, however, of openly criticizing the president's recent contention that the decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq likely will fall upon another administration. Bush's term expires in January 2009.

But as governor of a state that continues to give Bush his highest approval ratings, Huntsman's comments were seen as telling by political science professor Matthew Burbank.

"I think that the position from the Bush administration is the maximum position they can argue - that we have to have a commitment that is indefinite or else it will look like a deadline," said Burbank, who lectures at the University of Utah. "But the reality is that just cannot happen. And the statement you are hearing from the governor is more of a recognition that many observers are saying - that there has to come a time in the reasonably near future when this ends."

Huntsman's assessment of the situation in Iraq was markedly less upbeat than that of Sen. Bob Bennett, the last highly placed Utah politician to visit Baghdad.

Bennett returned from a June 2004, tour of Iraq with unbridled optimism, predicting that troops levels could be reduced to less than 100,000 beginning in 2005. Today, there are about 133,000 U.S. troops in Iraq.

At the time, Bennett described progress not reflected in most news reports, saying that "virtually everywhere, there was a sense that the situation in Baghdad, and Iraq generally, was improving."

Huntsman on Tuesday described Baghdad as "a cauldron of instability and hatred," noting that dozens were dying in the capital city each day. Though U.S. forces have, in recent months, managed to bring the once notorious highway between Baghdad International Airport and the so-called Green Zone under better security, military officials opted to move Huntsman's delegation to the heavily fortified complex by helicopter. Travels about Iraq, Huntsman said, were in armored sports utility vehicles, guarded by troop carriers and escorted by Apache helicopters.

Though expressing regret that he was not able to make it to Ramadi, where more than 400 members of the Utah National Guard are posted with the 222nd Field Artillery, Huntsman said he was encouraged by the Utahns he did meet along the way, saying he was in awe of their bravery and dedication.

His thoughts on the future of U.S. involvement in Iraq appear to have been informed by those he met. Over lunch in Fallujah on Sunday, Huntsman said, he spoke to a Marine from Utah who expressed a desire to see Iraqis reach a political solution that would allow U.S. troops to return home.

Although security precautions prevented Huntsman from visiting any Utah National Guard units, as was his stated intention on Friday, when the trip was announced, Maj. Gen. Brian Tarbet said the governor's mere effort was commendable.

"It was a tremendous signal of support to travel there - a great signal to those on the front lines," said Tarbet, adjutant general of the Utah National Guard.

Tarbet said Huntsman had been lobbying to visit Iraq since his inauguration in January 2005.

Huntsman, a former ambassador whose fancy for foreign affairs apparently resulted in an invitation from Sen. John McCain to make the trip alongside two other governors and five other members of Congress, said he intends to return to Iraq in the future if Utah troops are deployed there.

He said he hoped he would find the country under better circumstances.

mlaplante@sltrib.com