Most Utahns think U.S. troops stationed in NATO countries should at least be reduced by half, the latest Deseret News/KSL-TV poll shows. And they want the U.S. military budget reduced also.
President Bush and Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev have talked about conventional and nuclear arms reductions in Europe and plan on reaching treaties on both matters this year.However, many NATO and U.S. defense officials say reductions in the United States' commitment to NATO should come slowly.
Pollster Dan Jones & Associates found that most Utahns don't want to wait.
He found that 9 percent want all U.S. forces removed from NATO immediately and 48 percent want the troop numbers cut by at least half. That's a 57 percent majority that want some troops removed.
A third of all Utahns want all the U.S. troops to remain in NATO countries and 10 percent didn't know, Jones found.
With military tensions reduced throughout the world - "peace breaking out all over," as some say - there's much talk in Washington, D.C., about reducing the huge defense budget. The cut has even been named: The peace dividend.
Most Utahns - 52 percent - definitely or probably think the United States should reduce the defense budget, 45 percent think it should not be cut now and 3 percent don't know.
Jones asked the 52 percent who favor a defense cut if they would still favor such reductions if military installations in Utah felt the impact of those cuts.
A huge 87 percent said they'd still be in favor of the cuts if Utah bases were harmed, Jones found. Only 8 percent changed their minds and said there should be no military cuts under those circumstances, and 4 percent didn't know.
Utah's economy is, experts say, one of the most vulnerable to disruption because of military spending cuts. There are several large military bases - Hill Air Force Base and Tooele Army Depot, among others, and several large defense contractors in the state as well.
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POLL
Considering the changes in Eastern Europe, what should the United States do with its troops?
Remove all U.S. troops 9 percent
Cut the numbers in half 48 percent
Keep all troops in NATO 33 percent
Don't know 10 percent
Should the United States reduce the amount budgeted to military spending?
Definitely still favor reducing 59 percent
Probably still favor 28 percent
Probably oppose 6 percent
Definitely oppose 2 percent
Don't know 4 percent
Sample size: 605; margin of error plus or minus 4 percent