The Iraq Study Group recommended that Syria and Iran be included in talks about the future of Iraq. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has rejected that recommendation. The American people have mixed views on it.

A Rasmussen Reports survey conducted in mid-November found that half (52%) of American adults believe that Syria and Iran should be included in the talks. Twenty-eight percent (28%) take the opposite view and agree with Rice while 20% are undecided.

Democrats overwhelmingly support the inclusion of Syria and Iraq while Republicans are evenly divided. Unaffiliated voters support the inclusion of those nations by a 54% to 27% margin.

Overall, Americans are even more solidly behind another recommendation of the Iraq Study Group—the proposal to withdraw almost all combat troops from Iraq.

Forty-seven percent (47%) of Americans believe that Israelis and Palestinians should also be included in the talks about Iraq’s future.

Underlying all of this is a deep public skepticism about the prospects for peace in the middle East. Just 41% believe lasting peace is possible so long as Arabs and Israelis are living side-by-side. Forty-three percent (43%) say peace is not possible while 16% are undecided.

Men are more pessimistic than women on the prospects for lasting peace in the region.

Other surveys have shown that Americans have grown more pessimistic about the overall War on Terror during the past couple of years. Most expect things to get worse in Iraq over the next six months.