Sizeable Minorities Still Believe Saddam Hussein Helped Plan 9/11, Had WMD

[sweetm2475]

Sizeable Minorities Still Believe Saddam Hussein Had Strong Links to Al Qaeda, Helped Plan 9/11 and Had Weapons of Mass Destruction

SOURCE Harris Interactive
Web Site: http://www.harrisinteractive.com
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/12-29-2005/0004240417&EDATE=


However, the numbers have fallen substantially this year

ROCHESTER, N.Y., Dec. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- More than four years after the
attacks of September 11, 2001, many U.S. adults still believe some of the
justifications for the invasion of Iraq, which have now been discredited,
according to a new Harris Poll. For example:

-- Forty-one percent (41%) of U.S. adults believe that Saddam Hussein had
"strong links to Al Qaeda."
-- Twenty-two percent (22%) of adults believe that Saddam Hussein "helped
plan and support the hijackers who attacked the United States on
September 11."
-- Twenty-six percent (26%) of adults believe that Iraq "had weapons of
mass destruction when the U.S. invaded."
-- Twenty-four percent (24%) of all adults believe that "several of the
hijackers who attacked the United States on September 11 were Iraqis."

However, all of these beliefs and others have declined sharply since the
questions were asked in February 2005. For example:
-- Those who think Saddam Hussein had strong links to Al Qaeda have fallen
from 64 to 41 percent.
-- Those who believe that Iraq was a serious threat to U.S. security are
down from 61 to 48 percent.
-- Those who think Saddam Hussein helped plan 9/11 are down from 47 to
22 percent.
-- Those who think Iraq had weapons of mass destruction are down from
36 to 26 percent.
-- Those who think Iraqi hijackers attacked the United States on 9/11 have
fallen from 44 to 24 percent.

Although public support for the war in Iraq has been waning, a 56 percent
majority of all adults believe that "the Iraqis are better off now than they
were under Saddam Hussein." However, this has also fallen from 76 percent
since February.
These are the results of a nationwide Harris Poll of 1,961 U.S. adults
surveyed online between December 8 and 14, 2005 by Harris Interactive(R).
These new poll findings and trends show how slowly most people change
their minds once they believe something to be true. Nevertheless, they also
show that, over time, beliefs can change greatly.

[CJCRANE]

1. Iraqi hijackers on 9-11??!! nt

[RobertSeattle]

4. RW Retort - That just PROVES how clever Saddam was!

By NOT having Iraqi's on the planes that proves he was behind it!

/Sarcasm

[Maggie_May]

2. All I can say is STUPID STUPID STUPID people.

NO WMD No ties to 911 these are the facts.

[gratuitous]

11. People believe what they're told a lot of the time

And they've been told over and over again in a very carefully calibrated and orchestrated campaign to think that Saddam Hussein attacked the United States and was poised to do so again. It's not surprising that a sizable segment of our country continues to believe that, because advertising works (companies don't spend all those billions on getting their brands and slogans implanted in our brains just to annoy us, you know).

What I like about the reporting on these polls is how little the media report their own complicity in helping people believe things that aren't true.

[Celeborn Skywalker]

3. At least the numbers are down.

Still a shame that so many believe the Bush/media generated lies.

[Spazito]

5. They are bush's base, they believe whatever bush says

regardless of reality.

[underpants]

6. Seems to be a very loose definition of "Adult"

I'm just saying

[jackstraw45]

7. This is what happens when you CUT funding for education

This is an EDUCATION issue people.

We are becoming a nation that is EXTREMELY uneducated.

[yknot]

8. Willful ignorance

These are the same folks who regard all sources other than Fox and Rush as "liberal media".

[Walt Starr]

9. At least it isn't a majority any more

We got that much going for us.

Appears to me that 41% of the American Populace prefers ignorance to knowledge.

Unfortunately, 22% of the American public are outright stupid people.

[The Backlash Cometh]

10. FoxNews syndrome.

[BuyingThyme]

12. So, are we talking about minorities,

say, over 250 pounds?

[WernhamHogg]

13. I remember reading a study

I remember reading about a study a while back which showed that people who get their news primarily from Fox News are the most uninformed/misinformed when it comes to Iraq. I found it interesting (not surprising, but interesting) and I wish I had bookmarked the site which contained that report.