"Why Was Public So Misinformed on Facts Leading to War?"

[JohnyCanuck]

By E&P Staff

Published: March 23, 2008 11:10 AM ET

NEW YORK Five years ago today, as the U.S invasion of Iraq continued in its early stages, E&P published an article by Ari Berman, then an intern here, that examined the public attitudes on the eve of the war. He probed polls that found, on the most basic point, that roughly 2 out of 3 Americans backed an assault on Iraq.

But the attitudes driving those numbers raised serious issues about a misinformed public and the media's role. He found that a startlingly high percentage falsely believed that Saddam helped plan the 9/11 attacks or Iraqi hijackers were involved that day, and that Iraqi WMD had already been found.

SNIP

The same survey found that 57% of those polled believed Saddam Hussein helped terrorists involved with the 9/11 attacks, a claim the Bush team had abandoned. A March 7-9 New York Times/CBS News Poll showed that 45% of interviewees agreed that "Saddam Hussein was personally involved in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks," and a March 14-15 CNN/USA Today/ Gallup poll found this apparently mistaken notion holding firm at 51%.

The significance of this is suggested by the finding, in the same survey, that 32% of those supporting an attack cited Saddam's alleged involvement in supporting terrorists as the "main reason" for endorsing invasion. Another 43% said it was "one reason."

Knowing this was a crucial element of his support — even though he could not prove the 9/11 connection — the president nevertheless tried to bolster the link. Bush mentioned 9/11 eight times during his March 6 prime-time news conference, linking it with Saddam Hussein "often in the same breath," Linda Feldmann of The Christian Science Monitor observed last week. "Bush never pinned the blame for the <9/11> attacks directly on the Iraqi president," Feldmann wrote. "Still, the overall effect was to reinforce an impression that persists among much of the American public."

http://www.mediainfo.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003729354

Thank you Mainstream Media Whores. Step up and take a well deserved bow for your sycophantic and unquestioning toadyism in the face of the Bush juntas lies and spin for illegal war.

[acmavm]

1. Speaking for those 1 out of 3 who WEREN'T for attacking an

innocent and defenseless country I can say that a large part of the reason was the American public was/is lazy and prefer not to expend the energy to uncover the truth. They'd rather have it spoonfed to them by a corrupt media machine who helped this bunch of thugs usurp the government of the United States of America. Just that fact alone should have given them a hint not to believe what they were told by their frontman bush** or anyone else connected with this truly corrupt bunch of murderous monsters.

[orangerevolution]

7. Not sure what you mean

by an innocent and defenseless country? Please clarify.

All governments are corrupt to some degree, not mater their location on the planet. The fact that it is a government means they have to be able to defend themselves from the people in case the people rise up.

[acmavm]

8. They had no WMDs, no air force, no army after Gulf War I, no

god damn healthcare after 10 years of sanctions, no way to fight back.

What part of innocent and defenseless is beyond your grasp? These people who are dying, who have died, did NOT deserve this. That country did not deserve to be blown to shit. They did not deserve to see their 3,000 year old culture destroyed. They did not deserve to have their electrical system and water systems destroyed. They did not deserve to have their healthcare system destroyed.

And it was all based on 100% lies and bullshit.

Have I cleared this up for ya?

[orangerevolution]

11. Not really

but, it is Monday morning, so I will clarify for ya.

I said that all governments are corrupt no matter their location on the planet as a response to you saying an innocent country was attacked. It has been many years since Gulf War I, but I seem to recall the Iraqi gov't keeping some of the UN aid money for itself and not to the betterment of a healthcare system.

I said that all governments have to defend themselves from the people in case the people rise up as a response to you saying a defensless country was attacked. Again, it has been may years since Gulf War I but I do recall the Iraqi people rising up. And I seem to recall that the uprising was suppressed by the Iraqi government. I am sure they didn't ask them nicely to go home.

There are no innocent and defensless goverments. Look at the one we live under. By your own word you say they are not innocent. And what happens when you try and speak up? The police are there.

[acmavm]

10. DUPE

[chelsea0011]

2. You are correct. This is all on the media, paper and television.

There was a lot of dissent out there but they were all but ignored as the media tried on their helmets and rejoiced that were to be embedded. Remember the weapons inspectors were reporting that they weren't finding much of anything that they didn't expect and as soon as they began saying that they were kicked out to begin the bombings.If the inspectors stayed a little bit longer the media might have caught on and changed their opinions.

[elizfeelinggreat]

6. The media ...

both the owners and employees, were well paid for their compliance.

I remember the inspectors vividly and I doubt they needed any further evidence because the media refused to hear anything they had to say and would have continued to ignore or vilify them. Remember what they did to Scott Ritter and Hans Blix?

[Echo In Light]

3. 24/7 propaganda effort via corporate, mainline "news" = all right wing all the time

[peace13]

4. Americans were willing to believe the lies.

Why did so many of us know that this war was based on lies. How could the politicians not know that the war was a lie. Quite frankly I think many Americans were looking forward to the oil that they thought the war would procure. As an American of average intelligence, the fact that I could see through the lies, that I was aware of Pappy *'s book that clearly stated the reasons not to go into Baghdad, makes me wonder why so few stood up against the war. The blood of our dead and maimed soldiers and that of the Iraqi people is on all of our hands. I have been fighting against this war since its inception but I am not, in any way, innocent of these war crimes.

[Echo In Light]

5. Willing to believe lies conversely means willingness to deny mass conspiracies

I guess some prefer to believe that there really couldn't be that many people willing to lie to them in order to get what they want.

[gratuitous]

9. Golly! All those people independently reaching false conclusions

Surely there was no one in the administration peddling falsehoods. And our faultless media would never, ever pass along a story without thoroughly checking its factual basis. It must be a startling case of 200 million people all independently reaching the wrong conclusion simultaneously. So rare as to be almost unbelievable, but statistics don't lie.

[ProfessorGAC]

12. Absotively, Posilutely

Look, after 9/11, everyone knew the nation of origin of the hijackers. We also knew about them having bases in Afghanistan.

So, how did we suddenly, 2 years later start thinking of Iraq without anyone putting that disinformation out there?

There is just no way that this many people arrived at exactly the wrong conculsion without being steered that way.

Good post!
The Professor

[Echo In Light]

13. Astounding then to note how the "coincidence" theories overrode the obvious "conspiracy" angle

On numerous counts.

This stuff doesn't happen by coincidence and random chance...not when it fits together all cozy like to form a cohesive scheme that just happens to always benefit the same liars and cheerleaders of hegemony.

[malaise]

14. That same public is buying the Iran lies as I type n/t

[Tippy]

15. Sad but true........

Bush used fear as a weapon of mass distruction he targeted citizens who only listend to the nightly news. The same ones who would never belive their government would lie to them. So whatever happened to CRITICAL THINKING?

[malaise]

16. These days just thinking would be an

improvement, let alone critical thinking.

[spanone]

17. not misinformed, LIED TO....big difference