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Poll Results Show Many Americans Continue To Believe Saddam Was Behind 9/11 Attacks |
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Written by Wire Services
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Thursday, 29 December 2005 |
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:
- 41% of U.S. adults believe that Saddam Hussein had "strong links to Al Qaeda."
- 22% of adults believe that Saddam Hussein "helped plan and support the hijackers who attacked the United States on September 11."
- 26% of adults believe that Iraq "had weapons of mass destruction when the U.S. invaded."
- 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. |
