<DIV>from a mid-march zogby poll</DIV>
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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px" align=left><B><FONT face=Arial color=#666666 size=2><SPAN lang=en-us>"</SPAN>Do you think Saddam Hussein was personally involved in the<SPAN lang=en-us> </SPAN>September 11th, 2001<SPAN lang=en-us>,</SPAN> terrorist attacks against the World Trade Center<SPAN lang=en-us> </SPAN></FONT></B><FONT color=#666666><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: 700; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">and the Pentagon?<SPAN lang=en-us>"</SPAN></SPAN></FONT></P></TD></TR>
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<TD vAlign=bottom align=middle width=76><SPAN lang=en-us><B><FONT face=Arial color=#666666 size=2>Yes</FONT></B></SPAN></TD>
<TD vAlign=bottom align=middle width=77><SPAN lang=en-us><B><FONT face=Arial color=#666666 size=2>No</FONT></B></SPAN></TD>
<TD vAlign=bottom align=middle width=77><STRONG><SPAN lang=en-us><FONT face=Arial color=#666666 size=2>Don't<BR>Know</FONT></SPAN></STRONG></TD>
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<TD align=middle width=76><FONT face=Arial color=#666666 size=2>%</FONT></TD>
<TD align=middle width=77><FONT face=Arial color=#666666 size=2>%</FONT></TD>
<TD align=middle width=77><FONT face=Arial color=#666666 size=2>%</FONT></TD>
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<TD width=125><SPAN lang=en-us><FONT face=Arial color=#666666 size=2>3/7-9/03</FONT></SPAN></TD>
<TD align=middle width=76><SPAN lang=en-us><FONT face=Arial color=#666666 size=2>45</FONT></SPAN></TD>
<TD align=middle width=77><SPAN lang=en-us><FONT face=Arial color=#666666 size=2>40</FONT></SPAN></TD>
<TD align=middle width=77><SPAN lang=en-us><FONT face=Arial color=#666666 size=2>15</FONT></SPAN></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></DIV>
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<DIV> Doug posted the links for the bombers a wekk or so ago......<BR><BR><B><I>Yoshie Furuhashi <furuhashi.1@osu.edu></I></B> wrote:</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #1010ff 2px solid">At 6:12 AM -0700 4/17/03, eric dorkin wrote:<BR>>Because more than HALF of people surveyed thought that Iraqis <BR>>attacked the world trade center.<BR><BR>I doubt that it's true. Not even the most conservative students in <BR>my classes (one of whom wrote an essay making an argument that the US <BR>government should allow qualified agents to practice torture without <BR>quite legalizing it officially), anti-anti-war demonstrators, and <BR>those who have sent me and my pals anonymous hate messages (by phone <BR>and e-mail) have ever said that Saddam Hussein was responsible for <BR>the 9.11 attacks. (Keep in mind that my students are exactly the <BR>demographic cohort that is among the most likely to support the war: <BR>young and predominantly white.)<BR><BR>Now, let's take a look at opinion polls about "Iraq's Possible Links <BR>to Terrorists":<BR><BR>***** Conflict With Iraq<BR><BR>Iraq's Possible Links to Terrorists<BR><BR>An overwhelming majority believes the Iraqi government is actively <BR>involved in supporting terrorists, though the public seems unsure if <BR>it is connected to the September 11 attacks. Iraq's possible links to <BR>terrorism and September 11 appear to play a minor role in justifying <BR>support for military action among the general population. However, <BR>belief in the link between Saddam Hussein and September 11 plays a <BR>critical role for a significant minority, such that without it there <BR>might not be majority support for military action. If new evidence <BR>were established showing links between Iraq and terrorist groups, <BR>this would substantially increase support for military action.<BR><BR>Iraq's Links to Terrorism<BR><BR>A near-unanimous majority believes that the Iraqi government trains <BR>and supports terrorists. In an August 2002 Gallup survey, 86% said <BR>they think "Saddam Hussein is involved in supporting terrorist groups <BR>that have plans to attack the United States."
Just 8% felt Hussein <BR>was not involved in such activities (don't know: 6%). This is <BR>virtually unchanged since late 2001, when Wirthlin found 91% saying <BR>they "believe that Iraq encourages, trains, and supports terrorists." <BR>Asked the same question by Penn, Schoen and Berland in September <BR>2001, 91% believed Iraq was involved in aiding terrorists. Most <BR>recently, Newsweek elaborated a different version, asking whether <BR>respondents "believe[d] that Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq is <BR>harboring al-Qaeda terrorists and helping them to develop chemical <BR>weapons." A somewhat lower 75% said they believed this (September <BR>2002). [1]<BR><BR>Also, an overwhelming majority believes that removing Saddam Hussein <BR>would be at least somewhat effective as a step in the war on <BR>terrorism. A November 2001 Zogby poll found 80% who said this would <BR>be at least "somewhat effective" (with 48% saying "very effective"). <BR>[2]<BR><BR>Iraq is even seen as more supportive of terrorists than Iran. When <BR>asked in an August 2002 Fox poll whether Iraq or Iran "is a stronger <BR>supporter of terrorism and poses the greater immediate danger to the <BR>United States," a strong plurality of 49% chose Iraq. Just 18% chose <BR>Iran, while 23% volunteered that they were both about equal. [3]<BR><BR>It is not clear, however, that a majority believes there is a <BR>connection between Iraq and the September 11 terrorist attacks. When <BR>respondents were asked to say who they thought was responsible for <BR>the September 11 attacks, a fairly small percentage identified Saddam <BR>Hussein or Iraq. Shortly after September 11, respondents were asked <BR>the open-ended question: "Who do you think is more responsible [sic] <BR>for the recent terrorist attacks on the New York World Trade Center <BR>and the Pentagon?" Only 3% proposed Saddam Hussein or Iraq, while 57% <BR>named Osama bin Laden as the most likely suspect. All who answered <BR>were asked for a second choice; this time Iraq scored higher, but <BR>stil
l only got 27% of responses (Wirthlin, September 15-17, 2001). <BR>When a CNN/USA Today poll presented Iraq as a possible object of <BR>blame for September 11, 41% said they blamed Iraq "a great deal", but <BR>this was lower than the percentage blaming other countries and actors <BR>a great deal, including Osama bin Laden (83%), Afghanistan (64%), and <BR>fundamentalist Muslim leaders (53%). [4]<BR><BR>One poll has found a slight majority saying that Iraq was behind the <BR>attacks. In August 2002, a Gallup poll found 53% saying they believed <BR>"Saddam Hussein was personally involved in the September 11 attacks"; <BR>34% did not think so and 13% had no opinion. However it should be <BR>noted that this question immediately followed a question in which 86% <BR>agreed that Hussein was involved in supporting terrorists generally, <BR>so that a 'response set' may have accounted for some of this <BR>agreement with the question about September 11. [5]<BR><BR>Justification for Military Action<BR><BR>Iraq's possible links to terrorists and September 11 seem to play a <BR>fairly minor role in most Americans' support for taking military <BR>action against Iraq. When a poll question specifically made the <BR>connection between Iraq's link to terrorism in general (not <BR>specifically September 11) and attacking Iraq, a modest majority saw <BR>it as a justification. Asked, "In your mind, is there enough of a <BR>link between Iraq and terrorism to justify a US military campaign to <BR>try to topple the regimeŠor does the US need to offer more evidence?" <BR>55% said there was enough of a link; 34% said the US needed to offer <BR>more evidence (11% not sure; Investors' Business Daily/Christian <BR>Science Monitor, December 2001). However when an August Gallup poll <BR>asked respondents who said they had a clear idea why the U.S. is <BR>considering military action against Iraq to cite "the reasons why the <BR>United States may take new military action against Iraq." Just 4% <BR>said it was because Iraq had something to do wit
h terrorism. [6]<BR><BR>However, it does appear that for a significant minority Iraq's <BR>possible links to September 11 plays an important role in its support <BR>for taking action against Iraq. When NBC/Wall Street Journal asked in <BR>January 2002 whether the US should "take military action against Iraq <BR>and Saddam Hussein, even if Iraq had nothing to do with the September <BR>11 attacks," only 47% said the US should take military action in that <BR>case, while 42% said the US should not. This level of support for <BR>military action is approximately 20% lower than questions that have <BR>simply asked about taking military action. Thus it appears that were <BR>it not for this possible linkage between Saddam Hussein and September <BR>11 in the minds of a minority of Americans, there would not be clear <BR>majority support for taking military action against Iraq. [7]...<BR><BR><HTTP: linkstoTerr.cfm Conflict_Iraq regional_issues digest www.americans-world.org><BR><BR>This Site Maintained by: Program on International Policy Attitudes *****<BR><BR>The polls surveyed above suggest that Americans are not well informed <BR>about US politics, Iraq, terrorism, etc., but they are not as <BR>ignorant as some LBO-talkers believe them to be. What the majority <BR>of Americans believe is that Iraq has supported terrorists, not that <BR>it was involved in the 9.11 attacks or that the 9.11 attacks have <BR>anything to do with the war on Iraq.<BR><BR>The lesson for leftists -- if there is any lesson here -- is that the <BR>vague but persistent right-wing propaganda about the "rogue states" <BR>supporting terrorism in general -- rather than specifically the 9.11 <BR>attacks -- has influenced American hearts and minds.<BR><BR>Also, keep in mind that 30% of Americans will always remain the <BR>enemies of the left: "Peter Feaver of Duke University, in a book on <BR>public opinion and war, writes that 30 percent of the American public <BR>is always ready to fight and will support almost any war....On the <BR>other hand, Feaver
says 10 percent of Americans are pacifists and <BR>consistently oppose all military action" (Joan King, "Opinion Polls <BR>on War Misleading," <BR><HTTP: 1007540.html opinion 20030218 stories news www.gainesvilletimes.com>). <BR>30% of them will never be won to our side.<BR>-- <BR>Yoshie<BR><BR>* Calendar of Events in Columbus: <BR><HTTP: calendar.html sif students www.osu.edu><BR>* Student International Forum: <HTTP: sif students www.osu.edu /><BR>* Committee for Justice in Palestine: <HTTP: www.osudivest.org /><BR>* Al-Awda-Ohio: <HTTP: Al-Awda-Ohio group groups.yahoo.com><BR>* Solidarity: <HTTP: solidarity.igc.org /><BR><BR>___________________________________<BR>http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk</BLOCKQUOTE><p><br><hr size=1>Do you Yahoo!?<br>
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