Poll: More Than 4 in 10 Americans Still Believe Saddam Involved with 9/11

By: E&P Staff Nearly six years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the U.S., better than 4 in 10 Americans still wrongly believe that Saddam Hussein was involved in planning or carrying out the actions. Surprisingly, that number has even risen in the past two years, according to a Newsweek poll.

The belief that Saddam had something to do with 9/11, which was endorsed by Vice President Cheney and other Bush administration officials, was seen as a prime reason for broad public support for the attack on Iraq in 2003. Some have suggested that the media did not do enough to dispel this myth. President Bush and Cheney have belatedly declared that Iraq actually had nothing to do with it.

A Newsweek poll in September 2004 showed that 36% believed "Saddam Hussein?s regime in Iraq was directly involved in planning, financing, or carrying out the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001." Now the number in the same poll is 41%.

In a separate question, 20% said that "most" of the 9/11 hijackers came from Iraq. The correct answer, Saudi Arabia, was chosen by 43%.

Public awareness that Iraq did not possess WMD has gained ground, however, with only 20% now stating that it did have chemical or biological weapons when we invaded.

The national survey of 1,001 adults was taken June 18-19.