Think Progress

41.

By Nico Pitney on Jun 25th, 2007 at 1:12 pm

41.»

Percentage of Americans who believe “Saddam Hussein’s regime in Iraq was directly involved in planning, financing, or carrying out the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001,” according to a new Newsweek poll. The number is up 5 points from Sept. 2004. Twenty percent of Americans say they believe today that the U.S. has found chemical and biological weapons in Iraq.




Sort Comments By: Top Rated | Date

64 Responses to “41.”

  1. missmolly Says:

    So this means that 41 percent of Americans are complete morons who will believe anything the neocon fearmongers throw at them? Sounds like we are leaving more children behind than ever…..


  2. Sandy Says:

    Joseph Goebbles and Big Brother rule! Bush-Cheney Mafioso, thank you. You can’t fool all the people all the time.

    Just often enough.


  3. Zooey Says:

    The sheeple are still slumbering.


  4. Steve Says:

    Wonderful! I live in the stupidest, most ignorant country in the world. Woo Hoo!!!!


  5. AnotherReasontoLoveNYMets Says:

    Notice how it went up right after the Republican Presidential Debates, where every candidate (except Ron Paul, who was treated like some kind of lunatic) connected the Iraq War with the “War on Terror”? The Republican candidates like Rudy Giuliani and Fred Thompson also started doing the rounds on shows like Jay Leno, where they spread their talking points to the crowd that usually doesn’t want to be bothered with politics.


  6. normalasf Says:

    Oh, Americans. What are we going to do with you?

    Could someone remind me the percentage of Americans who hold passports? We live in such a blinkered, sheltered, xenophobic society.


  7. Nance Says:

    How sad it is that 41% actually believe the propaganda. The saddest part is, this 41% never even questioned the information.
    Since most of the hijackers were Saudi, how do you get Saddam out of it, or do they just believe Osama and Saddam are the same person or Osama worked for Saddam. Scary that these same people can vote.


  8. nofltwlt Says:

    And 99.8% of the 41% believe that Saddam is still in power - the ruler of Iraq.


  9. shane Says:

    I would guess the 41% is an underestimate. Probably another 30% don’t know who Sadam Hussein is, can’t remember the attacks of 9/11 and don’t know we’ve invaded Iraq.


  10. MAF54 Says:

    Sheeple? That’s not a very nice thing to say of the people. Yesterday I got spanked for talking about plebs…


  11. Queso Says:

    They bold the “correct” answer. I like how the “correct” answer to question 5 (From what you know about the situation, do you think the United States is losing the fight against al-Qaeda or radical Islamic terrorism?) is “No”.


  12. mikey r Says:

    So, the Preident is at a 26% approval rating, and 41% of the people believe Saddam was behind 9/11.

    That means that 15% of Americans believe that Saddam attacked us on 9/11 and STILL don’t like what George W. Bush is doing to the country.


  13. CONservative Says:

    Sad, just plain sad that there are THAT MANY stupid people out there in this country. Just believe anything these propaganda pushers tell you based solely because they have an R(etards) after their name. And ALL of these frontrunners on the GOP side are indeed retards! Fooliani, Twitt, Straight Talk My @$$ McCain, Above the Law & Order Thompson, every last one of them…a sad indicator of the number of sheeple in this country.


  14. MsJoanne Says:

    Exactly what is the fight against al-Qaeda? A physical war isn’t ever going to win an idological battle no matter what you call it.


  15. BrianS Says:

    Most of us will see that 41% number and just feel sad that our country has become so misinformed.

    I see that 41% and say the rest of us are not doing a good enough job to educate our fellow Americans.

    When our young people do not care about politics, and would rather hear about Paris Hilton, it’s our job to get them more involved. We need to show them how important these things are to their lives and their future.

    We do a decent job of this in our colleges/universities, but not at the high school and lower levels.

    We obviously cannot depend on the mainstream media to help us.


  16. MsJoanne Says:

    Brian, I agree with you on all but one thing…I don’t think it’s just young people who want more Paris. I think it’s an overwhelming populace of all ages. When you have a very ‘normal’ (read boring) life, it’s much more fun to live vicariously throgh whomever…and that is always a celeb. They have fame, money, and more money. And Hilton is the best of the worst…someone who has a ton of money and makes a ton of money for doing nothing.

    That, these days, is the real American Dream.


  17. Unvarnished Truth Says:

    Poor ole misunderstood Saddam.


  18. Zippy the Other Pinhead Says:

    Exactly what is the fight against al-Qaeda? A physical war isn’t ever going to win an idological battle no matter what you call it.

    Comment by MsJoanne — June 25, 2007 @ 1:44 pm

    It’s even worse than that, MsJ — this “war on terror” is also nothing more than a repug talking point. One can’t have a war on a military (or paramilitary) tactic, so we can’t have a war on terror any more than we could have a war on cluster bombs or a war on shock-and-awe…

    By combining the two in allegedly waging war on a military tactic with a war on a non-country-based ideology, the bushniks are clearly confusing 41% of the people all of the time…


  19. spit take Says:

    Poor ole misunderstood Saddam.

    Comment by Unvarnished Truth — June 25, 2007 @ 2:05 pm

    Huh?


  20. MsJoanne Says:

    Fox “News” is the epitome of the dumbing of America. Any thinking person watching that can detect bull$hit, yet they still have an enormous market share. I don’t get it. But I never got Rush either. He’s a loudmouthed hipocrital drug abuser who rants, gets busted for abusing what one of his biggest rants was about, and it’s no problem.

    WTF is wrong with the people in this country? What would it take to open peoples eyes? I. Do. Not. Get. It.


  21. War4Sale Says:

    The most misinformed people are those who regularly watch Fox “News”:

    http://www.worldpublicopinion.org/ pipa/ articles/ international_security_bt/ 102.php?nid=&id=&pnt=102&lb=brus


  22. TheToonGuy Says:

    They believe, because (as right wing authoritarians) they so desperately need to believe this. They cling to it like a drowning man clings to a piece of driftwood. Without it, they’d have to question everything else they have unquestioningly believed in up ’til now.


  23. MsJoanne Says:

    Buck Fush, let’s not forget m12.

    PLEASE DONT FEED THE TROLLS. THEY HIJACK THE DISCUSSION.


  24. theswan Says:

    See, the dumbing down of American society by the media really works. If the kids need to learn, send them to school. And then throw the blame on the teacher that the kids know nothing. This is how America works. Certainly, TV can not be an educational tool in America.


  25. Man Says:

    Wonderful! I live in the stupidest, most ignorant country in the world. Woo Hoo!!!!

    And currently helping keep it that way.

    Nice to see the ‘intelligentsia’ keeping us smart with “Buck Fush” statements. You mensa types are so cute.


  26. Marie Says:

    Good grief!
    The number of uninformed numbskulls in this country is increasing!!

    It is embarrassing to be an American today.


  27. Katie Says:

    “If the kids need to learn, send them to school. And then throw the blame on the teacher that the kids know nothing. ”

    You can’t blame the teacher. Teachers in the US who try to teach their children what is really happening in this country end up in getting fired because some parent complains to the principal that the teacher “doesn’t like George Bush”, or something equally stupid. It is unfortunate that most children (including teenagers) get their political beliefs from their parents. Unless they are like me. I hated my parents so I decided that I would be the exact opposite of everything they stood for. They were racist right wing hypocrites. I think I turned out pretty good by becoming the exact opposite of what they were.


  28. Dale Says:

    And to make it even worse, another 33% have no clue who or what was behind 9/11.


  29. Dale Says:

    Teachers in the US who try to teach their children what is really happening in this country end up in getting fired because some parent complains to the principal that the teacher “doesn’t like George Bush”, or something equally stupid.

    No, it’s because a teachers’ job isn’t to impart their political views.

    It is unfortunate that most children (including teenagers) get their political beliefs from their parents.

    Right. Much better to get indoctrinated by the government.

    I hated my parents so I decided that I would be the exact opposite of everything they stood for. They were racist right wing hypocrites. I think I turned out pretty good by becoming the exact opposite of what they were.

    You believe whatever you’d like, dear.


  30. BARTLEBEE Says:

    We’ve got to stop polling in trailer parks.


  31. paland Says:

    Right. Much better to get indoctrinated by the government.

    That’s exactly what the neocon government wants. So that more kids can grow up to be cannon fodder for the neocon wars.


  32. Dale Says:

    That’s exactly what the neocon government wants. So that more kids can grow up to be cannon fodder for the neocon wars.

    Comment by paland — June 25, 2007 @ 3:39 pm

    What *I* want is for teachers to *not* present their own political views… can we agree that a teacher presenting his/her own views would be a bad thing?


  33. Larry from C Says:

    I think there’s a direct correlation between the 41% who believe Saddam was in cahoots with Osama and the 91% to 9% disparity between Republican and Progressive talkers on the radio.


  34. Dale Says:

    #

    I think there’s a direct correlation between the 41% who believe Saddam was in cahoots with Osama and the 91% to 9% disparity between Republican and Progressive talkers on the radio.

    Comment by Larry from C — June 25, 2007 @ 3:52 pm

    So your solution is… what?


  35. TerrytheTurtle Says:

    Comment by Larry from C — June 25, 2007 @ 3:52 pm

    There was also a poll a few years ago which sampled the populace by which news network they watched - can you guess which news network showed a statistically significant % of people above the mean who agreed that Saddam was responsible for 9-11?

    Then take a look at the % of soldiers in Iraq who are there to exact revenge for 9-11 - again, can’t put my mouse on the poll right now.

    And Dale: why is this important? It’s called the ‘big lie’ - Josef Goebbels - take a look.


  36. TerrytheTurtle Says:

    Today’s big lie - that Iran is behind everything bad happening in Iraq, Lebanon/Palestine(huh?), Afghanistan etc….



  37. Philly CK Says:

    Wonder if this could have anything to do with righties controlling 91% of talk radio perhaps?? I guess that and the fact that people are ignorant and somewhere along the line lost the ability to think for themselves.. sad.


  38. Dale Says:

    #

    Wonder if this could have anything to do with righties controlling 91% of talk radio perhaps?? I guess that and the fact that people are ignorant and somewhere along the line lost the ability to think for themselves.. sad.

    Comment by Philly CK — June 25, 2007 @ 4:13 pm

    Or maybe that 91% of the listening public *want* to listen to conservatives.


  39. SGT Higgins Says:

    #41 - Terry, I dunno, maybe you didn’t actually think anyone would click your link.

    But seriously, You’re getting your information and news from a liberal professor of economics and then passing it off as truth? You lose all credibility when your argument becomes….”But my teacher said so..”

    Prof. Michel Chossudovsky.
    He is an active member of the anti-war movement in Canada. He has been involved in the propagation of alternate theories regarding the September 11 terrorist attacks. An article he published on September 12, 2001 entitled “The Truth Behind 9/11: Who is Osama Bin Laden?” was one of the first to question the Bush administration’s assertion that Osama Bin Laden was responsible for the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

    The guy is certifiable.


  40. Larry from C Says:

    #40 Terry the Turtle…Leo Strauss believed in the “Noble Lie”. All Neo-cons are Straussians.

    from Wikipedia: (Leo) Strauss noted that thinkers of the first rank, going back to Plato, had raised the problem of whether good and effective politicians could be completely truthful and still achieve the necessary ends of their society. By implication, Strauss asks…whether it is true that “noble lies” have no role at all to play in uniting and guiding the polis. Are “myths” needed to give people meaning and purpose and to ensure a stable society?…Seymour Hersh observes that Strauss endorsed “noble lies”: myths used by political leaders seeking to maintain a cohesive society.

    Example of Neo-con “Noble Lies”
    * Iraq has WMD
    * Saddam and Osama are working together
    * The Oil will pay for the Iraq War


  41. Jay Randal Says:

    Some of those 41% married their sisters, or are the children of such unions, so they are brain-damaged genetically.


  42. angryvietnamvet Says:

    Lets face it. Americans are dumb. Particularly the lower income, less educated sector. They vote Republican, for gawds sake! That is just stupid. Voting for a warmongering party that could give a damn about the needs of the disadvantaged. So, I am not surprised that 41% are out to lunch on the Saddam/911 “connection”….gullible dumfuxs…..
    Who was it that said you will never be wrong by understimating the smarts of john q. public/usa? …or something like that.

    Dumb. Shameful. Disgusting.


  43. SGT Higgins Says:

    #49 - (Since the government has failed to fully investigate what happened on 9/11 others will step in and fill the void) — fully investigate?? You’re certifiable, too. Ummm, lemme break it down for you……It was all over the news all over the world. TERRORISTS FLEW PLANES INTO 2 WTC TOWERS, THE PENTAGON, AND A FIELD IN PA.


  44. TerrytheTurtle Says:

    #41 - Terry, I dunno, maybe you didn’t actually think anyone would click your link.

    But seriously, You’re getting your information and news from a liberal professor of economics and then passing it off as truth? You lose all credibility when your argument becomes….”But my teacher said so..”

    Passing what off as truth? I linked to an analysis that I found interesting reading drawing a parallel between the 2002 switch to ‘Saddam, Saddam, Saddam’ and ‘OBL who?’ that came out of the White House to build public opinion for war in Iraq and I merely note that I have noticed a similar ‘drumbeat’ for Iran in the media going on right now. The article is a collection of thoughts and links made by someone else.

    The guy is certifiable Are you his psychiatrist? Or maybe this is just your ‘gut’ again? Anyone who is interested will of course read the article, measure what he says on merit and maybe read further. You it appears can do nothing but smear the article and close your mind.


  45. SGT Higgins Says:

    #48 - Americans are dumb. Particularly the lower income, less educated sector. They vote Republican, for gawds sake! That is just stupid. —–
    Lower income families are more likely to vote Dem than Rep. Dem’s tell ‘em, “we’ll take care of you, we’ll get you food, programs, whatever you need. We’ll fight to raise your pay and stick it to your employer, not you. Oh, you ain’t from around here? Well, vote for us and we’ll let you bring your family here and by golly, we’ll feed them too.”


  46. Dale Says:

    #

    Lets face it. Americans are dumb. Particularly the lower income, less educated sector. They vote Republican, for gawds sake! That is just stupid. Voting for a warmongering party that could give a damn about the needs of the disadvantaged. So, I am not surprised that 41% are out to lunch on the Saddam/911 “connection”….gullible dumfuxs…..
    Who was it that said you will never be wrong by understimating the smarts of john q. public/usa? …or something like that.

    Dumb. Shameful. Disgusting.

    Comment by angryvietnamvet — June 25, 2007 @ 4:47 pm

    So the lower-income less educated sector votes Republican, in order to have their needs ignored? Does that make *any* sense to anybody else? Anyone?


  47. SGT Higgins Says:

    Dale - LOL , I agree. But that’s angry vet’s point…..that they are SOOOO dumb (How dumb are they?) they’ll vote for a party who doesn’t even like them. Lib’s will go to any length to make themselves look good….and when they don’t, well there must be a neocon conspiracy behind it.
    It’s pathetic.


  48. Larry from C Says:

    SGT…I don’t accept criticism from people who ignore facts. Ignoring facts may be a simpler way to live. And if that’s satisfactory for you then have a ball. For me its untenable.

    *I’ve never seen any evidence of a plane hitting the Pentagon. If you have that video I’d love to see it.

    *I need to know why WTC 7 was stacked with explosives and ready to be imploded prior to 9/11.

    *I need to know why several insiders in the Bush admin. refused to fly commercially in the months preceding 9/11.

    *I need to know why Condolleza Rice pretended not to have seen an important report on Al-Qaeda’s plans to attack the US in the Spring before 9/11. Then when threatened with subpoena suddenly remembered it.

    * My working theory is that Bushco knew Al Qaeda was ready to attack very soon and simply allowed it to happen, thus allowing the PNAC manifesto to be implemented. This scenario is just as nefarious as neo-cons actually being involved in the planning of the attack, of which, at this time, I’m unaware of any conclusive proof.


  49. Larry from C Says:

    What happened to my post in defense of Terry the Turtle’s Post? It just disappeared. All the posts are now out of order. #41 has shifted as have many others.


  50. Ret. Col. Jack Ripper Says:

    This is the result of corporate-controlled mainstream media and 91% radio saturation of right-wing talk. There is simply no other explanation for it.


  51. Parrotlover77 Says:

    That is uncomfortably high and shows that the so-called “Assault on Reason” is succeeding to a disturbing degree. How long before we start talking about how the “corrections” of history performed today are double-plus-good?


  52. jonny Says:

    ——–

    I’d support Progressives if they’d renounce their support of the destructive anti-male hate movement known as Feminism. Until then ….

    ——–


  53. tom baker Says:

    We’re #1!!!!!

    ….in being naive, misinformed, and proud of being not-very-bright!!!!


  54. Ret. Col. Jack Ripper Says:

    Poor little jonny. He’s just so afraid of women he can hardly make sense. Jonny, part of being progressive is supporting the idea that people should be paid the same money for the same work regardless of gender. Feminism is mainly about fairness in the workplace. Progressives are all about economic fairness. If you don’t agree that women should be paid the same as men if they’re doing the same work, you’ll never understand thing one about what it means to be a progressive.


  55. timeisart Says:

    Kids pay big bucks for an education they need in order to work for peanuts so they can pay off the student loan? Who has time to analyze the political landscape? Just go along and vote conservative because you want your job to be secured at any cost. Sicko II, Michale Moore? Most college grads don’t have an inkling of the relationship between the economy in general and the stock market, leaving them open to be savaged by brokers who advise them to stay in their risky 401K investments for the long run, which ensures the brokers will be the ones who retire well off.


  56. owlbear1 Says:

    Hey! That matches the percentage of Americans that are ‘Functionally Illiterate’.


  57. justme Says:

    Col. Jack,

    Take it easy on little jonny, he’s just scared of the po-po. You know, he thinks they’re weird and icky and probably have cooties. Besides, he’s never actually seen a real one.


  58. Jake Says:

    Well, it IS possible that Saddam Hussein’s regime in Iraq was directly involved in planning, financing, or carrying out the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001 but he destroyed the evidence. We know Saddam Hussein’s regime in Iraq was directly involved in planning, financing, or carrying out the terrorist attacks in Israel, for instance. Also, according to the final Charles Dueffler report, the U.S. has found chemical and biological weapons in Iraq — just not active stockpiles. Next polling question?


  59. Martin Gifford Says:

    Osama bin Laden must be overjoyed!

    He hated Saddam and considered him an infidel and wanted him toppled in the hope of establishing an Islamist government in Iraq. On the other hand, Saddam was against Islamist governments.

    But 41% of Americans think Saddam and OBL were on the same team!

    Americans need to distinguish between the free market and politics. In the free market it’s okay to hype your product, but in politics you should be forced to tell…

    The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

    So help you God.

    BTW, isn’t deception a sin or something?


  60. SGT Higgins Says:

    #56 - Most college grads don’t have an inkling of the relationship between the economy in general and the stock market — Well, they don’t really come out of college with an inkling about much of anything based in reality at all. Their days are spent as activists against the ‘administration’. It’s a badge of honor among them as to who attended which/the most rallies. When college kids are graduating expecting to make 100K/yr. (and they are) then SOMEONE has filled their heads with nonsense and they are not prepared for the REAL WORLD. Spending their childhood having their self-esteem/sense of self-worth unrealistically inflated only sets them up for a really big smack of reality. And then who do they blame? The teachers who told them they were the most specialest? The coaches who deemed it important to make ‘everyone a winner’? Nope! They blame the establishment for ‘letting it happen’. You raise kids to not know what losing feels like, then they’ll never be self-aware enough to realize that they are indeed losers.


  61. SGT Higgins Says:

    # 60 - BTW, isn’t deception a sin or something?
    Comment by Martin Gifford

    Depends on who you ask. In Islam and the LDS church, deception is perfectly acceptable. As long as its not one of ‘your own’. LDS believes it’s OK to deceive, bilk, and manipulate ‘Gentiles’ (Utah = Some of the highest levels of white-collar crime) and Islam teaches that deceiving ‘Non-believers’ is okey dokey.


  62. Jason Baddo Says:

    #4 Wonderful! I live in the stupidest, most ignorant country in the world. Woo Hoo!!!!

    How right you are……join me in Europe. Yes, we have problems but widespread stupidity & ignorance is not on the same level as Amerika


  63. Jason Baddo Says:

    #20 WTF is wrong with the people in this country? What would it take to open peoples eyes? I. Do. Not. Get. It.

    Mybe nice vivid pictures of American soldiers picture getting pulverized in Iraq. You know, the GI standing there in his boots looking tense & one minute later he’s just just a pink mist after the IED gets him. A nice prime time video of that would perhaps bring Americans to their senses but highly doubtful.



Jump to Top

About Think Progress | Contact Us | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy (off-site) | RSS | Donate
© 2005-2008 Center for American Progress Action Fund
View Most Popular

Advertisement

Visit Our Affiliated Sites

image image
What We're About

Featured

image
Subscribe to the Progress Report




Got a hot tip?
Have a hot news tip? We'd love to hear from you. Use the form below to send us the latest.

Name:
Email:
Tip:
(required)



Reports

imageTopic Cloud


imageArchives


imageBlog Roll