November 11, 2008
Significant Minority Still Believe that Iraq Had Weapons of Mass Destruction When U.S. Invaded
ROCHESTER, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--While a majority of U.S. adults believe that Iraq did not have any
weapons of mass destruction when the U.S. invaded in March 2003,
surprisingly, a significant number of U.S. adults (37%) still believe
today that Iraq had such weapons.
These are some of the results of The Harris Poll®,
a new nationwide survey of 1,010 U.S. adults surveyed by telephone
between October 16 and 20, 2008 by Harris
Interactive®.
Specifically, the survey finds:
-
By 55 to 37 percent, a majority is not confident that Iraq will be
successful in developing a stable and reasonably democratic
government. This has not changed since July 2006 when a 56 to 37
percent majority also felt this way.
-
Half (50%) adults agree that invading and occupying Iraq has motivated
more Islamic terrorists to attack the United States. This is down
significantly from 61% who felt this way in July 2006.
-
By 57 to 39 percent, a clear majority does not think that invading
Iraq has helped to reduce the threat of another terrorist attack
against the United States. This is similar to the 58 to 41 percent
majority that felt this way in July 2006.
What the public believes to be true
U.S. adults believe that the following are true about the war in Iraq:
-
Seven in ten (70%) believe that the Iraqis are better off now than
they were under Saddam Hussein (slightly down from July 2006 when 72%
said this was true).
-
Fifty-two percent say it is true that Saddam Hussein had strong links
to Al Qaeda (down significantly from 64% in July 2006).
-
Just under half (48%) think history will give the U.S. credit for
bringing freedom and democracy to Iraq (down from 55% in July 2006).
So What?
Overall, as President Bush prepares to leave office in January attitudes
toward the war in Iraq remain negative even though there have been signs
of progress in that country. Less than half of the U.S. population
believes that the threat of terrorism has been reduced. Furthermore,
while many U.S. adults believe that Iraqis are better off now than they
were under Saddam Hussein, many are also not confident that Iraq’s
government will eventually become stable.
Methodology
The Harris Poll® was conducted by
telephone within the United States between October 16 and 20, 2008 among
a nationwide cross section of 1,010 adults (aged 18 and over). Figures
for age, sex, race, education, number of adults, number of
voice/telephone lines in the household, region and size of place were
weighted where necessary to align them with their actual proportions in
the population. Full data
tables and methodology for this study are available at www.harrisinteractive.com.
These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the
National Council on Public Polls.
J35169
Q705, Q710, Q715
About Harris Interactive
Harris
Interactive is a global leader in custom market research. With a
long and rich history in multimodal research, powered by our science and
technology, we assist clients in achieving business results. Harris
Interactive serves clients globally through our North American, European
and Asian offices and a network of independent market research firms.
For more information, please visit www.harrisinteractive.com.
Harris Interactive Inc. 11/08
Contact:Harris Interactive Inc.
Corporate Communications, 585-272-8400
press@harrisinteractive.net
Source:
Harris Interactive Inc.
