Half of America believes it: Why the enduring faith in 'Saddam’s WMDs’?

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?col=§ion=focusoniraq&xfile=data/focusoniraq/2006/August/focusoniraq_August37.xml

NEW YORK - Do you believe in Iraqi “WMD”?

Did Saddam Hussein’s government have weapons of mass destruction in 2003?

Half of America apparently still thinks so, a new poll finds, and experts see a raft of reasons why: a drumbeat of voices from talk radio to die-hard bloggers to the Oval Office, a surprise headline here or there, a rallying around a partisan flag, and a growing need for people, in their own minds, to justify the war in Iraq.

People tend to become “independent of reality” in these circumstances, says opinion analyst Steven Kull.

The reality in this case is that after a 16-month, $900-million -plus (Ð700-million-plus) investigation, the US weapons hunters known as the Iraq Survey Group declared that Iraq had dismantled its chemical, biological and nuclear arms programs in 1991 under UN oversight. That finding in 2004 reaffirmed the work of UN inspectors who in 2002-03 found no trace of banned arsenals in Iraq.

Despite this, a Harris Poll released July 21 found that a full 50 percent of US respondents - up from 36 percent last year - said they believe Iraq did have the forbidden arms when US troops invaded in March 2003, an attack whose stated purpose was elimination of supposed WMD. Other polls also have found an enduring American faith in the WMD story.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

1. I like to think about the fact that he had them at one time,

courtesy of the U.S. and never sent them home to roost so to speak. I mean, he certainly had reason to. We would have had he dropped the tonnage on within our borders that we dropped in his.

[panader0]

2. Many people believe that Saddam hit the trade towers too....

[RebelOne]

17. My fundie neighbor believes that.

She is a really nice person, but I can't get it through her head that Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11. She all gung ho for the war. I have a bumper sticker that reads "Support our troops, bring them home." And then I have two ribbons. One reads "U.S. Out of Iraq." And the other one "Bring Them Home." She told me that she thinks they are unAmerican. Oh, well, nothing much you can do about people with mindsets like that. I have given up arguing.

[liberal N proud]

3. Because the office of propaganda did their job

The media which has served as the office of propaganda for KKKarl and bu$h co have done a very good job of selling their lies.

[ananda]

6. And a very good job of..

.. demonizing, ridiculing, and stigmatizing anyone who spoke the truth and challenged the propaganda.

[tabasco]

7. That's half the answer.

The other half is the millions of gullible people in this country.

[niallmac]

The media has immense power to shape opinion

but holds itself accountable only to the State which holds itself
accountable only to those with money and power.

[dogday]

4. Because they believe in the little black box

Everyone knows nothing but truth comes from it :sarcasm:

[blm]

5. Because corpmedia makes certain of it. They stay intentionally vague and

give "both sides" of the story equal weight, no matter what the facts say.

Just like they do about evolution and global warming, and Bush and Kerry's military records.

[rodeodance]

8. More importantly--Why is this number going up?

[FreeStateDemocrat]

9. Over half of US public is ignorant about world affairs. They have limited

or no critical thinking skills while still being opinionated and obtuse, a dangerous combination. Which, of course, is why the idiot was elected in 2004.

[Danascot]

10. There remains a sizable group

of people who have a hard time believing their government would lie to them. B*shco has done much to whittle away at their numbers.

[Danascot]

13. and an even larger number

who tuned out politics in disgust years ago. Remember, support for congress is even lower than B*sh's numbers. They just want to live their lives and be left alone. This is the same group who agree with the bumpersticker, "Don't vote. It just encourages them" and in the 2000 election believed there was no difference between Bush and Gore. It remains to be seen whether subsequent events have poked that particular sleeping bear enough to wake it up.

[sam sarrha]

11. if you tell a lie enough times you are a Republican. if you believe the

lie you are also a republican.

[spanone]

12. Half of the American people take their president at his word.

It's a shame that Americans can't do that anymore.

That is the TRUE EVIL of the bush* regime.

[Berry Cool]

14. People have an incredible ability to believe what they want to believe.

Never kid yourself about that.

[spanone]

15. I don't kid myself, Bush* has disgraced the Office he stole.

[RebelOne]

16. They are trying to hang onto a justification for the illegal war.