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Majority Still Believes Saddam Supported Al Queda
ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- The Harris Poll conducted immediately before the news that the 9/11 Commission found no credible evidence that Saddam Hussein supported Al Qaeda finds that more than two- thirds of the public believe that he did so.When the United States and its allies invaded Iraq, President Bush enjoyed the overwhelming support of the great majority of the American people. One reason was that most people believed that Saddam Hussein had chemical and/or biological weapons and was developing nuclear weapons -- claims that have not been substantiated by any discoveries of such weapons. Another important factor was the belief that Saddam Hussein had supported Al Qaeda, who, of course, had planned and committed the terrorist attacks on the country on 9/11.The latest Harris Poll finds that more than a year after the invasion, a large 69% majority of the public still believes that Saddam Hussein had been supporting Al Qaeda. Only 22% believe that he did not support them, even though no clear evidence has been found that he was. And in all our surveys on the subject, most recently in May, a majority of the public has also believed that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.This is one of the results of a nationwide Harris Poll of 991 adults surveyed by telephone between June 8 and 15.Even though most people still believe in Iraqi links to Al Qaeda and Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, 51% to 44% majorities believe that "what we were told before the war about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction and Iraq's links to Al Qaeda" was misleading. And the public is equally divided, 48% to 48%, as to whether "the intelligence given before the war to President Bush" was accurate or inaccurate, with the largest group believing it was "somewhat accurate (41%)".The public is also split between the 50% who believe that the government "tried to present the reports of weapons of mass destruction" accurately and the 44% who believe that the government "deliberately exaggerated the reports ... in order to increase support for the war."Regardless of their beliefs about the justification for the invasion, a clear and growing majority (56% to 39%) of the public favors "bringing most of our troops home in the next year."As the violence in Iraq continues, and the formal handing over of sovereignty to the new Iraqi government approaches, three-quarters of the public think it likely that "U.S. troops will get bogged down" there, with 41% thinking this is "very likely".Harris Interactive is a worldwide market research and consulting firm best known for The Harris Poll, and for pioneering the Internet method to conduct scientifically accurate market research. Headquartered in Rochester, New York, Harris Interactive combines proprietary methodologies and technology with expertise in predictive, custom and strategic research. The Company conducts international research from its U.S. offices and through wholly owned subsidiaries-London-based HI Europe, Paris-based Novatris and Tokyo-based Harris Interactive Japan-as well as through the Harris Interactive Global Network of independent market- and opinion-research firms.Visit Harris Interactive at www.harrisinteractive.com Visit the Harris Poll Online at www.harrispollonline.comVisit HI Europe at www.hieurope.com"