Recent Polling Shows Majority of Americans Still Believe Iraq Supported Al Qaeda, Says PIPA

6/16/2004

From: Steven Kull of University of Maryland Program on International Policy Attitudes, 202-232-7500; Web: http://www.pipa.org

COLLEGE PARK, Md., June 16 -- According to a report released by the 9/11 commission, there is "no credible evidence" that the Iraqi government under Saddam Hussein was working closely with the al Qaeda terrorist organization. In a PIPA/Knowledge Networks poll conducted in late March 2004, 57 percent believed Iraq was substantially supporting al Qaeda or was directly involved in the 9/11 attacks. This is virtually unchanged from earlier polling dating back to February 2003. In March 2004, 45 percent even believed that the U.S. has found clear evidence of Iraqi links to al Qaeda. Despite statements by several experts, a plurality of 47 percent believed experts mostly agree Iraq was providing substantial support to al Qaeda with 35 percent believing the experts are evenly divided on the question.

These beliefs are highly related to support for the war. Among those who believed that Iraq was providing support to al Qaeda, 70 percent said that going to war with Iraq was the right decision and 54 percent said it was the best thing to do. Among those who did not have such a belief, only 35 percent said it was the right thing and 22 percent said it was the best thing to do.

Beliefs about Iraq and perceptions of what experts are saying about Iraq were highly related to respondents' intentions to vote to re-elect the president. Among those who believed that Iraq supported al Qaeda, a majority of 57 percent said they would vote for President Bush, while among those who did not believe in such links, a strong majority of 68 percent, said they would vote for Sen. Kerry.

To view related reports and questionnaires, visit: http://www.pipa.org

The polls were fielded by Knowledge Networks using its nationwide panel, which is randomly selected from the entire adult population and subsequently provided Internet access. For more information about this methodology, go to http://www.knowledgenetworks.com/ganp. Funding for this research was provided by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and the Ford Foundation.