A Secondary Analysis of U.S. Public Opinion Polls about the War in Iraq
By
Lee B. Becker
Abstract
A CBS News Poll in November of 1998 found that 88% of U.S. adults said Saddam Husseinwould not “keep his promise to allow United Nations inspectors full access to look for weapons of mass destruction” (Survey by CBS News, November 16-17, 1998).
A Fox News Poll of registered voters the following month found that 51% thought the U.S. “should attempt to assassinate” Saddam (Survey by Fox News, December 17, 1998).
A Fox News Poll in October of 2001 (Survey by Fox News and Opinion Dynamics, October 31- November 1, 2001) showed that 61% of registered voters said it was very or somewhat likely that Saddam “was involved in the recent anthrax attacks.”
Time/CNN found a month later (Survey by Time, Cable News Network and Harris Interactive, November 7-8, 2001) that 75% of the U.S. adults said it was very or somewhat likely that Saddam “was responsible for any of the recent incidents involving anthrax.”
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