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Poll Reveals Public Perception; Iraq Had Weapons of Mass Destruction ©

Betsy L Angert


Public opinion polls are again called into question.  President Bush boasts he does not pay attention to these studies.  In 1999, candidate Bush criticized Former President Clinton and presidential aspirant Albert Gore for exalting such silly surveys.  As his numbers slip daily, Bush 43 reminds us, he has no time for following such tomfoolery.  George W. Bush is a man that thinks for him self.  Our resolute ruler trusts; he knows what is best for the country and for the world.  

Mr. Bush is not an anomaly.  According to a July 21, 2006, Harris Poll® most Americans prefer their personal perceptions to facts.  They are not necessarily convinced by news reports, if the perspective differs from their own.  Humphrey Taylor, Chairman of the Harris Poll, spoke of this in a recent interview with Journalist Bob Garfield of “On the Media” fame.  In this dialogue Mr. Taylor proclaimed, currently fifty percent of Americans are convinced; Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.  They believe this despite all evidence to the contrary.
In a 16-month investigation, costing $900-million-plus, U.S. inspectors, from the Iraq Survey Group concluded, “Iraq had effectively dismantled its chemical, biological, and nuclear arms programs in 1991.”  However, this mattered not to 50% of the general public.

In a 2002 to 2003 investigation, United Nations inspectors found there was no trace of the banned armories in Iraq.  Nevertheless, Americans chose not to acknowledge this finding.  

Taylor claimed cognitive dissonance set in.  Citizens were not comfortable when confronted with information that conflicted with what they wished to perceive as reality.  

Apparently, Americans, along with the rest of the humanity, are known to transform facts to suit their fiction.  There are moments when photographs and personal accounts weigh on the minds of many and opinions do change.  According to Mr. Taylor, in February 2005, we saw such a case.  Then, only thirty-six percent of the United States public thought Iraq had a significant arsenal in 2003, the year the war began.  Actual facts and figures began to filter in.  The public was growing tired of this protracted war.

Then, circumstances changed.  Citizens were given reason to believe as they once did.  In June 2006, weeks before the most recent Harris Poll®, Republican Senator Rick Santorum, of Pennsylvania, and Republican Representative Peter Hoekstra, of Michigan, introduced information that may have influenced many and might have shaded the results of this study.  

These two revered Congresspersons persuaded the public; their personal support of the war was justified.  The combat-happy hawks revealed more than 500 munitions were located in the fields of Iraq; specifically “sarin and mustard-filled projectiles” were found.  Though the data was ancient, and the containers were no longer potent, the information proved to be powerful.  Propaganda often is.  

Reports of these missiles affected the public deeply.  For many Americans, knowledge of such armory was refreshing; it justified their earlier assumptions.  After hearing members of Congress espouse such statistics, many United States citizens concluded, the war with Iraq was necessary.  Given reason to believe again, the tide turned.  Americans again acknowledged there was reason for destruction.

Thus, in July, weeks after the Santorum/Hoekstra media circus, half of the respondent to the Harris Poll felt confident; weapons of mass destruction were abundant in Iraq before we began our “unilateral” attack.  Numerous individuals believed there is a significant armory then and these munitions might be available to serve the Iraqi insurgents well today, or is it Iran that is well positioned to strike.  

According to Chairman Taylor, conveniently, many Americans do not know the difference between Iraq and Iran.  When they hear that Iran might be building a nuclear arsenal, they are enriching uranium, or that Iran is a threat, Americans deduce, the same must be true of Iraq.  After all, to many US citizens, a Middle Eastern Muslim is a Middle Eastern Muslim, even when they are not.  Most of us have heard the words, “They all look alike to me.”

It is for this reason that contemptuous concepts thrive.  As Senator Santorum and Representative Hoekstra fumed, the media mentioned,

The Pentagon and outside experts stressed that these abandoned shells, many found in ones and twos, were 15 years old or more, their chemical contents were degraded, and they were unusable as artillery ordnance.  Since the 1990s, such “orphan” munitions, from among 160,000 made by Iraq and destroyed, have turned up on old battlefields and elsewhere in Iraq, ex-inspectors say.  In other words, this was no surprise.

“These are not stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction,” said Scott Ritter, the ex-Marine who was a U.N. inspector in the 1990s.  “They weren’t deliberately withheld from inspectors by the Iraqis.”

 Nevertheless, the narrative gained speed.

Conservative Commentator Deroy Murdock wrote of the Hoekstra pronouncement in his syndicated column.  This right-winged Journalist spoke of the same in an interview.  He stated, the media “didn’t give the story the play it deserved.”  Reactionaries gave the tale banner headlines.  Fox News led with saga of the stray missile shells on their evening broadcast.  Talk-radio hosts and their callers cultivated the information.  Neoconservative blogs were aflame with commentary.  The report of sarin gas explosives in Iraq solidified as it entered the minds of Middle America.

Those that initially supported the Iraqi war effort felt validated.  The not-too-silent-silent-majority experienced vindication.  Many in the United States were pleased as punch; their earlier assertions could again be considered accurate.  Never mind that they were not.  State your truth (big lie theory) often enough, and others will believe.

Thus, upon hearing the ancient claims of Santorum and Hoekstra, hawkish hysterics were able to believe they were correct, then and now.  Combat was clearly called for.  America needed to overthrow a lying regime regardless of how chaotic this crisis has been.  Despite the many innocent civilian lives lost, Rick Santorum and Peter Hoekstra gave Americans reason to trust; they were, right and correct after all.  

It seems, according to Harris Poll® Chairman Taylor, this phenomenon is not uncommon.  Facts be damned; the fallacy of fiction often flourishes.  People prefer their own perceptions.

In truth there are those that did and do appreciate there were not weapons in Iraq; there was no need to worry or war.  These individuals are identified as Democrats.  Humphrey Taylor explains,

We have a striking difference, first of all, between Republicans and Democrats — 74 percent of Republicans but only 29 percent of Democrats actually believe that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.  [There is an] increasing polarization in this country, and not only are the public polarized, they also tend to read and watch different media.  You almost have two different nations.

We live in different nations, different states of reality, and obviously different worlds.  There are billions of us all with our own truths.  This has concerned pollsters and pundits for decades; researchers have discussed this as well.  The way in which a question is posed could skew a thoughtful response.  Canvassers ask might one phrasing elicit a more valid response than another.  The quality of respondents is an important consideration among examiners.  Are all answers created equal?  

According to this recent Harris report, none of these factors matter much.  What is most significant is apparent in the old adage; “reality is perception.”  What we believe is not dependent on facts.  Our judgments are individual.  These change little over time.  No matter what facts, figures, or specifics might suggest, humans trust what they think they know to be true.  They have faith in their own instincts.  However, many people know little and the reliability of intuition is questionable.

Another study, a Zogby survey, searched the minds of Americans and discovered

Three-quarters of Americans can correctly identify two of Snow White’s seven dwarfs while only a quarter can name two Supreme Court justices, according to a poll on pop culture.

Asked what planet Superman was from, 60% named the fictional planet Krypton, while only 37% knew that Mercury is the planet closest to the sun.

Respondents were far more familiar with the Three Stooges — Larry, Moe, and Curly — than the three branches of the U.S. government — judicial, executive, and legislative.  Seventy-four percent identified the slapstick act.  42% [of the public could identify] the branches [of government].

The pollsters spoke to 1,213 people across the United States.  The results had a margin of error of 2.9 percentage points.

Yes; reality for Americans is a strange and dubious study.  

It is doubtful that citizens in the Untied States know much more than those without access to twenty-four hour a day news reports.  In fact, it is probable that those in America know less than those elsewhere.

In a world where many are wired, more are disconnected from reality, or so it seems.  I say that acknowledging that I know nothing.  My reality is a personal perception.

Nevertheless, I do comprehend that the American public could be well aware of the “fact” there were no “weapons of mass destruction” in Iraq prior to our bombing a nation of innocents.  

I recognize that our countrymen could conceive of the fact that we are not safer as a nation.  Americans might realize that the Bush/Cheney Administration has done nothing to lessen the likelihood of terrorism.  Actually, they have increased it.

I observe that citizens of the US focus on the folly, just as we are instructed to do.  I witness a populace that follows our savvy and sensational leaders.  I am cognizant of the “reality” that Americans feel certain, destructive arsenals are everywhere.  I discern, we willingly submit to searches.  We take off our shoes, empty our pockets, and diligently keep our volatile toothpaste, perfume, and cosmetics at home when we travel.  I trust that we do this because we are truly informed.  We know the dangers.  There is a diabolical plot.  WMD’s are everywhere, in Iraq, Iran, even in our perceptions.

Perceptions and Polls, for those who wish to ponder further . . .

Betsy L. Angert Be-Think

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