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Harris Poll Shows Many Americans Misinformed

I’m a little late on this one, but I think it’s important to point out. The Harris Poll that was released on July 21 has revealed some startling conclusions regarding the degree to which Americans are improperly informed of the goings on in Iraq. The first two sentences from the poll results are immediately below.

Despite being widely reported in the media that the U.S. and other countries have not found any weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, surprisingly; more U.S. adults (50%) think that Iraq had such weapons when the U.S. invaded Iraq. This is an increase from 36 percent in February 2005.

Can you believe that? You’re walking down the street, and half of the people you see think Saddam had nukes. You’re eating lunch at a restaurant, half of those people think we’ve uncovered some chemical weapons stockpiles in Iraq. How does that happen? How do people become that monumentally misinformed? And who are the 14% of people that didn’t think we found weapons of mass destruction a year ago, but now believe we have?

This finding was one of several I found shocking. Here is another:

Seventy-two percent believe that the Iraqis are better off now than they were under Saddam Hussein (slightly down from February 2005 when 76 percent said this was true).

Really? Some people have it better in Iraq now, but an average of over 100 Iraqi civilians have died every day over the past two months. Whether caught in the crossfire of the sectarian civil war or being at the wrong place at the wrong time with a suicide bomber, Iraqis are dieing at an extraordinary rate.

Just over half (55%) think history will give the U.S. credit for bringing freedom and democracy to Iraq (down substantially from 64% in February 2005).

This one is mildly understandable, if only because news of the civil war in Iraq hasn’t been widely recognized yet in the mainstream media. Senator Harry Reid was the first public figure to use the term “civil war” to describe what is going on in Iraq, and he did that a week ago. But Americans should be aware that the sectarian violence that is engulfing Iraq is by no means promoting freedom or democracy. Iraq is closer now to splintering into three separate states, divided along religious grounds, than it has been in the three plus years since we invaded. These theocratic states are not in the business of promoting freedom and democracy, unless, that is, you view Iran as a beacon of freedom and democracy.

Sixty-four percent say it is true that Saddam Hussein had strong links to Al Qaeda (the same as 64% in February 2005).

This one may give the president the greatest comfort. As long as he can convince the American people that Iraq was a frontline in our war on terror, the administration at least gets credit for its motivations being in the right place. The problem is that not only have no ties been found between Saddam Hussein and any portion of Al Qaeda, but plenty of evidence existed before the invasion (and even more has been unearthed since) that any such supposed collaboration was highly, highly unlikely to have ever occurred. The interests of Iraq and Al Qaeda conflicted on an overwhelming number of levels; the idea that they would work together simply because they both hated the United States was laughable. Alas, 64% of Americans believe some collaboration took place.

So what happens next? If Americans can’t be bothered to properly inform themselves of the biggest issues of the day, what hope do we have of developing a sufficiently knowledgeable electorate when election day arrives? I’m not sure I can answer this question. It definitely doesn’t give me the greatest confidence for November.