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Zogby: 65% of Republicans Still Think Saddam did 911
Zogby.com
September 5, 2006

9/11 + 5 finds a nation badly divided as GOPers back U.S. war on terror, wiretapping, and Saddam's role in 9/11; Dems, Indies suspicious of all three

Five years after 9/11, the bitter division between Republicans and Democrats on key issues is as intense as ever, with the two at loggerheads over the War in Iraq, wiretapping and surveillance, and what role, if any, Saddam Hussein played in the 2001 terror attacks, new polling by Zogby International shows.

The dramatic polarization highlighted by the fifth anniversary of the terror attacks in New York and Washington comes as a bitter midterm election season looms over control of both houses of Congress. The lack of national unity on the issue stands in stark contrast to the near–universal feelings of goodwill that stretched across American political lines immediately after the attacks.

The Zogby America telephone poll of 1,014 likely voters conducted over Labor Day weekend finds members of the two parties diametrically opposed on key issues, while independents line up more closely to Democratic viewpoints.

In one key measurement in the survey, a 58% majority says the Iraq War has not been worth the loss of American lives, while 36% say it has. But the partisan breakdown shows a very different story. Among Republicans, 58% say the war has been worth the cost in lives, while among Democrats, just 20% hold this view—a number that improves to 28% among independents.

Do you agree or disagree that the War in Iraq has been worth the loss of American lives?

OVER-ALL

DEM

GOP

IND

Agree

36%

20%

58%

28%

Disagree

58%

78%

32%

66%

The question of whether the war has been worth the loss of American lives finds stark differences on a number of fronts—respondents aged 30 to 49 are much more inclined to believe the war worth the cost than their peers in other groups, although men and women see eye-to-eye on the question. Residents of large cities are least likely to believe the war worth its costs, while small-city residents are most likely to believe the war's human costs justified.

The division is starker, though, on the question of whether expanding the War on Terror by invading Iraq was the right decision. There, 49% say the invasion was the right decision, while 50% disagree. While the nation is completely split on the question, there is a clear partisan component to those views, with 82% of Republicans saying the decision was the right one, while 77% of Democrats and 60% of independents disagree.

Civil Liberties Highlight Differences

Questions tied to civil liberties also generate significant differences between Republicans and Democrats, again with independents aligning more readily with Democrats. Asked if they would favor or oppose a number of different specific methods to combat terror, the partisan division is clear in most questions.

Would you favor allowing these methods if it meant increased protection from terrorist acts?*

OVER-ALL

DEM

GOP

IND

Allowing video surveillance of public places

80%

77%

87%

74%

Allowing your purse, handbag, briefcase, backpack, or packages to be searched at random anywhere

55%

45%

66%

52%

Allowing regular roadblocks to search vehicles

48%

38%

62%

44%

Allowing your car to be searched at random

45%

37%

60%

36%

Allowing your telephone conversations to be monitored

37%

20%

56%

34%

Allowing your mail to be searched at random

36%

26%

49%

31%

*Percent agreeing with method reported

The series of questions reveals that majorities of Democrats oppose all surveillance methods except video surveillance of public places, while independents align with Democrats on this series of questions on all issues except random searches of purses, handbags, backpacks and other packages, where a narrow majority of independents are in favor. In all cases, however, independents track closer to Democratic percentages than the more stridently favorable views of Republicans. A majority of GOP voters, meanwhile, favor all types of searches, with the exception of random mail searches—but even on this least popular anti-terror measure, a narrow plurality of Republicans backs the measure.

Saddam Link to 9/11 Disputed

Half of American voters (50%) say there is no link between Saddam Hussein and the 9/11 terror attacks, while 46% believe there is a connection. However, just 37% of respondents in the poll agreed that Saddam was connected to the attacks and that the Iraq War was justified as retribution for his involvement, while 48% believed that there is no connection between Saddam and 9/11 and the Iraq War has diverted America's attention from the War on Terror.

Do you agree or disagree that there was a connection between Saddam Hussein and the 9/11 terror attacks?

OVER-ALL

DEM

GOP

IND

Agree

46%

32%

65%

39%

Disagree

50%

65%

30%

56%

As with other questions, the survey's queries about Saddam's reputed involvement in 9/11 show Democrats and Republicans holding opposite views. But, just ahead of the 2006 mid-term elections, independents are tracking closer to Democrats than Republicans on these questions.

Pollster John Zogby: "Five years after 9/11, the dramatic results from this survey are found in the different partisan perceptions of national security, and what people believe should be done to keep our country safe. Democrats and independents line up against the policies of the Bush administration, while Republicans line up supporting them.

"Most Republicans said it was right for the U.S. to expand the war on terrorism by attacking Iraq, that there was a connection between Saddam Hussein and the 9/11 terror attacks, and that they believe the government should have the right to conduct searches of personal property and telephone conversations to find terrorists. Most Democrats disagree on every point.

"If I were advising Democrats, I would tell them to energize their base on this issue. If I were advising Republicans, I would tell them to energize their base on this issue. The difference is, the President is doing this right now. The Democrats are not."

The survey of 1,014 likely voters nationwide, which also places President Bush's job approval rating at 37%, was conducted Sept. 1 through 5, 2006, and has a margin of effort of +/-3.1 percentage points.

For a detailed methodological statement on this poll, please go to:

http://www.zogby.com/methodology/readmeth.dbm?ID=1137

(9/5/2006)

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