Hussein Link to 9/11 Lingers in Many Minds

[Rhiannon12866]

Nearing the second anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, seven in 10 Americans continue to believe that Iraq's Saddam Hussein had a role in the attacks, even though the Bush administration and congressional investigators say they have no evidence of this.

Sixty-nine percent of Americans said they thought it at least likely that Hussein was involved in the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, according to the latest Washington Post poll. That impression, which exists despite the fact that the hijackers were mostly Saudi nationals acting for al Qaeda, is broadly shared by Democrats, Republicans and independents.

The main reason for the endurance of the apparently groundless belief, experts in public opinion say, is a deep and enduring distrust of Hussein that makes him a likely suspect in anything related to Middle East violence. "It's very easy to picture Saddam as a demon," said John Mueller, a political scientist at Ohio State University and an expert on public opinion and war. "You get a general fuzz going around: People know they don't like al Qaeda, they are horrified by September 11th, they know this guy is a bad guy, and it's not hard to put those things together."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A32862-2003Sep5.html?referrer=email

[Rhiannon12866]

1. I heard on the news, tonight, that this is still the case

70% of the American people still believe that Saddam Hussein was responsible for 9/11. Why? Because George Bush* told them so, that's why. This was his reason, second to the elusive WMDS, to launch an unprovoked attack on a nation we had bombed back to the stone age during the ``first'' Gulf War. As recently as last Sunday, Dick Cheney said the very same thing. Today, Bush* said that this was not so, that there was no connection. After all these months of lies, is anybody paying attention to this sudden reversal? I seriously doubt it. The American people will persist in believing this, just as the majority believes that Saddam's supposed WMDs have already been found. What a sad commentary on the American leadership, the ``liberal'' media and the attention span of most Americans.:-(

[Ouabache]

2. 1984 Doublethink --from another thread

I saw this distlled in another thread by someone familiar with the novel 1984. Sorry I forgot who that is, so some of that is below with a few observations of my own thrown in to boot.

Two contradictory facts can be held as truth, depending on which one the maximum leader signifies is currently the "operative truth".
Since so many of the Bush camp-followers are "true believers" as described by Eric Hoffer in a book I remember reading ages ago, this is not an exercise in cognitive dissonance for them at all. They merely switch to the curently operative truth.
I think the keys to it are:

1. excellent propaganda dissemination(Faux et al.)
2. a cognitive system that uses belief and faith as opposed to reason.

Remember when the Nixon Whitehouse throughout the Watergate era would issue contradictory updates and declare that previous statements were "inoperative" ? They were still trying to maintain a logical, reasoned approach to the world. And, of course it unravelled.

What worries me about the Bushies is that this break from the past is totally illogical but they aren't worried about spinning a logical inconsistency because theirs is a 'faith-based' White House, so they and their most devoted followers can just ignore the previous constructs and switch to the currently "operative" belief. What's scary is that they can switch back if needed from their point of view, as well. It is totally delusional and out of touch with reality. (The ability to do this depends on the propaganda remaining excellent.)

We see it for what it is. A large part of the population will just go on auto-pilot for it because it "computes" so badly, and they can't face it. (the "good" Germans)

Where we end up is anybody's guess at this point.

[Rhiannon12866]

3. Thanks, sinookas, for your thoughtful response

I must admit that I really don't completely get it. Maybe I just don't have the ``faith'' that Bush* and Cheney do. To me, he is simply lying. I realize that the American people aren't paying close attention, but you'd think they would notice a complete reversal like this. I will try to get my mind around what you are saying, but maybe I don't really want to see things from a Bush* perspective!
:scared:

As for Cheney, I read an article the other day in The Washington Post in which he was quoted as telling, what were to me, a whole slew of lies! He asserted again that Mohammed Atta met with Iraqi intelligence before 9/11, even though the FBI has proof that he was in Florida at the time. And he said again, I kid you not, that Iraq was seeking to buy uranium from Africa! How could anyone let that one slip by!:grr:
Here is the link, if you're interested:

Bush Team Stands Firm on Iraq Policy
Cheney Defends U.S. Actions In Bid to Revive Public Support

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10734-2003Sep14.html?referrer=email

Quite awhile ago I did read an analysis of Bush* by a qualified psychiatrist. She pretty much came to similar conclusions, that he was not quite sane. I can find the link if you're interested. As for where we will end up, I don't at all like where we are and still cannot believe that we ever arrived here. Who would have imagined that a ``selected'' president, with no mandate, could have squandered the good will engendered by 9/11, gotten away with defying the Constitution, railroading Congress, bankrupting the treasury, and launching an unsupported, illegal attack on a third world nation?! I still can't. If we don't replace him and his cabal, and quickly, I just cannot see America surviving as the country we know and love.;(