Public Agenda Special Edition: Terrorism

Introduction

Overview

Bioterrorism

Public Opinion

Sources and Resources

Public Opinion: The 9-11 Commission: Enough Blame to Go Around?
In the wake of the 9-11 commission hearings, surveys find the public saying there is blame enough to go around for the worst terrorist attack in modern history. A majority says there wasn't enough information to prevent the attacks. Yet four in 10 said they blame the Bush administration -- and roughly the same number blames the Clinton administration as well. And despite the commission's conclusion that there was no "collaborative relationship" between Iraq and al Qaeda, four in 10 Americans tell pollsters they believe Saddam Hussein had a direct hand in the attacks.

In the Gallup survey conducted June 21-23, after the final public hearing, 42 percent said they blame the Bush administration "a great deal" or a "moderate amount" for the attacks. That's up from 32 percent in June 2002. But 40 percent also said they blame the Clinton administration for the attacks.

In a Newsweek poll conducted after both Richard Clarke and Condoleeza Rice had testified before the commission (April 8-9), some 60 percent of those surveyed said the Bush administration "underestimated the terrorist threat" prior to Sept. 11. In the CBS News poll conducted March 30-April 1, 72 percent said the Bush administration was "not paying enough attention" to terrorism before Sept. 11 and 67 percent said the administration "could have done more" to prevent the attacks.

Even so, 71 percent also told CBS that the Clinton administration wasn't paying enough attention to terrorism and could have done more. Newsweek found a plurality (39 percent) who said both administrations were equally to blame (with 24 percent blaming Clinton and 18 percent blaming Bush). An even larger number, 79 percent, told CBS the FBI and CIA could have done more.

Yet the June Gallup poll also found that 59 percent said there wasn't enough information to prevent the attacks, while one-third said there was.

The most controversial conclusion of the last commission session was the panel's judgment that Iraq and al Qaeda did not have work together jointly, with Vice President Cheney saying there was a strong relationship between the two. (Read the 9-11 commission's statement.) Surveys have consistently found a substantial number of Americans believe Iraq had something to do with the Sept. 11 attacks, and many still do, although the numbers have dropped.

The Gallup poll found 44 percent believe Hussein was "personally involved" in the Sept. 11 attacks, down from 53 percent in December 2003. When the questions are phrased more broadly, the number who say there is a link also rises. The June 2004 ABC/Washington Post poll found 62 percent who believe Iraq provided "direct support" to al Qaeda, and Gallup showed 67 percent who said Hussein had "long-established ties to Osama bin Laden's terrorist organization."

The ABC/Post poll also found the public split down the middle on whether the Bush administration told the truth about links between Iraq and al Qaeda, one of the administration's justifications for the Iraq war. Fifty percent said the administration "told the American public what it believed to be true," while 48 percent said they "intentionally misled" the public.

-- by Scott Bittle and Jean Johnson