Submitted by John Stauber on
"Sixty-nine percent of Americans said they thought it at least likely that [Iraq's Saddam] 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 poll's findings are significant because they help to explain why the public continues to support operations in Iraq despite the setbacks and bloodshed there. Americans have more tolerance for war when it is provoked by an attack, particularly one by an all-purpose villain such as Hussein. 'That's why attitudes about the decision to go to war are holding up,' [Andrew] Kohut said.