Community | November 07, 2009 | 57 comments

Many still believe that Saddam Hussein was behind 9/11, and now we have some idea why

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SleepDirt
http://www.alternet.org/media/143731/many_still_believe_that_saddam_hussein_was_...

President Obama has had a hard time dislodging misperceptions about his health care proposal — those stubborn beliefs that there are death panels and free care for illegal aliens that don't actually exist in the legislation. Recent research about the way people defend their faith in false information, though, suggests calling out the inaccuracies may not be all that effective in converting the suspicious.

Sociologists at the University of North Carolina and Northwestern University examined an earlier case of deep commitment to the inaccurate: the belief, among many conservatives who voted for George W. Bush in 2004, that Saddam Hussein was at least partly responsible for the attacks on 9/11.

Of 49 people included in the study who believed in such a connection, only one shed the certainty when presented with prevailing evidence that it wasn't true.

The rest came up with an array of justifications for ignoring, discounting or simply disagreeing with contrary evidence — even when it came from President Bush himself.

"I was surprised at the diversity of it, what I kind of charitably call the creativity of it," said Steve Hoffman, one of the study's authors and now a visiting assistant professor at the State University of New York, Buffalo.

The voters weren't dupes of an elaborate misinformation campaign, the researchers concluded; rather, they were actively engaged in reasoning that the belief they already held was true.

This type of "motivated reasoning" — pursuing information that confirms what we already think and discarding the rest — helps explain why viewers gravitate toward partisan cable news and why we tend to see what we want in The Colbert Report. But when it comes to justifying demonstrably false beliefs, the logic stretches even thinner.

By the time the interviews were conducted, just before the 2004 election, the Bush Administration was no longer muddling a link between al-Qaeda and the Iraq war. The researchers chose the topic because, unlike other questions in politics, it had a correct answer.

Subjects were presented during one-on-one interviews with a newspaper clip of this Bush quote: "This administration never said that the 9/11 attacks were orchestrated between Saddam and al-Qaeda."

The Sept. 11 Commission, too, found no such link, the subjects were told.

"Well, I bet they say that the commission didn't have any proof of it," one subject responded, "but I guess we still can have our opinions and feel that way even though they say that."

Reasoned another: "Saddam, I can't judge if he did what he's being accused of, but if Bush thinks he did it, then he did it."

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57 comments // Many still believe that Saddam Hussein was behind 9/11, and now we have some idea why

  • john12787
  • Ragan
    • 0
      Ragan  

    • This is what happens in a retarded population. These homosapiens also still believe the world is flat and that the fairies are going to save them from harm and make them rich in heaven.

    • 2 years ago
  • Ragan
    • 0
      Ragan  

    • You are quite right Varex-scythe and when the original bunch of sad excuse for humans arrived here in the new colony, they were kept alive by the native Americans and to show their gratitude they started killing off the Indian ppopulation. It was the first genocide and ethnic cleansing in the new world and they have been doing it ever since. And those original settlers took over the country and now we have the same criminals leading us allways down the path of crime. and no one to stop them.

    • 2 years ago
  • scbarby
  • SleepDirt
    • 0
      SleepDirt  

    • Then WTC owner or lessee Larry Silverstein claims the fire Dept. 'pulled' WTC7.

      Not possible. Fire depts. don't 'pull' (demolish) buildings. It takes two to three weeksat the least to engineer and install demo to safely take down a building of that size with the risk of sidewards toppling and you can't manage it while it's on fire.

      What's more, Silverstein reaped one billion $$ in insurance payouts from this event.

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WYdAJQV100

    • 2 years ago
  • sugarlilly
    • 0
      sugarlilly  

    • we're finally pinning down the malleability of the human mind to believe what its told without absolutely no rationality behind it. isn't this what all, or at least most, of human suffering boils down to across history?

    • 2 years ago
  • WhiteNoise
  • WakeUpPeople
    • 0
      WakeUpPeople  

    • This is why FOX "news" runs with a story before they bother to fact check. Once you get the misinformation out there, a large portion of society will hold on to the lie even when it has been discredited. Logic and reason have no impact on these people. The lie supports their belief system, so they trust it.

      This reminds me of the scene in "Doubt" when the priest tells the story about gossip. He equates the gossip to taking a a pillow to the roof and cutting it open so the feathers fly everywhere. He then asks the gossiper to retrieve all of the feathers, but they say they cannot, thus the moral of his story. You can't take back a lie once it spreads. The damage has already been done.

    • 2 years ago
  • SleepDirt
  • thewallisgirl
  • PressCore
    • 0
      PressCore  
    • Image

    • There are no less than 2 separate, though directly related Documentaries featured on the History channel related to this news article which all you Current.com readers owe to yourself to review. One is entitled Star Wars: The Legacy Revealed. And there is another related to Star Wars' role in the cultural history of the USA . Both of them have one astonishing thing in common. They both depict Dub' ya Bush as Adolph Hitler. Yes, no mincing words. They proved that George W. Bush Jr. was the Adolph Hitler of our time. How ? They first featured Adolph Hitler's infamous speech to the German Congress of the 1930s upon which George Lucas based his Star Wars saga. Then they made an A/B comparison to it by presenting the video of George Bush Jr.'s speech to Congress in 2001 calling for the enactment of the Patriot Act. Both Hitler's & Bush's speeches hinged on one central premise: "whoever isn't with us, is against us, and for the terrorists/jews " That appeal to emotion was calculated to provide both with a Tsunami of mass hysteria that would give them the usurpation of sweeping powers they needed to subvert their Democracies, and establish a Fascist war machine in its place. No appeal to reason was possible after that. Nor any calm, rational debate. It was like someone dousing a fire with a bucket of water, only at night as if to say lights out. What honest, rational person can say we haven't been in a dark age from 2000-2008 because of those 2 weapons of mass destruction: Bush/Cheney ? The History channel chimed in with a scene from Star Wars 4 or 5 after that Hitler/Bush comparison. It was the scene in which Natalie Portman says: "So this is how Liberty dies, with a thunderous standing applause " The news article featured here actually does deal with a social psychology principle dating back to the 1950s when a behavioral scientist named Festinger coined his theory of "cognitive dissonance" after performing an experiment. When the truth is hidden from the masses, it becomes a scarce commodity. Because though there will always be honest people of conscience to demand the truth eg 9/11 advocates like Charlie Sheen..There will always be clowns as morally bankrupt as cows or sheep grazing in a field. Unless they're directly attacked, they will ignore any threat to the point they will rationalize no threat can exist. In "This is America, that CAN'T happen here" or "Well, if Bush claims that , then it must be true." The inference here is difficult to miss. Bush, though afflicted with delusions of grandeur, can be to the even more delusional as infallible as God is.( And if Mad King George wants to claim he has the divine right of kingship, who are we mere mortals to argue that ??? We know that any Democracy can only survive so long as there are a majority of voters who care enough to be well informed enough to recognize the truth when they see it. That is why social Internet news organizations/communities like Current.com exist. Only yesterday I saw evidence of a Murder some 46 years old finally come to light. One of the Dallas,Texas grassy knoll shooters (dressed as a cop) firing his weapon to assassinate John F.
      Kennedy. I never thought I'd live long enough to see the evil face of his real assassin. But I knew from the exit wounds there had to be multiple shooters. The
      bastard may be croaked. But at least I got the chance to see that devil's face. The truth will out, as they say. Like a bubble of air surfacing slowly from an ocean's weight of pressure to keep it suppressed, it will surface. The more of us
      who burn to know the truth, the faster it will expose itself, so that we can do whatever is necessary to make it prevail. No Truth, no Justice. No Justice, no Peace. Those words might sound to Californians as recent as 1992 with people chanting during the trial of the assailants of Rodney King. But they go back to the history of Cochise & Geronimo of the Apache nation in Arizona contending
      with murderous,hate criminal whites.

    • 2 years ago
  • artemis6
    • 0
      artemis6  
    • PressCore:

      I always thought that about star wars , but Mr Lucas can never admit to it .... Yet I suspect other TV shows are used to harness the lust for aggression in the young men of today . An authentic artist may not get promoted ... Do you recall "firefly" ?

    • 2 years ago
  • WhiteNoise
    • 0
      WhiteNoise  
    • Image

    • Can I suggest we back up from the brick & mortar for a minute and take it from the start into the political realm ?

      Check this text & video from Greg Palast about the role bestowed on the CIA & FBI in this tragedy...

      UNCLE SAM'S DILDO
      http://current.com/items/91388809_uncle-sams-dildo.htm

      This a mystery wrapped into an enigma JFK gestalt type of a thing so let's peel this onion one layer at the time shall we ;)

      Most pressing...

      The truth is, we're not in Afghanistan to stop al Qaeda's US attackers, because they weren't "based" there in the first place, and their leaders are not there now.

      So, why are we now re-invading Afghanistan?

    • 2 years ago
  • Allorno1
  • JollyGoodFelon
    • 0
      JollyGoodFelon  

    • Bush and Rummy orchestrated the false flag attack on the WTC with guidance from Kissinger etc. It was part of the secret "operation big safari" invasion of the middle east. They needed a catalyst to galvanize the US population. Their plan failed miserably but the american people proved lame-o observers. Everyone can see that building 7's plane defected.

    • 2 years ago
  • keithponder
  • EdJoyProductions
  • FlexSF
    • 0
      FlexSF  

    • These are the bible toting imbeciles who dictate who we can, or can't marry. I am disgusted with the reality of these stupid pious sheep having power and control over my personal life.

      Fuck them!

    • 2 years ago
  • PureEm
    • 0
      PureEm  

    • You know those Science Fiction stories about a dystopia in the future where the human population have no freedom of thought and just believe anything the Government tells them? Yeah, that's already happened. Kudos to the last administration

    • 2 years ago
  • carmalite
    • 0
      carmalite  
    • PureEm:

      In the south, its been that way since the beginning. The rich white planters used racism to keep the Blacks and poor whites apart so they could exploit all of them. And the Baptist Church backs up the rich and teachess the dummies to be "servants' and to live in the sweet by and by.

    • 2 years ago
  • vesher
    • 0
      vesher  

    • omfg.

      this is not news tho, sadly. end of the story: get money. then maybe you would have some clout to convince unwitting neighbors as to the truth..

    • 2 years ago
  • wayseeker
    • 0
      wayseeker  

    • You're still trying to talk sense to the "fucking fools in Oklahoma"? I've given up on them. My neighbors keep electing Jim Inholf into office. What more can I say.

    • 2 years ago
  • carmalite
  • EmperorThan
    • 0
      EmperorThan  

    • I know these fucking fools in Oklahoma around me think he was. I constantly find myself reminds them that the Iraq War was MEANINGLESS and we lost over 4,000 American soldier's lives for nothing.

      And you bet your ass I tell them just like that too.

      We lost Afghanistan the day we went to Iraq and we lost our chance of ever catching bin Laden.

    • 2 years ago
  • Ragan
    • 0
      Ragan  

    • I'll bet they also believe that the world is melting. I was just lookinng over some of the post cards I collected during my i5 years in the Merchant Marine and believe it or not I have a post card from Thule greenland from the 1950's. There is an Eshimo standing along side of his Home (I think its his home) But there is not a bit of snow or ice. Thule is almost at the top of the world. There isn't too much above it. Now if the people believe that we the people are caausing global warming, just imagine that the inside of this earth is a boiling mass of Molten every mineral and metals and just maybe some of the heat is radiating through the crust of the earth as it is in Yellowstone Park. Yes ther is a large percentage of ignorant and gullible people who wouldn't have any idea of what truth and freedom is and they also have no idea of what a lying bastard, scam artist and conman George W Bush is. They havent read any books or newspapers to discover what the politicians have done to them. They still think we are after Osama Bin Laden and yet we haven't any reason to go for him. We are after bigger booty than Osama. Control of the wealth in Eurasia. That is why we must learn Arabic and Farsi.

    • 2 years ago
  • JonRaymond
  • tangibleparadox
  • EdJoyProductions
  • wayseeker
    • 0
      wayseeker  

    • When someone has already invested a great deal of their mental and emotional energy into a belief system they are reluctant or unable to see over the wall they have eventually constructed. This is why the religious extremest and political extremest do not hear the voice of reason and factual information.

    • 2 years ago
  • veronaaa
  • rodstradamus
  • samthesixth
  • snarly
  • artemis6
  • Maeveeo
    • 0
      Maeveeo  

    • Thats really funny to me on how this asshole ( Bush ) went after this guy & not the the guy who took out World Trade right after we got Slapped in the FACE thoes punks ( BUSH & CHENEY ) went to fuck with someone who had nothing to do with it !
      And you know what ? We Loss More Men & Women In The War Then In 911 & for
      what ah victory ????? Well we got em ! And never got the guy who took out the WORLD TRADE !!!!!! & now they sit home relaxing ! How could they sleep at night ?
      They should be SHOT the both of em for all the lies ( had people thinking this guy did it ) they were way off the mark & we went right along with the lie THATS WHY THE WORLD WILL NOT HELP US BECAUSE OF WHAT WAS DONE !
      And the war is not over ! DAMN BOTH OF YOU !

    • 2 years ago
  • somogibbs
  • AndrewH13
    • 0
      AndrewH13  

    • The only solid links between Saddam and al-Qaeda were found to be older and, frankly, minuscule compared to ours. Their main military supplier for over 2 decades, the US.

    • 2 years ago
  • LowShred
    • 0
      LowShred  

    • Well, as we all know, it's best to point the finger at a dead guy. He can't defend his position. It's real easy to do this. I shall demonstrate, "Hey guys, I heard Shakespeare was partly responsible for The Black Death. It doesn't matter that he was born 150 years after it happened. I read it on the internet, and the internet is law." Why would someone who's country that had already been invaded want to take part in an event that's just going to provoke a country into a shitstorm?

    • 2 years ago
  • samthesixth
    • 0
      samthesixth  

    • Complete BS. Bush never cited Saddam for 9/11. Stephen Hayes documented ties between Saddam and AQ, but that doesn't mean he was behind 9/11.

    • 2 years ago
  • Ajil
    • 0
      Ajil  
    • samthesixth:

      Ok do you understand what "motivated reasoning" means? This Stephen Hayes would not have bothered making the connection between Saddam and Al Qaeda unless it would lead people to believing Saddam supported the events of 9/11.
      Its obvious that you would rather defend the Bush administration and claim that those that got it wrong was their own doing, but you know like the rest of us, no one is buying it. People were manipulated, swayed and duped to back the Invasion of Iraq. Dont let your pride get in the way of progress. Accepting humility takes more courage then shooting off those that disagree.

    • 2 years ago
  • SleepDirt
    • 0
      SleepDirt  
    • Image
    • samthesixth:

      Washington Post: Bush Defends Assertions of Iraq-Al Qaeda Relationship

      Friday, June 18, 2004; Page A09

      President Bush yesterday defended his assertions that there was a relationship between Saddam Hussein's Iraq and Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda, putting him at odds with this week's finding of the bipartisan Sept. 11 commission.

      "The reason I keep insisting that there was a relationship between Iraq and Saddam and al Qaeda: because there was a relationship between Iraq and al Qaeda," Bush said after a Cabinet meeting. As evidence, he cited Iraqi intelligence officers' meeting with bin Laden in Sudan. "There's numerous contacts between the two," Bush said.

      http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A50679-2004Jun17.html

      That took about two seconds. Thank you very much.

    • 2 years ago
  • carmalite
    • 0
      carmalite  
    • samthesixth:

      Bush'speech writers used psychological techniques by placing key phrasess and words adjacent to each other to convince the gullible and ideological insane that Saddam did do 9-11, I know rednecks who swear that Bush said Saddam caused 0-11. They did not pluck that from the air.

    • 2 years ago
  • metalcookiesxy70
  • Prijedor
  • Tao_D
    • 0
      Tao_D  
    • Prijedor:

      Faith and truth are two very different things. There is no fact that shows the nonexistence of God. There is not set of proven facts to be laid out on the topic. That is why its called faith. Belief in God does not mean you ignore fact, it simply means you have faith. Frankly, God has no place in this discussion, be God real or imaginary.
      However these poor souls in this article are clearly ignoring hard facts. I imagine they have voiced opinions, and made important personal decisions based upon these misconceptions. This makes it very hard for them to see the truth of the matter, that they have believed a lie and made it part of there life.

    • 2 years ago
  • hammywill
    • 0
      hammywill  
    • Prijedor:

      Though this article focused on a singular topic, the point of the study was to reveal ways in which people think. The evidence wold suggest that this is a phenomenon that occurs across the spectrum. It has no political affiliation. I have noticed the same mentality with those who are left leaning thinkers like myself.

    • 2 years ago
  • SleepDirt
  • mjseydel
  • KSirys
    • 0
      KSirys  

    • We live in a country that's dominated by stupid people. Why are we still spending money on something we already know?!!

      Instead of wasting money, lets use it to educate the folks in America. Imagine if you ask those same 49 people if they know that our congress is run by rich people, they would argue with you instead of listen and learn the truth.

    • 2 years ago
  • kennymotown
  • Varex_Sythe
  • MoonLoon
  • Varex_Sythe
    • 0
      Varex_Sythe  
    • KSirys:

      I know Australia was originally colonized as a prison colony, but I was under the impression that when the United States first offered refuge for the poor, tired, your huddled masses, etc. that the British sent over a good portion of it's crazies too.

    • 2 years ago
  • kennymotown
    • 0
      kennymotown  

    • All I can say about this is, it's the same dimwhits that think with their captors. They and their brains have been kidnaped by an ideology that won't let them think for themselves. Evidence of the Iraq's having anything to do with 911 is just not there and they still try to justify the murderous tactics of their leaders cause being wrong would pose a perplexing situation that they have never encountered. The same people cannot say sorry or gees I guess I was wrong. When I was stationed in Germany I met an elderly German who still thought Hitler was right in everything he did. So as you can see there will always be people who cannot give up thinking they are right. You can see it in several posters here at current when you give them the evidence it's as if they never read it.

    • 2 years ago
  • SleepDirt
  • kennymotown
    • 0
      kennymotown  
    • kennymotown:

      Thanks SleepDirt, the idiots can't even be educated so why do we try. The only thing that makes sense about posting the truth is we do have people that come to current to get correct information and thats what are responsibility is. The lost minds are just a nuisance and just ignore them as they ignore the facts.

    • 2 years ago
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