Seven years after 9/11: The world isn't convinced that Al Qaeda did it

Here's some food for thought: Seven years since the 9/11 attacks, large numbers of people around the world do not believe Al Qaeda was the perpetrator. An increasing number believe that the US was behind the attack so it could justify an invasion of Iraq.

That's the startling result of a poll of 16,000 people in 17 countries. WorldPublicOpinion.org conducted the poll, which asked who was responsible for the terrorist attacks in 2001. The Voice of America carries the story.

The results lead to two major conclusions. First, the credibility of the United States is at an all-time low. Second, a lot of people are extremely gullible and willing to believe anything.

Of people in the 17 countries surveyed, majorities in only 9 believed Al Qaeda was behind the attacks. Among the 17 countries, an average of 46 percent blamed Al Qaeda, and 15 percent say the United States government did it. That's twice as many as those who pin the blame on Israel.

"I think it is very striking, given that even bin Laden has publicly made statements affirming that al-Qaida was behind the September 11th attacks," WorldPublicOpinion.org Director Steven Kull tells the Voice of America.

"In Turkey, 36 percent have this view [that the US did it], Turkey, one of our allies. Palestinian territories, 27 percent have this view. In Mexico, 30 percent have this view, and perhaps most surprising of all, in Germany, 23 percent have the view that the United States was behind the 9/11 attacks," Kull says.

"Some people backed themselves into the belief, saying, 'Well, the US had an interest in this, therefore it is clear that it must be the case.' And that interest that is suggested is that the US was looking for an excuse to go to war with Iraq," according to Kull.

A lot of Muslims are still in denial. Muslims are the most likely demographic set to blame the United States, saying that the attacks were morally wrong and contrary to Islamic belief.

"So it is very hard for them to accept that a Muslim could do such a thing. At the same time, they do feel some resonance with many of the things that bin Laden says, so they feel some conflict about this," Kull said. "They are basically using a kind of defense mechanism to deny the strong evidence that al Qaida was behind 9/11, as a way of resolving the kind of internal conflict they feel."

"Broadly, I think what this tells us is that there is a lack of confidence in the United States around the world. It is striking that even among our allies, the numbers that say al-Qaida was behind 9/11 do not get above two-thirds, and barely become a majority. So this is a real indication that the United States is not in a strong position to, in a sense, tell its story. The American narrative is not as powerful in the world today."

Comments

[julie]

It was DENIED by bin laden. The "confessions" have been disputed as being authentic.