During the past month, a very interesting statistic emerged regarding how the average American citizen feels about Sept. 11, and the United States’ ongoing war against terror.
In late July, it was reported by a Harris poll that around 50 percent of U.S. citizens believe Iraq was in possession of weapons of mass destruction at the time that their country was invaded by the United States. Interestingly, in a similar survey given last year, only 36 percent of Americans thought that WMDs were present in Iraq. Why the change in popular opinion?
Perhaps one reason is the fact that the United States has yet to formulate an exit strategy for leaving the Iraqi nation. After invading the country, occupying it for more than three years and setting up a completely novel government, the United States is still unable to cope with civil war, and unable to send American soldiers home. Citizens may see the continued presence of U.S. troops as evidence that Iraq is still a threat, and weapons of mass destruction will soon be discovered.
The other 50 percent of us, however, realized long ago that WMDs were little more than a red herring. In 2004, Chief U.S. investigator into Iraqi WMDs, Charles Duelfer announced Iraq was not in possession of any such
weapons; in effect rendering the entire U.S. excuse for invading Iraq null and void. Of course, by that time it was much too late for the United States to comfortably pull out of a nation which had, as a result of the American invasion, experienced an entire redefinition of its government.
Not all U.S. citizens, however, have stayed complacent in the face of semi-truths uttered by the Bush administration. This week, it was reported that an organization called Scholars for 9/11 Truth is involved in ongoing research into the facts behind the infamous World Trade Center attack on Sept. 11. Recently, around 500 people involved in the Truth group attended a Chicago conference.
Group members, which include academics and other highly educated citizens, argue that certain materials found in Trade Center rubble, as well as the quick rate at which the towers collapsed, are not consistent with a simple plane accident. Scholars for 9/11 Truth seeks an explanation for these and other facts, and believes that the U.S. government may have the answers.
At a time when half of the nation believes in WMDs that the government itself admits were not present, and a growing number of citizens feels that the Bush administration itself may have played a role in 9/11, only one thing is for sure: The U.S. government has some
serious communication issues to work out.
In order for U.S. citizens understand, and to some extent trust the government, future political officials must abstain from presenting possible truths as absolute truths as Bush did in claiming that Saddam Hussein was in possession of WMDs. If the government can refrain from lying to its citizens, those citizens, such as those involved in the Scholars for
9/11 Truth will have less reason to doubt the integrity of the government.