(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Many people in the United States think the eventual capture or demise of Osama bin Laden will have no effect on global terrorism, according to a poll by Rasmussen Reports. 45 per cent of respondents think the amount of terrorism in the world would stay about the same if the leader of al-Qaeda is captured or killed.

Al-Qaeda operatives hijacked and crashed four airplanes in the U.S. on Sept. 11, 2001, killing nearly 3,000 people. In July 2004, the federal commission that investigated the events of 9/11 concluded that "none of the measures adopted by the U.S. government from 1998 to 2001 disturbed or even delayed the progress of the al-Qaeda plot" and pointed out government failures of "imagination, policy, capabilities, and management."

Afghanistan has been the main battleground in the war on terrorism. In October 2001, U.S. president George W. Bush ordered the invasion of Afghanistan, claiming that there would be "no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbour them." The conflict began after the Taliban regime refused to hand over bin Laden, prime suspect in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Bin Laden has not been seen publicly since the 2001, appearing only in several purportedly authentic video and audiotapes. On Sept. 7, a new video message featuring bin Laden was released. The al-Qaeda leader urged Americans to "embrace Islam," adding, "Iraq and Afghanistan and their tragedies; and the reeling of many of you under the burden of interest-related debts, insane taxes and real estate mortgages; global warming and its woes; and the abject poverty and tragic hunger in Africa; all of this is but one side of the grim face of this global system."

On Sept. 12, White House spokesman Tony Snow said that the U.S. government is still trying to capture bin Laden, but added that the war on terror was "not a war against one guy, Osama bin Laden. It is against a network."

Original Release from Rasmussen Reports

Polling Data

Will the amount of terrorism in the world increase or decrease if Osama bin Laden is captured or killed?

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