Tulsa World: State poll respondents say bin Laden's death has no effect on safety
By RANDY KREHBIEL World Staff Writer
Osama bin Laden's name may have been synonymous with terrorism and the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, but Oklahomans seem to have considered him almost irrelevant by the time of his death earlier this year.
Sixty-two percent of those surveyed in late July and early August by SoonerPoll.com said bin Laden's death made no difference in protecting the nation from terrorism.
"I don't feel that killing him made any difference either way," said Arthur Conkright of Checotah.
"I don't think it benefited us and don't think it benefited them."
Only 22 percent said bin Laden's death made the country safer from terrorism, while 14 percent said they feared it made the country less safe.
That is in contrast to both a national poll conducted in early May, shortly after bin Laden's death, and a 2006 SoonerPoll.com survey.
In 2006, more than three-quarters of 1,060 Oklahomans who were surveyed statewide said killing or capturing bin Laden was very or somewhat important in the war on terror.
