Poll: Most think bin Laden planning another U.S. attack

August 23, 2006; 10:18 a.m.

Most Americans say Osama bin Laden is still a threat.  

As the five-year anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks approaches, nearly three-fourths of those responding to a CNN poll said they believe Osama bin Laden is planning another significant attack against the United States.

Seventy-four percent of the 1,033 adult Americans polled said they believe an attack is being planned, according to the poll conducted by Opinion Research Corporation on behalf of CNN.

CNN will broadcast the docuмentary "In the Footsteps of bin Laden" at 9 p.m. ET tonight.

In results released Wednesday, 44 percent said they believe he will not succeed. The other 30 percent said the attack would be successful.

Fifty-eight percent said it was either "very likely" or "somewhat likely" that the United States will be able to capture or kill bin Laden.

That percentage, however, has dropped from past years; in 2004, 66 percent of poll respondents said it was likely, and in 2001 the figure was 76 percent.

Respondents were nearly evenly split on whether the U.S.-led war in Iraq has hampered the nation's ability to capture or kill bin Laden.

Forty-seven percent said it was either "very likely" or "somewhat likely" that bin Laden would have been captured or killed had the United States not become involved in the Iraq war. Fifty-one percent said bin Laden would not have been captured by now regardless of the Iraq war.

The poll was conducted by telephone August 18-20 with 1,033 adult Americans. The margin of error for the question on whether bin Laden is planning another attack is plus or minus 3 percentage points.

The other questions were asked of a half sample, or about 517 people. The margin of error for those questions is plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.