Posted on 12/15/2014 9:40:53 AM PST by SeekAndFind
One of the more irresponsible aspects of the reporting on the Senate Select Intelligence Committee’s long-awaited report on the CIA’s enhanced interrogation techniques is the prevalent suggestion that there is little debate over the efficacy of the tactics the report exposed, particularly among Democrats. A new poll suggests that there is a robust debate ongoing outside of America’s newsrooms over both the value of and the justification for the CIA’s interrogation methods.
While 69 percent of those surveyed in a recent CBS News Poll said they believe controversial tactics like waterboarding are “torture,” 49 percent also said they think that enhanced interrogation methods like those are sometimes justified – an slight increase from a poll taken three years ago. 57 percent said they believed the CIA when they claim that those tactics can often yield actionable information that can prevent terror attacks. Moreover, another 52 percent believe that the release of the information contained within the SSCI report will pose a threat to American national security. Only 36 percent say that “torture” tactics are never justified under any circumstances, and one-third add they think the SSCI report will not threaten American security interests.
Unsurprisingly, 73 percent of Republicans and 50 percent of self-identified independents believe enhanced interrogation is often necessary. Shockingly, however, only 54 percent of Democrats told CBS pollsters they do not think these tactics are ever justified. That indicates that there is significant, contentious debate over these tactics among the Democratic Party’s rank and file. None of that tension was reflected in the SSCI report by the Democrats who crafted it with the primary aim of servicing the preconceptions of the liberals who would later consume it.
The justification of these methods was not the only area in which CBS found conflict within Democratic ranks.
“More broadly, when asked if suspected terrorists should have the same legal rights as other criminal suspects, 56 percent don’t think they should, particularly Republicans (79 percent),” CBS News reported. “Forty-seven percent of Democrats say suspected terrorists should have the same legal rights, while 41 percent think they should not.”
CBS did not ask about the use of drone strikes on suspected militants that have resulted in the collateral deaths of hundreds of civilians. If they had, CBS might have found more uniform Democratic support for at least one counter-terror tactic.
This poll’s findings were perhaps predictable. With the rise of the Islamic State in the Middle East, a slow but constant trend in which Americans had begun to value their civil liberties over security concerns reversed itself.
The Pew Research Center’s polling showed that, in 2009, 58 percent of the public did not believe federal authorities had gone far enough in their efforts to protect the country while only 27 percent told pollsters federal authorities had “gone too far restricting civil liberties.” That figure flipped in 2013 in the wake of revelations facilitated by the defection of Edward Snowden to Russia. 47 percent told pollsters that the government had “gone too far” while only 35 percent still valued security over the safeguarding of their liberties.
As ISIS has dominated the headlines, and aspiring “lone wolf” militants around the globe look to this terror state for inspiration to carry out attacks on soft targets in the West, Americans once again are valuing security over privacy. By 50 to 35 percent, the most recent Pew survey found the public did not believe America’s “anti-terrorism policies” had gone far enough.
These trends suggest that it was perhaps an inopportune time for the SSCI to release its findings. One year ago, Americans might have been more amenable to introspection and self-flagellation over the early conduct of the War on Terror. Today, they are apparently more predisposed to extend to the government the benefit of the doubt.
Even Bob Schieffer wasn’t sure what to say about the whole scandal. He was hedging but not condemning.
What could have put an end to this is for torture proponents to have very explicitly described the previous instances where America has in fact practiced torture in either the defense of liberty or the pursuit of military victory.
Then asked the opponents of torture if they are opposed to [insert name].
Why tell the truth when they can say it was Bush's fault.
When you're dealing with people who will crash planes into buildings, blow up embassies, attack ships, etc etc...you do what you have to do.
McCain...We're better than that....You bet....
All those things the CIA did was better than what the damn muzzies have done to our nation.
Watching the media consistently fellate Obama like they did Bill Clinton is all the torture I can stand.
That made me chuckle too. ;)
The release of this report was nothing more than to sic the lawyer dogs on Guantanamo Bay to free more Muslims, no doubt from the order of the prince. Once again the media is running interference with fake polls. He intends to have them all released, one way or another.
LOL! I guess Americans are those that actually contribute to society.
THATS DOES seem to BE The Case
To the 36% who say it is never justified:
You are in the lobby of a 200 room hotel. Upstairs, your preteen daughter will be raped and killed in the next 15 minutes. In your possession you have a gold club and an accomplice of the rapist.
Still think torture is never justified?
People are so full of sh!t. When it becomes personal, that’s “different.” Liberals claim to be empathetic, but the torturer whose family is NOT at risk, but tortures because someone else’s family may be at risk exemplifies empathy.
so for the ‘moral high ground’ Democrats, its torture to waterboard a ‘freedom fighter’ captured with bombs strapped to his chest while on his way to a grade school or mall, but its ‘a right’ and ‘a choice’ to chop up babies in the womb,
I forgot to mention that you don’t know which one of the 200 rooms your daughter is in...
Demi’s are products of satan. Playing loud music to terrorists is torture, but ripping babies to shreds is OK.
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