|
 The poll reflects a U.S. public on edge after the massacre of 14
people in San Bernardino in December and large-scale attacks in
Europe in recent months, including a bombing claimed by the militant
group Islamic State last week that killed at least 32 people in
Belgium.
Donald Trump, the front-runner for the 2016 Republican presidential
nomination, has forcefully injected the issue of whether terrorism
suspects should be tortured into the election campaign.
Trump has said he would seek to roll back President Barack Obama's
ban on waterboarding - an interrogation technique that simulates
drowning that human rights groups contend is illegal under the
Geneva Conventions. Trump has also vowed to "bring back a hell of a
lot worse" if elected.
Trump's stance has drawn broad criticism from human rights
organizations, world bodies, and political rivals. But the poll
findings suggest that many Americans are aligned with Trump on the
issue, although the survey did not ask respondents to define what
they consider torture.
"The public right now is coping with a host of negative emotions,"
said Elizabeth Zechmeister, a Vanderbilt University professor who
has studied the link between terrorist threats and public opinion.
"Fear, anger, general anxiety: (Trump) gives a certain credibility
to these feelings," she said.
The March 22-28 online poll asked respondents if torture can be
justified "against suspected terrorists to obtain information about
terrorism." About 25 percent said it is "often" justified while
another 38 percent it is "sometimes" justified. Only 15 percent said
torture should never be used.
Republicans were more accepting of torture to elicit information
than Democrats: 82 percent of Republicans said torture is "often" or
"sometimes" justified, compared with 53 percent of Democrats.
(Graphic: http://tmsnrt.rs/1ShObx1)
About two-thirds of respondents also said they expected a terrorist
attack on U.S. soil within the next six months.
TERRORISM TOP CONCERN
Surveys by other polling agencies in recent years have shown U.S.
support for the use of torture at around 50 percent. A 2014 survey
by Amnesty International, for example, put American support for
torture at about 45 percent, compared with 64 percent in Nigeria, 66
percent in Kenya and 74 percent in India.
[to top of second column] |
Nigeria is battling a seven-year-old insurgency that has displaced 2
million people and killed thousands, while al Shabaab militants have
launched a series of deadly attacks in Kenya. India is fighting a
years-old Maoist insurgency that has killed hundreds.
In November, terrorism replaced economy as the top concern for many
Americans in Reuters/Ipsos polling, shortly after militants
affiliated with the Islamic State killed 130 people in Paris.
(Graphic:
http://polling.reuters.com/#!poll/SC8/type/smallest/dates/20151101-20151231/collapsed/true/spotlight/1)
At the same time, Trump surged in popularity among Republicans, who
viewed him as the strongest candidate to deal with terrorism.
Besides his advocacy of waterboarding, Trump said that he would
“bomb the hell out of ISIS,” using an alternative acronym for
Islamic State.
"You’re dealing with people who don’t play by any rules. And I can’t
see why we would tie our hands and take away options like
waterboarding," said Jo Ann Tieken, 71, a Trump supporter.
Tieken said her views had been influenced by the injuries suffered
by her two step-grandsons while serving in the military four years
ago in Afghanistan.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll included 1,976 people. It has a credibility
interval, a measure of accuracy, of 2.5 percentage points for the
entire group and about 4 percentage points for both Democrats and
Republicans. (Graphic: http://reut.rs/1Rp3x6C)
(Reporting by Chris Kahn; Editing by Richard Valdmanis and Ross
Colvin)
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
