Various media reports of recent polling give the misleading impression that a majority of Americans approve of the harsh interrogation techniques used by the CIA after 9/11 and discussed in the recent Senate Intelligence Committee report. A key example is the December 16 article in The Washington Post with the […] Read more »
At the End of Afghanistan War, Most Doubt its Value
Fewer than four in 10 Americans say the war in Afghanistan was worth fighting – up from its low but still a broadly negative judgment on the United States’ longest conflict. Asked to consider its costs vs. benefits, 38 percent in this ABC News/Washington Post poll say the war in […] Read more »
Support for Afghanistan war rises as combat mission ends
After falling to record lows, support for the Afghanistan war has risen since 2013, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll that also finds majority support for a plan to keep thousands of troops in the country in the coming year. Overall, Americans remain downbeat over the war at the […] Read more »
CNN/ORC poll: Americans believe Sony overreacted to hack
More than 6-in-10 Americans believe that Sony Pictures’ decision to cancel the release of “The Interview” was an overreaction, according to a CNN/ORC poll released on Tuesday. But the U.S. public does think that the incidents which led to that decision were acts of terrorism on the part of North […] Read more »
Only Elite Norms, Not Public Opinion, Can Stop America from Torturing Again
… But these findings together indicate public opinion is not a backstop preventing the United States from torturing. Instead, mass opinion on torture is malleable and conditional. Support for torture in the early 2000s indicates that, in times of perceived security threat, people are more supportive. Unfortunately, those are exactly […] Read more »
Americans Have Taken Ownership of the CIA’s Interrogation Program
Asked about the CIA’s post-9/11 interrogation program, former Vice President Dick Cheney replied, “I’d do it again in a minute.” Many opponents of the program regard him as the relic of a time in which the United States was caught up in a national security panic. They are wrong: even […] Read more »