73% of Americans weak on terrorism
I don't know much about the polling organization that did this poll, but if it's correct, 73% of Americans believe terrorist detainees should have due-process rights.
When will the press and the politicians get it? Upholding humanitarian values is not being weak on terrorism.
When will the press and the politicians get it? Upholding humanitarian values is not being weak on terrorism.
The WPO Survey was conducted in the United States by Knowledge Networks, which interviewed 1,059 Americans June 27 to July 2. A similar poll was conducted in Great Britain, Germany, Poland and India.
Americans, whether Republican or Democrat, show high levels of support for giving detainees due-process protections whether they are captured outside or arrested inside U.S. borders. They also believe that the legal protections accorded terrorism suspects should be the same for U.S. citizens and non-citizens.
Respondents were asked about terrorism suspects captured outside of the United States who are not ordinary soldiers and were told that such prisoners had a number of rights according to international treaties, but that “some people say when someone is suspected of planning or committing terrorism, and is not a regular soldier, the person should not have certain rights.” Nonetheless in every case, support for legal protections was robust: 73 percent said such suspects should have the right to request and receive a hearing; 66 percent said their home government and families should be informed of their capture and location; 73 percent said their treatment should be monitored by the Red Cross or another international organization; 75 percent said they should not be tortured and 57 percent said they should not be threatened with torture.
posted by walldon | 11:56 AM
1 Comments:
The accurate "frame" is that those who are weak on upholding the rule of law are weak on terrorism -- because they are more concerned with what people think of them --playing the tough guy -- than actually catching terrorists. It has been reported that the Pentagon itself estimates less than 10% of the detainees actually were picked up by the U.S. with any indication of a connection -- an indication, not proof -- with terrorism. Rather, they were turned over by members of the Northern Alliance or Warlords for rewards. So why would we waste time, money and energy on innocent people. The first thing due process rights do, besides protect the innocent because it's the right thing to do, is protect the rest of us from our armed forces and police from wasting their time (and our tax money) on people who are innocent.
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