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Poll: Public Favors Tribunal
By MICHAEL P. TREMOGLIE, The Bulletin
President Barack Obama’s decision to try suspected terrorists by military tribunal puts him more in line with public opinion on the topic said Rasmussen Reports in a press release issued on Friday.
Rasmussen said it conducted a survey earlier this year that found that 59 percent favored military tribunals for suspected terrorists. Just 26 percent thought they should be tried in U.S. courts, and 69 percent said the suspected terrorists at Guantanamo should not be given all the rights of U.S. citizens.
During the 2008 election President Barack Obama vehemently criticized Bush administration policies to interrogate, house and try suspected terrorists. He halted the tribunals shortly after his inaugurattion. But he recently reversed himself. Tribunals for some suspects will now continue.
Mr. Obama’s liberal base have been angered by his continuation of Bush policies. The declaration of “state secrets” in a rendition case brought by the ACLU in California, the denial of civilian court rights to Bagram prisoners, the refusal to release more photos and his equivocations about what to do with the prisoners in Guantanamo prison after it shuts down according to his order have all dismayed the Democratic Party’s left flank.
Rasmussen said President Obama’s decision to close Guantanamo was one of his first acts taken after Inauguration Day and their polling indicated then voters were evenly divided on the decision. But now, support for closing the prison camp for suspected terrorists has declined. Just 36 percent supported the decision in April.
Rasmussen said: “[I]n all polling on the topic of suspected terrorists, Americans say that safety is more important than fairness. Overall, in the natural tension between protecting individual rights and national security, 37 percent say our legal system currently worries too much about individual rights while 21 percent say it worries too much about protecting national security.”
Michael P. Tremoglie can be reached at mtremoglie@thebulletin.us
Rasmussen said it conducted a survey earlier this year that found that 59 percent favored military tribunals for suspected terrorists. Just 26 percent thought they should be tried in U.S. courts, and 69 percent said the suspected terrorists at Guantanamo should not be given all the rights of U.S. citizens.
During the 2008 election President Barack Obama vehemently criticized Bush administration policies to interrogate, house and try suspected terrorists. He halted the tribunals shortly after his inaugurattion. But he recently reversed himself. Tribunals for some suspects will now continue.
Mr. Obama’s liberal base have been angered by his continuation of Bush policies. The declaration of “state secrets” in a rendition case brought by the ACLU in California, the denial of civilian court rights to Bagram prisoners, the refusal to release more photos and his equivocations about what to do with the prisoners in Guantanamo prison after it shuts down according to his order have all dismayed the Democratic Party’s left flank.
Rasmussen said President Obama’s decision to close Guantanamo was one of his first acts taken after Inauguration Day and their polling indicated then voters were evenly divided on the decision. But now, support for closing the prison camp for suspected terrorists has declined. Just 36 percent supported the decision in April.
Rasmussen said: “[I]n all polling on the topic of suspected terrorists, Americans say that safety is more important than fairness. Overall, in the natural tension between protecting individual rights and national security, 37 percent say our legal system currently worries too much about individual rights while 21 percent say it worries too much about protecting national security.”
Michael P. Tremoglie can be reached at mtremoglie@thebulletin.us
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