Majority don't care if KSM was waterboarded
A new national poll indicates that most Americans don't want to see an investigation of Bush administration officials who authorized harsh interrogation techniques on suspected terrorists, even though most people think such procedures were forms of torture.This is just more evidence of how out of touch the anti war left is about the war and national security issues. They have been yammering about this issue for years and most sane people would still rather do what needs to be done to avoid mass murder by religious bigots.Six in ten people questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Wednesday believe that some of the procedures, such as water boarding, were a form of torture, with 36 percent disagreeing.
But half the public approves of the Bush administration's decision to use of those techniques during the questioning of suspected terrorists, with 50 percent in approval and 46 percent opposed.
"Roughly one in five Americans believe those techniques were torture but nonetheless approve of the decision to use those procedures against suspected terrorists," says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. "That goes a long way toward explaining why a majority don't want to see former Bush officials investigated."
Fifty-seven percent of those questioned don't want Congress to investigate Bush officials who authorized those harsh interrogation procedures, with 42 percent calling for action by lawmakers. Fifty-five percent also don't want a similar investigation by an independent panel.
Investigations of the military and intelligence personnel who actually used those techniques during interrogations are even less popular. Nearly two out of three Americans don't want Congress to investigate the who carried out those procedures. Fifty-five percent don't want a similar investigation by an independent panel.
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I don't accept the premise that what was done was torture. But, I think people who are concerned about the discomfort of a mass murder like KSM have their priorities out of whack.
The Founders did not create America as a "majority rule" government. This may surprise the happy majority that "doesn't care" if Khalid Shiekh Mohammed was waterboarded. If they think their "not caring" makes it legal, then they are truly not Americans. In America, the majority can pass laws only within the limits of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. The Majority can not wake up one morning and vote that women have to stay at home, be quiet and wear a bag around their head - it would violate the Constitutional rights of the women.
ReplyDeleteIt should be a cause of great shame that the majority of our citizens have so little knowledge of what makes the American experiment in self-government so valuabe - and so frail.