Two-Thirds Of Americans Support Torture Against Terror Suspects

Poll: Nearly two-thirds of Americans believe torture can be justified with terror suspects: https://t.co/e9QTnxDTif pic.twitter.com/mbJOm1mNzR

— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) March 30, 2016

Reuters: Exclusive: Most Americans support torture against terror suspects - poll

Nearly two-thirds of Americans believe torture can be justified to extract information from suspected terrorists, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, a level of support similar to that seen in countries like Nigeria where militant attacks are common.

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.

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More News On The Latest Poll Where Two-Thirds Of Americans Support Torture Against Terror Suspects

Most Americans support torture for terror suspects: Poll -- Washington Times
Poll: Nearly two-thirds say torturing terror suspects can be justified -- CBS
Poll: Two-Thirds of Americans Support Torturing Terror Suspects -- Time
Poll: Most Americans support torture -- The Hill
Cruel Intentions? Most Americans Want to Torture Terrorism Suspects -- Sputnik
Support for torture in US grows to 63 percent – poll -- RT
Two-thirds of Americans support torture against terror suspects: Poll -- i24 News

U.S. Poll: Only 20% Of Americans Believe The U.S. Is Winning The War On Terror

CNN: CNN/ORC poll: More Americans say terrorists are winning than ever before

Washington (CNN)Americans are more likely to say that terrorists are winning the war against the United States than they have been at any point since the September 11 attacks, according to a new CNN/ORC poll.

The public is broadly unhappy with the nation's progress, with nearly three-quarters of Americans saying they are not satisfied with how the war on terror is proceeding. That figure, following terrorist attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, California, this fall, is well above the previous high of 61% who said they were dissatisfied in August 2007.

WNU Editor: The complete CNN/ORC poll is here.

More News On The Latest CNN/ORC Poll On America At War Against Terrorism

More Americans say terrorists are winning than at any time since 9/11: poll -- Washington Times
ISIS is winning and Obama is at fault: Just two in 10 Americans think the U.S. is winning the war on terror - Daily Mail
Highest number of Americans since 9/11 think the U.S. is losing the war on terror -- NY Daily News
Poll: 40 percent of Americans think the terrorists are winning -- Politico
More Americans than ever say ‘Terrorists are winning’ – poll -- RT
CNN poll: More Americans say the terrorists are winning than ever before -- American Thinker

2014 Poll: 13% Of Syrian Refugees Are Islamic State Supporters

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American Enterprise Institute: Poll: 13% of Syrian refugees are ISIS sympathizers

Poll: A November 2014 study from the Arab Opinion Index team of the Doha-based Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies finds that the vast majority of Syrian refugees have a negative view of ISIS, with 83% saying their view the group is “negative” or “negative to some extent.”

However, a disturbing subset of 13% of Syrian refugees say their view of ISIS is “positive” or “positive to some extent.”

Here is the chart:

WNU Editor: I spent some time reading the report, and learning as much as I can on who and what is the Doha-based Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies. The report is here. The official website of the organization that posted this report is here. While preparing my comment I came across this post by Daniel Marans from the Huffington Post who sums up this poll correctly .... "Context is key". His post and excellent analysis on this poll is at the following link .... What You Need To Know About Syrian Refugees Who Have 'Positive' Views Of ISIS (Daniel Marans, Huffington Post).

As to what is my take .... this poll is out of date (it was was done in 2014). The sample size is too small. The conflict and dynamics on the ground have completely changed ... which this poll does not take into account. And .... these refugees are fleeing the Islamic State, not rushing to join it and to give it support (which is what dedicated supporters will be compelled to do). And while I am sure that there may be some ISIS sympathisers .... I suspect that it has more to do with their hatred of Assad, rather than their support of ISIS. On the positive side .... the mass majority in this poll sample made it very clear that they hate the Islamic State .... and it is with that happy thought that I will end this post.

Poll Shows Muslims In 11 Countries Have An Overwhelmingly Negative View Of ISIS. But A Minimum Of 63 Million Muslims See Them Favourably

American Thinker: Pew poll: Between 63 million and 287 million ISIS supporters in just 11 countries

A new poll by the Pew Research Center reveals significant levels of support for ISIS within the Muslim world. In 11 representative nation-states, up to 14 percent of the population has a favorable opinion of ISIS, and upwards of 62 percent "don't know" whether or not they have a favorable opinion of the Islamist group.

In Pakistan, a nuclear weapons state, only 28 percent of the public view ISIS unfavorably. By this overwhelming degree of either tacit support or tolerance for ISIS in the country, ISIS should be considered as a potential proxy nuclear weapons power via its linkages and support within Pakistan.

When broken down by ethnicity and religion, the results are equally troubling. In Israel, 4 percent of its Arab population – which equates to more than 66,000 individuals – have a favorable view of ISIS. For Gaza and the West Bank, 5 and 8 percent, respectively, also hold a favorable view of ISIS. In Nigeria, the ISIS favorability rating among the Muslim population soars to 20 percent. Another 12 percent of Muslims in Malaysia take a similar positive view of ISIS.

More News On The PEW Poll On Arab Opinion Of ISIS

This shouldn’t be a surprise, but Muslims don’t like the Islamic State -- Washington Post
Nobody hates ISIL more than Muslims -- Quartz
Nations With Significant Muslim Populations Have Overwhelmingly Negative Views of ISIS, Survey Finds -- Alert Net
Muslim-Dominated Nations Hold Overwhelmingly Negative Views Of ISIS, Pew Survey Finds -- IBTimes
New Survey Reveals Majority of Palestinians Hate ISIS and Israel -- Breaking Israel News

U.S. Worries About Terrorism And Islamic Fundamentalism Are Increasing

Fifty-five percent of Americans say fundamentalist Islam is a critical threat. That's the highest percentage since after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. (Chicago Council on Global Affairs)

Al.com: Americans' worries over Islamic fundamentalism reaches highest point since 9/11

Worries over fundamentalist Islam has reached its highest point since shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, according to a survey released Tuesday by the Chicago Council on Public Affairs.

The rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, is fueling the concern, the poll found. More than half – 55 percent – of Americans said they viewed Islamic fundamentalism as a critical threat, a 15 percent increase since last year.

While concern about terrorist attacks rose six percentage points from 2014 to this year – from 63 percent to 69 percent --, Americans' worries over terrorism are still lower than they were between 2002 and 2010. For example, 91 percent of Americans viewed terrorism as a critical threat in 2002.

Update #1: Survey: 72% fear Islamic attack, 73% back assassination of terror leaders -- Washington Examiner
Update #2: Americans’ Concern About Islamic Fundamentalism At Highest Level Since 2002 -- HSToday

WNU Editor: Considering what is happening in the world today .... I expected these numbers to be higher.

U.S. Poll: 57% Of Americans Believe That A Terror Attack Will Occur At The Sochi Games

CNN Poll: 57% Of Americans Think Terror Attack Likely At Sochi Games -- CNN

(CNN) -- With two days to go before the Winter Olympics open in the Russian city of Sochi, more than half of Americans think a terrorist attack on the Games is likely, a poll shows.

The results of the CNN/ORC poll come a day after U.S. officials said they had specific reasons to worry about security in Russia.

Meanwhile, Russian state media reported Wednesday that the suspected mastermind of twin bomb attacks in the city of Volgograd was killed in a police operation in the restive North Caucasus republic of Dagestan.

The man died in a shootout at a house in the town of Izberbash, the official Itar-Tass news agency said. The attacks on Volgograd's public transit system in late December left 34 people dead and about 100 injured -- and sparked wide concern about security in Russia.

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My Comment: If the same poll was done in Russia .... I would wager that the figure will be closer to 90%.

Poll: Americans Do Not Think Al Qaeda Is Getting Weaker

‘Al-Qaeda’s regional affiliates have adapted, embedding in local insurgencies, supporting operations between groups, engaging in criminality, including smuggling, drug trafficking, bank robbery, and kidnapping, in the Maghreb, Iraq, SE & Central Asia.’ J. Zarate, T. Sanderson – CSIS. Map: IUCTS

31% Think al Qaeda Weaker Now Than Before 9/11 Attacks -- Rasmussen Reports

While the debate continues over the presence of al Qaeda fighters among the Syrian rebels, Americans’ confidence in the weakening of that terrorist organization has fallen to levels not seen since before the killing of Osama bin Laden. Most Americans also continue to worry more about a domestic terror attack than one from outside our borders.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 31% of American Adults now believe al Qaeda is weaker than it was before the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack. Belief that al Qaeda was weaker jumped from a low of 25% on the 9/11 anniversaries in 2009 and 2010 to 48% in May 2011 following bin Laden's death. It rose to 50% in September of that year. This finding was still at 48% a year ago.

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My Comment: Only 31%?!?!?! .... and the trend is downward.

Americans Still Associate Islam With Violence

From Yahoo News/Reuters:

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The furor over plans to build a Muslim cultural center near the World Trade Center site shows nine years of efforts to separate Islam from association with terrorism have largely failed, experts say.

"I'd take it one step further. I'd say that it's far, far worse today than it was in the immediate aftermath of 9/11," said Reza Aslan, a writer and scholar on religion, using the shorthand for the attacks of September 11, 2001.

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My Comment: If I am surprised by this poll .... it is that I expected the number who believe Islam and terrorism are intertwined to be higher .... much higher.

War On Terror Update -- Majority Sees U.S. Winning War on Terror for First Time Since 2004

From Ramussen Reports:

Over half of American voters (51%) now believe the United States and its allies are winning the war on terror, the highest figure recorded in nearly four years by Rasmussen Reports in a nationwide survey.

Only 16% now think the terrorists are on top, while 27% view it as a stalemate. Prior to this week’s survey, the number who believe the terrorists are winning had never fallen below 20%.

Last July, just 36% thought the U.S. and its allies were winning. At that time, an equal number—36%--thought the terrorists were ahead.

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My Comment: Al Qaeda's defeat in Iraq has had a pronounced impact not only on radical Islamists and American allies .... it has also had a tremendous impact on the American people. After a negative narrative for the past few years, a change is now noticeable for all but the extreme skeptics. America is winning.

For myself, I am not so positive. Al Qaeda has suffered a defeat, but many of its key leaders are still alive. They still receive financial support, as well as logistical, material, and recruitment assistance. Kill 100 Al Qaeda members, the madrases in Pakistan produce 1,000. The popular support for Al Qaeda in the Muslim world is still enormous, with numbers that run in the tens of millions. Al Qaeda is still very much alive.

I can only feel comfortable that we will win when we start to use the more powerful weapons in our arsenal. These weapons include morality, ethics, religious tolerance, and the most powerful weapon of them all .... education. I do not expect to change a people's culture and core beliefs .... that is not possible. But what we can do is change a people's outlook and perception towards the world, starting with the young. Once we are perceived that we are no longer the infidel .... 90% of Al Qaeda's support will quickly fade away. The rest will fade in the next decade or two.

Al Qaeda's philosophy, as well as radical Islam is an aberration. This is the message that we must work on if we are to truly win in the end.