Gallup: Majority support investigation of Bush administration’s interrogation tactics.
By on Apr 27th, 2009 at 4:15 pm
Gallup: Majority support investigation of Bush administration’s interrogation tactics.
In a new poll out today, Gallup found that a slim majority of Americans — 51 percent — support “a government investigation into harsh interrogation techniques of terrorist suspects.” Forty-two percent said they were opposed to such investigations:
Greg Sargent notes that the poll also found that 55 percent believe in retrospect that the use of the interrogation techniques was justified. According to Sargent, this suggests “that the electorate doesn’t generally think a government probe would necessarily amount to retribution or revenge, as so many pundits keep saying, and merely view it as a necessary accounting of what actually happened.”
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So almost 60% of those that have followed the story closely oppose it. Glad TP actually had the Balls to put it on their site.
April 27th, 2009 at 4:22 pmSo now we enforce our laws like we elect Prom Queens?
April 27th, 2009 at 4:23 pmSo? What’s wrong with that? The Rightwingers deserve a little payback for their perfidy.
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April 27th, 2009 at 4:26 pmGeeeeez…Bill-o said only 28% (?….don’t really remember, but it was an amazing small % per a rassmusen pole) wanted to go after Bush and his brownshirts…..
April 27th, 2009 at 4:27 pmHe was really proud America was looking forward and not backwards….
Who to believe…who to believe….?
54thursday says at #1
Unlike FOX News, Limbaugh Beck Hannity et al…
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April 27th, 2009 at 4:28 pm54thursday Says:
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So almost 60% of those that have followed the story closely oppose it. Glad TP actually had the Balls to put it on their site.
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Tells me that it is another bogus number put out by Gallup. It doesn’t even make sense.
April 27th, 2009 at 4:31 pmWe should investigation, and find out who did this. And give them a medal.
April 27th, 2009 at 4:31 pmThere was far less documentation that convicted Nazi war criminals at Nuremberg than we have on the Bush/Cheney war criminal administration.
Arrest & execute, forthwith.
April 27th, 2009 at 4:32 pmIn America we are not ruled by the majority when it comes to our laws, we’re a republic and we will investigate crimes because they are illegal, not because the people want it. It’s up to the Jury to decide what, if any, punishments should be given.
April 27th, 2009 at 4:33 pmI agree with Michele Bachman.
She wanted to have an investigation to find out which members of Congress were Anti-American.
Let’s do it.
It seems to me that we have members of Congress and a former Vice President who believes in torturing prisoners.
I can’t think of anything more Anti-American.
April 27th, 2009 at 4:33 pmDid you ask the more logical poll question..”Are you in favor of investigating the Bush administration”? That would address the whole picture.
April 27th, 2009 at 4:34 pmrealpatriot at #4
Personally, I think Bill-O should be investigated. For being an obnoxious boor. (At least if you’re going to be obnoxious make it interesting. O’Reilly isn’t even Old School. He’s Dead School — as in Joe Pyne, Alan Burke, Wally George and that schmuck Morton Downey, Jr. .not to mention Father Coughlin and Gerald L.K. Smith…)
Lay a New Fairness Doctrine on the whole bunch of them!
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April 27th, 2009 at 4:35 pmjeff2001 Says:
We should investigation, and find out who did this. And give them a medal.
Anti American twit. Will you want to give them medals when our soldiers are tortured?
The wording of this poll is slanted: “harsh interrogation techniques” indeed. If they had used the word torture, the result would have been greatly different. That’s why they used the weasel wording.
April 27th, 2009 at 4:36 pmjeff2001 Says:
We should make certain that morons as stupid as you dont get within a mile of the voting booth
April 27th, 2009 at 4:38 pmBarfly, most of the waterboarding happen in 2002, and 2003. We had a “get them before they get us” attitude. Back then, and you did too.
April 27th, 2009 at 4:39 pmGallop poll says only 40% who are following the torture issue support prosecution of the Bushnikovs and 58% oppose? What a hell of a lot of sense that makes. Please tell me that was rigged. Some reich wingnut greased their pockets.
April 27th, 2009 at 4:39 pmGallup is a Republican-biased poll. Always has been. And in recent years has been fundamentalist Christian-oriented as well (not necessarily the crazy kind but fundamentalist nevertheless). However, they’ve a pretty good long-time reputation. I suggest anyone having a problem with the results actually read and analyze the frigging poll questions and results ( and read up on their methodology) at the Gallup website.
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April 27th, 2009 at 4:39 pmTo the anti-American crowd around here, you must remember the GOP impeaching Clinton over a consentual act, but you side with the tyrants to hide and defend torturing innocent people? Is that what you want your children to know about you: That you would be more interested in what positions Clinton and Lewinsky used instead of finding out what war crimes were committed in YOUR name? You seem to be very interested in the sex lives of other Americans, but not the absolutely clear knowledge that we tortured people. I guess some folks really do not mature past the 7th grade.
Really a shame on you.
April 27th, 2009 at 4:44 pmI’m perfectly willing to say that investigations only are warranted at this point, and setting aside any punitive acts unless the result of those investigations warrant them. Yep. I can stand on that.
.
greenpagan Says:
Gallup is a Republican-biased poll. Always has been.
As I recall throughout the last campaign they were consistently skewed 2% – 6% towards McCain vs. all other tracking polls, with the other tracking polls being more accurate against the final outcome.
I’m slightly curious as to how they separate out the “following story very closely” group.
April 27th, 2009 at 4:45 pmWell, I don’t always trust poll numbers. I just hope that AG Holder enforces the law and pushes for prosecution.
April 27th, 2009 at 4:48 pmWe do not govern our laws based upon any poll or questionaire. The GOP approved ‘Banana Republics’ do that. We have a very clear and visible doument which governs our country. It stands above us all – even Bush and Cheney. If you want to govern by the changing winds of polling, I would suggest moving somewhere else. We used to be a beacon of Democracy. Now, not so much.
April 27th, 2009 at 4:48 pmHey Gallup…
why don’t you ask them this one???
Do YOU favor a government investigation into harsh interrogation techniques of terrorist suspects..
April 27th, 2009 at 4:53 pmin order to obtain False Confessions about Al Qaeda’s ties to Saddam Hussein??
#
watchout5 Says:
In America we are not ruled by the majority when it comes to our laws, we’re a republic and we will investigate crimes because they are illegal, not because the people want it. It’s up to the Jury to decide what, if any, punishments should be given.
So we are a Republic when it comes to this but we are a Democracy when it comes to electing presidents. At least that is what I would assume from all of the “Gore won the popular vote” rubbish. You guys need to pick one.
April 27th, 2009 at 4:54 pmI find it very sad that 55% of the people in this country find that torture can be justified.
I weep for what we have become.
April 27th, 2009 at 4:57 pmHmmm, supposedly those who are following the story “very closely” tend to not support a government investigation? How many of those people get their propaganda, I mean ‘news’ from Fox?
Either that or there must be even more ex-Bush administration people involved in torture than we thought! Lots of worried co-conspirators out there?
This poll is a very good example of how skewed the results can be with some very careful wording of the questions. I’m with Barfly – if they’d used the word ‘torture’ I suspect the results would be different.
Have you ever been caught in an undertow? I thought I was going to drown and it was terrifying.
April 27th, 2009 at 4:57 pm54thursday Says:
So we are a Republic when it comes to this but we are a Democracy when it comes to electing presidents. At least that is what I would assume from all of the “Gore won the popular vote” rubbish. You guys need to pick one.
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No we dont moron. We are a Democratic Republic. They are not mutually exclusive. Is it painful to be as stupid as you are?
April 27th, 2009 at 4:57 pmjeff2001 Says:
We should investigation, and find out who did this. And give them a medal.
So jeff, I assume you think that torture is OK. So answer this question:
Your son or daughter in the military has been captured in Iran. They are torturing your child. Is that OK with you? If not, why is it OK for us to torture, but not OK for another country to torture our soldiers?
April 27th, 2009 at 5:00 pmBilbo Hussein Baggins Says:
jeff2001 Says:
We should investigation, and find out who did this. And give them a medal.
So jeff, I assume you think that torture is OK. So answer this question:
Your son or daughter in the military has been captured in Iran. They are torturing your child. Is that OK with you? If not, why is it OK for us to torture, but not OK for another country to torture our soldiers?
Yeah, what if they cut his/her head off with a …… Oh wait a minute never mind.
April 27th, 2009 at 5:04 pmEugene atrax robustus Debs Says:
54thursday Says:
So we are a Republic when it comes to this but we are a Democracy when it comes to electing presidents. At least that is what I would assume from all of the “Gore won the popular vote” rubbish. You guys need to pick one.
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No we dont moron. We are a Democratic Republic. They are not mutually exclusive. Is it painful to be as stupid as you are?
What in my statement makes you believe that I am wrong or stupid? Try and just try to be intelligent and not resort to personal attacks. IF your facts are strong enough you don’t need to attempt to be hurtful.
April 27th, 2009 at 5:04 pmToo many idiots still watching 24.
April 27th, 2009 at 5:06 pmThis isn’t a justification for turning our backs on a moral issue.
As my mother always said “if 55 percent of americans jumped off a cliff would you do it too?”
Of course not…just because 55 percent of Americans are uninformed or moral cripples doesn’t make torture ok…it just makes those 55% wrong.
April 27th, 2009 at 5:06 pmRight off the bat they skewed the poll by calling “torture” “harsh interrogation techniques”. Typical of Gallup.
One must remember that Gallup, during the election, were polling an equal number of Republicans and Democrats even though there were 15% more registered Democrats than Republicans. When their polling tactics were outed, they went back to the normal way of polling by polling by percentage of registered voters.
April 27th, 2009 at 5:06 pmAll that means is a lot of Bush drones lied about following it closely.
April 27th, 2009 at 5:08 pm54thursday Says:
Bilbo Hussein Baggins Says:
jeff2001 Says:
We should investigation, and find out who did this. And give them a medal.
So jeff, I assume you think that torture is OK. So answer this question:
Your son or daughter in the military has been captured in Iran. They are torturing your child. Is that OK with you? If not, why is it OK for us to torture, but not OK for another country to torture our soldiers?
Yeah, what if they cut his/her head off with a …… Oh wait a minute never mind.
So how is that an answer to the question I asked? Do you have any idea how many people we have killed through torture? The Red Cross estimates it’s at least 30, probably more. Sure we didn’t cut their heads off, but so what. Dead is dead.
April 27th, 2009 at 5:10 pmAfter the last 8 years, what’s wrong with “facts” and “accountability” being put back into our vocabulary?
April 27th, 2009 at 5:10 pmSure FoxNews and their Republican masters won’t like it, but sometimes honesty and integrity ARE the best thing!
Sorry FoxNews!
Maybe with those “high ratings,” you’ll be able to afford to purchase some journalistic integrity!?
I doubt it. Really stupid people like this fool seem to be pretty numb.
April 27th, 2009 at 5:10 pm54thursday Says:
What in my statement makes you believe that I am wrong or stupid? Try and just try to be intelligent and not resort to personal attacks. IF your facts are strong enough you don’t need to attempt to be hurtful.
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Bite me you hypocritical moron. You came IN here breathing fire and spewing contempt at us now you want to snivel like the punk you are that I am treating YOU the way you treat us. Man up and gets some self respect for somewhere you worthless troll. How about the FACT that your posts posited ANOTHER false dichotomy. As if a Republic and a Democracy were mutually exclusive which anyone who could pass an 8th grade civics class would know they are NOT?
April 27th, 2009 at 5:12 pmPolls suck. They prove nothing because public opinion comprises of the following:
1) People who believe the Earth is flat
2) People who believe we never landed on the Moon
3) People who believe that 9/11 was an inside job
4) People who believe that Roswell is a landing spot for aliens
5) People who believe that the world was created 5000 years ago
6) Republicants
7) Conservatives
8) Neocons
9) High school drop outs
10) Grade school drop outs
11) Inbreeds
12) Sexual predators
13) FAUX Noise viewers that don’t fall in any of the above catagories.
Nuf said …..
April 27th, 2009 at 5:14 pmWhat is it with you people always wanting to give medals to criminals?
April 27th, 2009 at 5:17 pmEugene atrax robustus Debs Says:
54thursday Says:
What in my statement makes you believe that I am wrong or stupid? Try and just try to be intelligent and not resort to personal attacks. IF your facts are strong enough you don’t need to attempt to be hurtful.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<,
Bite me you hypocritical moron. You came IN here breathing fire and spewing contempt at us now you want to snivel like the punk you are that I am treating YOU the way you treat us. Man up and gets some self respect for somewhere you worthless troll. How about the FACT that your posts posited ANOTHER false dichotomy. As if a Republic and a Democracy were mutually exclusive which anyone who could pass an 8th grade civics class would know they are NOT?
Again, I will give you one more chance, without the epithets please. Where is my statement wrong? Please be specific with the part that is wrong.
April 27th, 2009 at 5:20 pmWanna talk about mothers?
April 27th, 2009 at 5:23 pmThey’re numb to their dumb.
April 27th, 2009 at 5:24 pm54thursday speaks softly but carries a big stick – watch out for this troll. He’s dangerous!
Dear 54thursday, facts are not needed when issues of common sense are debated. Go out side and play with your special friends now. shoo.
April 27th, 2009 at 5:25 pm54thursday Says:
Again, I will give you one more chance, without the epithets please. Where is my statement wrong? Please be specific with the part that is wrong.
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YOU dont get to tell me what to do. I will hurl epitaphs anytime I choose you just flat have no authority over me. Second I cant help you if you cant read. I posted your obvious mistake twice. Find a six year old with normal reading comphrehension and have him explain it to you.
April 27th, 2009 at 5:28 pmjeff2001 Says:
We should investigation, and find out who did this. And give them a medal.
If your son or daughter were tortured by islamofascists, would you be ok with that?
April 27th, 2009 at 5:29 pmI will have pity on your obvious stupidity 54 and try one more time to explain the obvious to you. You told us to choose whether we were a republic or a democracy. That would ONLY make sense if you HAD to make a choice, IF they were mutually exclusive. They arent, no choice necessary. I cant make it any plainer than that. If you dont get it then you have the reading comprehension of a gerbil
April 27th, 2009 at 5:32 pmFor a better measure of reality, i think you take all the people who aren’t following this and put a bunch over on the 51% pile. I’d say at least half of the 58% that are clueless right now. That puts the favor columb at about 72%. As greater understanding of what just happened spreads, the numbers will go even higher. I think Americans will come to understand what happened, and then back the prosecution of the law, regardless of who the perpetrators were, even in this case.
April 27th, 2009 at 6:06 pmjeff2001 Says:
Barfly, most of the waterboarding happen in 2002, and 2003. We had a “get them before they get us” attitude. Back then, and you did too.
So, there were no Geneva Conventions in ‘02, and ‘03? This has put our own captured service-people in the same position, and that you can’t see it shows you have a child’s understanding of the issues involved.
April 27th, 2009 at 6:44 pmDisturbing that the majority of Americans (according to this poll) basically think it’s okay to torture, regardless of the fact that it is illegal, immoral, and doesn’t work.
So much for the US being the moral leader in the world.
April 27th, 2009 at 7:15 pmI wonder how that question would have gone if they’d replaced “harsh interrogation techniques” with “torture?” Most people don’t realize that they’re talking about the same thing.
.
fire _ant_chavis Says:
Well, I don’t always trust poll numbers.
Somebody needs to get Nate Silver on the case. Oh look, he’s already on it.
April 27th, 2009 at 7:36 pmThese poll numbers are distressing, despite the spin. Our sworn enemies find confirmation in them, our potential enemies find fewer reasons not to hate us, and our allies find more reasons to distrust and distance themselves from us. It appears that at least half of the population rejects the rule of law and embraces the law of the jungle.
April 27th, 2009 at 9:50 pmIt’s important to remember after we were attacked it was also Nancy Pelosi who said Bush wasn’t doing enough to protect this country. No one wanted interrogation methods questioned when they went to bed afraid if tomorrow was going to be the day for another attack. Now that Bush is out of office these ungrateful Americans who voted for President Obama are remembering how much they hate this country and Bush. Bush is not the enemy. Those in the Bush administration are not the enemy. The ones who wrote the interrogation methods are not the enemy. Now that Obama is President, it’s Bush and his administration who are the real enemies of this country. Right. What has President Obama done in his 100 days to protect this country other then cutting our defense budget and sucking up to socialist and communist leaders. Bush never sat and listened to socialist and communist leaders drag this country through the mud like President Obama did. If there’s one thing we can say about President Obama is that he loves to hear anti American rhetoric.
April 27th, 2009 at 10:32 pmlink
April 27th, 2009 at 11:04 pmChapalody Says:
Increase your medication crazy lady. You dont know what was opposed and supported behind closed doors but I KNOW several Dems who were outspoken against torture from the very beggining. What color is the sky on your world anyway. The Bush administration was DEFINITLY the enemy of American values. You parrot the propagand just like a good little member of the Limborg hivemind should. Trouble is you are stupid and dont understand the meaning of the words Rush or whatever screechmonkey does your thinking for you puts into your empty head. That word socialism. I dont think it means what you think it does. I dont think you have any IDEA what the word means. Why dont you try at least once in your life thinking for yourself. I am sure it will be like a small boy trying to lift a one ton barbell with your intellectual shortcomings but you really ought to give it a try for once in your pathetic life. Listen MORON. Bush was not America. Criticising Bush is NOT criticising America. What people like you with your teeny tiny minds are just too stupid to understand is that there is a distinction between who we are and what we sometimes do. I know it is a nuanced concept and will most likely always be far beyond your meager capability to understand. Higher brain function will always be beyond your wildest dreams. So instead just keep on giving us the free clown show. I love to laugh at people as stupid as you
April 27th, 2009 at 11:05 pmCutting the defense budget is making us less safe, huh? Who the f uck are so afraid of that our current arsenal which is astronomically larger than all other countries combined couldn’t deal with. Typical right wing chickenshiit coward.
April 27th, 2009 at 11:58 pmForget the trials. Just take them out and shoot them. But in case we cannot do that, let us at least make sure these so called lawyers get disbarred and never practice again.
As for the so called poll saying a certain percentage of people feel enhanced interrogation, or as really known TORTURE say it is sometimes necessary. BS. I have yet ever met anyone who believes that. No one person. Or at least not one un-republican.
April 28th, 2009 at 1:00 amChapalody Says:
It’s important to remember after we were attacked it was also Nancy Pelosi who said Bush wasn’t doing enough to protect this country.
Yes, she said he should secure the ports and build closer working relations with the international community so we could enhance our police and intelligence gathering capabilities.
Instead he started wars based on lies and murdered and tortured people.
Which is pretty close to the opposite.
Chapalody Says:
No one wanted interrogation methods questioned when they went to bed afraid if tomorrow was going to be the day for another attack.
Actually we didn’t want whether we were conducting such methods too closely questioned because we were afraid of the answer, sad to say.
.
Chapalody Says:
Bush is not the enemy.
Bush is the enemy. All wingnuts are. They us because they hate our freedoms. I know this because they’ve been attacking them.
.
Chapalody Says:
What has President Obama done in his 100 days to protect this country other then cutting our defense budget and sucking up to socialist and communist leaders.
Stopped torturing people. Put more focus on Afghanistan. Increase international goodwill. That’s just a start.
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Chapalody Says:
Bush never sat and listened to socialist and communist leaders drag this country through the mud like President Obama did.
Bush refused to conduct international diplomacy unless it was with people who like him. As conducting international diplomacy was part of the job he was hired to do, it’s fair to say that he willfully abrogated his responsibility to the nation.
What was said in Obama’s presence about America? I missed that. Citation… or imagination?
April 28th, 2009 at 1:04 amTop many Americans are fascsits by nature.
A hatefilled and fearful bunch.
To them torture is fun.
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