IP: Americans support civil liberties cutbacks - some suggest torture

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

> http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A30704-2001Nov28.html

Most Americans broadly endorse steps taken by the Bush administration to 
investigate and prosecute suspected terrorists and express little concern 
that these measures may violate the rights of U.S. citizens or others 
caught up in the ongoing probes, according to a survey by The Washington 
Post and ABC News.
Six in 10 agree with President Bush that suspected terrorists should be 
tried in special military tribunals and not in U.S. criminal courts -- a 
proposal that has come under increasing fire from civil libertarians as 
well as some influential Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill.
Seven in 10 Americans believe the government is doing enough to protect the 
civil rights of suspected terrorists. An equally large majority believe the 
government is sufficiently guarding the rights of Arab Americans and 
American Muslims as well as noncitizens from Arab and Muslim countries.
The findings reflect a wellspring of public support as the Bush 
administration continues even its most controversial investigative methods 
to bring suspected terrorists to justice. The administration is clearly 
counting on such support to help counter mounting concern on Capitol Hill.
"They're flying in the face of a lot of influential people, including 
senior members of the House and Senate from their own party," said Leslie 
Gelb, president of the Council on Foreign Relations. "Instead, they're 
relying on public opinion."
Nearly three out of four of those surveyed also agree that it should be 
legal for the federal government to wiretap conversations between suspected 
terrorists and their attorneys. An even larger majority -- 79 percent -- 
support plans by federal prosecutors to interview about 5,000 young men 
here on temporary visas from the Middle East. And nearly nine in 10 believe 
the United States is justified in detaining about 600 foreign nationals for 
violating immigration laws.
"If we keep going the way we're going with civil liberties, other countries 
are going to see us as a patsy," said Marta Salcedo, manager of a dental 
office in Manhattan. "You have to change with the times."
Salcedo said she had little regard for the rights of suspects held in 
connection with the attacks. "They should torture them," she said. 
"Sometimes you have to do things that are uncivilized."
<snip>


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