The most recent terrorists attacks have brought up all the rhetoric again….and we have even returned to the debate about torture……since the loudest proponent of this is the GOP front runner, Trump…..the rhetoric is even louder than normal….
It seems that thanx to the election rhetoric most Americans think the torturing of another human being is acceptable…….
Donald Trump made some waves in early March when he made pro-torture statements at a GOP debate (he walked that back somewhat the next day). But he likely wouldn’t have offended a good number of Americans, according to a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll. Per the poll of nearly 2,000 US adults (18 and over) between March 22 and March 28, almost two-thirds of respondents are OK with the US using torture methods to get info from terror suspects, Reuters reports. About one-quarter of those asked agreed torture is “often” justified “against suspected terrorists to obtain information about terrorism,” with another 38% saying it was “sometimes” justified; just 15% said it should never be employed.
And 64% of US citizens feel like a terror attack within the next six months is “very likely” or “somewhat likely,” the Hill notes. There’s a disparity, too, between political parties, with 82% of Republicans noting torturous methods are “often” or “sometimes” justified, while only 53% of Democrats feel this way. Trump himself may be exacerbating Americans’ fears due to recent attacks overseas (e.g., France, Belgium) and at home (San Bernardino); he’s said that techniques like waterboarding should be on the table, despite outcry from human rights groups, and that he’ll “bring back a hell of a lot worse” methods if he assumes the White House. “The public right now is coping with a host of negative emotions,” says a Vanderbilt University professor. “Fear, anger, general anxiety: [Trump] gives a certain credibility to these feelings.”
I am opposed to torture…..PERIOD!
But for the sake of this post I have one more thing yo say…….”Try it then we can talk”!
Torture is like war….those that are the strongest defenders are the ones that have tasted neither.
My opinion is that if you have not experienced a thing then there is NO way one can make a rational conclusion.
But this poll was taken after the latest attack in Brussels……so emotional responses kicked in.
A recent study by the U of Maryland found that the chances of an attack here in the US is low……
“In global terms, this is a relatively low level of activity,” according to the study, first reported by The Washington Times .
“North America is the least-likely region to be involved in a terrorist attack, though this is not the general impression among many of its residents,” says Steve Killelea with the Institute for Economics and Peace, which published the study using statistics and analysis from the University of Maryland’s National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism .
Source: Study: U.S. at ‘Low’ Risk of Terror Attack – US News
This is a significant study but as usual the media did not report on this because it would not feed the fear that they want to perpetrate….without information Americans have kneejerk responses…..and kneejerk responses lead to disastrous decisions.