What do Americans think about torture? A new AEI analysis

In a new AEI Special Report on Torture, AEI public opinion expert Karlyn Bowman concludes that “When thinking about torture, American public opinion appears to be a combination of idealism and realism. While Americans find the practices abhorrent and barbaric, most are unwilling to rule them out completely.”

And in Pew’s most recent poll, Bowman finds that a majority of Americans – 53% – said that torture against suspected terrorists could be justified to gain information.

AEI foreign policy scholars also react to the release of the controversial report on the CIA’s use of enhanced interrogation techniques to extract information from prisoners:

Danielle Pletka (a former senior professional staff member in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee):

“The larger challenge comes in determining the efficacy of these techniques. Opponents insist (fueled less by fact and more by their sense of righteousness) that enhanced interrogation doesn’t work. So claims the outgoing chairman, of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Dianne Feinstein. Here is the problem: Her claim is false. And taken in conjunction with the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence’s unwillingness to interview the targets of their critique, one can only assume that much of the rest of the document is also tainted.”

Former Justice Department official John Yoo:

“Against all predictions, our intelligence agencies and armed forces have succeeded in keeping the homeland safe from major terrorist plots for the last 13 years. Instead of thanking them for this unprecedented success, Senate Democrats are launching attacks on our intelligence agents.”

Read Pletka’s full piece, “The CIA report is too tainted to matter.”

Read Yoo’s full piece, “Ignoring risks to national security.”

To arrange an interview with Karlyn Bowman or another AEI scholar, please email [email protected] or call 202.862.5829.