A majority of Americans believe that torture of suspected terrorists is justified, a new poll reported today, just days after a scathing report into the CIA's brutal treatment of detainees in the wake of the 11 September 2001 attacks.
The Washington Post/ABC News poll found that 58% of people believe that in general, looking ahead, the torture of suspected terrorists can be justified "often" or "sometimes".
39% said torture could not be justified, the survey showed.
Asked specifically if the CIA's treatment of suspected Al-Qaeda operatives in the wake of 9/11 was justified, the poll found Americans overwhelmingly in favour by a margin of almost two to one – 59% to 31%.
The poll findings follow publication of a US Senate report last week into the CIA's post-9/11 interrogation program which found the methods used were far harsher than previously disclosed and were not productive.
The interrogation techniques included beatings, rectal rehydration, sleep deprivation, waterboarding or simulated drowning, confinement in wooden boxes and threats of physical or sexual violence against family members.
The Washington Post poll was broadly in line with several other recent surveys which have indicated that most Americans are unmoved by the scathing criticism of the CIA program.
CIA chiefs have strongly contested the claim that the interrogation techniques produced no intelligence of value, a position echoed by the Washington Post poll.
The survey showed 53% percent of Americans believed the CIA's interrogation regime produced important information that could not have been acquired by any other means.
31% said it did not. Yesterday, a Pew Research Center survey of 1,001 adults reported broadly similar findings.
51% of Americans believe the CIA's methods were justified (29% said not) and 56% said the intelligence gathered from those methods prevented terrorist attacks, the survey found.
There was more doubt, however, about the decision to release the Senate report, with 42% saying it was the right move against 43% who said it was not. 15% percent did not know.
