Poll: Terror Threat Is Not Overstated

June 17, 2002 -- Americans are more apt to believe the administration is understating rather than overstating the threat of future terrorism, a sign of the anxiety fueling the public's demand for vigorous counterterrorism efforts.

Only 12 percent in an ABCNEWS.com poll believe the administration is overstating the risks, regardless of suggestions that Attorney General John Ashcroft may have exaggerated the threat allegedly posed by Jose Padilla, accused of plotting with al Qaeda.

Instead, a plurality, 45, percent, thinks the government is accurately describing the level of threat. And 39 percent believe it's actually understating the risks.

Detention Better Than Trials

In cases such as Padilla's — a U.S. citizen charged with planning an al Qaeda attack — a modest majority supports military detention rather than a criminal trial. This grows to a broader preference for detention if the government says a trial would jeopardize sensitive intelligence.

Padilla was arrested in Chicago in May on charges he was part of an al Qaeda plot to detonate a "dirty bomb" — a conventional explosive laced with radioactive material — in the United States. The administration has said the military will hold him, without trial or access to a lawyer, as an "illegal combatant." That's expected to be challenged in court.

In this poll, 54 percent agree that someone in Padilla's circumstances should be held by the military rather than being tried in the civilian courts; 42 percent prefer a court trial. (The question did not state the administration's position.) If the authorities maintain that a trial would compromise intelligence, support for military detention rises to 67 percent.

Rights vs. Safety

While civil rights watchdogs have raised alarms about measures such as the Padilla detention and expanded FBI surveillance authority, two-thirds of Americans say they believe the government is doing enough to protect the rights of U.S. citizens.

That's in accord with previous ABCNEWS polling, in which majorities have given their highest priority to deterring terrorism, even at the expense of limited intrusions on personal rights.

Recent ABCNEWS polling also has shown a decline in confidence that the United States can prevent further attacks. But that appears to reflect the complexity of the job more than a lack of effort: Most in this poll, 56 percent, say the government is "doing all it reasonably can" to try to prevent terrorism. Still, 40 percent say it "should do more."

The number of people who say the government is doing what it can against terrorism has fluctuated since Sept. 11, from a high of 71 percent early last October to a low of 54 percent last month. By comparison, just 31 percent last fall said the government did all it reasonably could to try to prevent the Sept. 11 attacks.

There are some political differences in these views. Democrats are more apt to express criticism of the Republican-led government on several fronts — more apt to say it's understating the threat of terrorism, to say it should be doing more to prevent attacks, and also to say it isn't doing enough to protect individual rights.

Democrats also narrowly prefer trial over detention for accused terrorists such as Padilla, by 51 percent to 46 percent, while Republicans prefer detention by 62 percent to 36 percent. If a trial would jeopardize security, support for detention rises to 58 percent of Democrats and 76 percent of Republicans.

Methodology

This ABCNEWS.com survey was conducted by telephone June 12-16 among a random national sample of 1,023 adults. The results have a three-point error margin. Sampling, data collection and tabulation were done by TNS Intersearch of Horsham, Pa.

Previous ABCNEWS polls can be found in our Poll Vault.