Americans say civil liberties trump anti-terror measures: Gallup

The U.S. government's recent move to limit what it can do to prevent terrorism is in line with Americans' preference for civil liberties over security measures, despite rising concern over terrorism amid the growing threat from Islamic State (IS), according to a Gallup poll published Wednesday.

Sixty-five percent of Americans say the government should take steps to prevent terrorism but not violate civil liberties, while 30 percent think any steps to prevent terrorism are justified, even if they violate liberties. In the first few months after the 9/11 terror attacks in 2001, Americans were more divided on the issue, Gallup found.

The poll came just after U.S. Congress and President Barack Obama signed into law the USA Freedom Act, designed to replace the expiring and controversial Patriot Act that was passed after the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks on New York and Washington, D.C. The new law does not authorize the government to collect data on citizens' electronic communications, a secret program that was exposed by former government contractor and now U.S. exile Edward Snowden. However, the government can still obtain those records from the phone companies if it obtains a warrant.

The poll also came as the terror group Islamic State is on the march in the Middle East and North Africa, and has directly threatened the U.S. The group claimed to have played a role in a recent gun attack on a cartoon contest in the U.S. state of Texas, although the scope of IS' role remains unknown.

The results of Wednesday's poll stand in sharp contrast to attitudes found in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks. In January 2002, four months after the major terror strike that killed nearly 3,000 people, 47 percent of Americans said the government should take all necessary steps to prevent terrorism, even those that violated individual civil liberties, while 49 percent said anti- terror efforts should stop short of violating civil liberties, according to Gallup.

But a year after the attacks, in September 2002, Americans showed a greater concern for civil liberties, with 62 percent saying anti-terror efforts should not violate civil liberties and 33 percent giving anti-terror efforts the higher priority.

Republicans and Democrats currently hold similar views of whether maintaining security or protecting civil liberties is more important in government anti-terror efforts. Among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, 66 percent say civil liberties should be the higher priority and 29 percent say protecting citizens from terrorism should be. Meanwhile, Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents prioritize civil liberties over security by 64 percent to 32 percent, Gallup said.

Some congressional critics of government anti-terrorism methods, most notably Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, argue that the government has too many powers in this area that violate citizens' rights. The majority of Americans, 55 percent, disagree, saying they do not believe such government programs violate their civil liberties. But that leaves a sizable minority of 41 percent who do feel the government is violating their civil liberties, Gallup said. Endite