Increased threat - increased opportunity

Visit our News page Increased Threat — Increased Opportunity by Brigitte Gabriel Findings from a recent national poll (see story below, highlights added) confirm what we have been saying—Americans feel less safe and are losing confidence in the Obama administration to protect them from terrorism. We ARE less safe. That is a fact. And that is the threat. But with this increased threat comes a greater opportunity to combat the threat. Because Americans are more concerned and more anxious, they are looking for answers, leadership, and action. Who will answer the call? ACT! for America is poised to provide those answers, that leadership, and that action. For instance, while I can’t go into detail, as I write this we are working behind the scenes with Members of Congress to craft new legislation to better protect Americans from the threat of Islamic terrorism. We have ambitious plans this year for a Congressional Scorecard, a Voter Guide, and a state-of-the-art online grassroots lobbying program to help you contact your Members of Congress more easily and effectively. But we need YOUR HELP to step up and answer the call. No other organization in America is positioned to do what we can do this year to combat Islamic terrorism and make America safer. If you haven’t already responded, will you join the ACT! IMPACT! 2010 campaign today? We need “1010 for 2010” to answer the call. We need 505 people to become online monthly contributing Patriot Partners. We need 505 people to become Contributing Members by making a one-time contribution (you can do so either online or by printing out a reply form and mailing a check). When you click here, and make the biggest monthly or one-time gift you can afford, you will be part of the 1010 who are empowering ACT! for America to answer the call and meet the need. For everyone who is able to financially help, now is not the time to sit on the sidelines. Now is the time to ACT! Let history record that, in early 2010, patriotic Americans answered the call and helped set America on a new course in response to the threat of radical Islam and Islamic terrorism. We won’t be able to change the course overnight—but every journey starts with a first step. This is the time for us to take a big step. Please become one of our “1010 for 2010” and click here to help us successfully launch our ACT! IMPACT! 2010 campaign. Thank you! Brigitte Gabriel Public Detects A Softness On Terrorism By RAGHAVAN MAYUR http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Article.aspx?id=518855 Americans are concerned about the Obama administration's approach to national security, with ideology a major influence on where they stand. As liberals support Obama's policies, nonliberals back tougher approaches. These are the key findings from the latest IBD/TIPP poll of 923 Americans completed on Jan. 9. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points. Twelve percent of Americans list national security as the second-most important issue facing the country. Only the economy and jobs rank higher, with 49%. An overarching read of the poll data is that Americans view administration policies as soft. Only liberals support them. Security issues raised by the Christmas bomber, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, are a case in point. Lawmakers last week questioned the wisdom of trying Abdulmutallab in civilian courts instead of a military tribunal. It's not clear whether Abdulmutallab, a potential treasure trove of intelligence, was read his Miranda rights too early, before the intelligence agencies extracted all the intelligence from him. That becomes more relevant since Abdulmutallab told the FBI he'd been trained and armed by al-Qaida operatives in Yemen and that we could expect more bombers coming from that country. Most Americans (61%) are against giving Miranda rights to captured terrorists; only 31% support the policy. By ideology, 74% of conservatives and 54% of moderates oppose it. But a majority of liberals 51%) support the policy. The ideological split can also been seen on whether the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, should be closed. This is a priority issue for the administration, but Americans overall continue to oppose closing Gitmo by a 2-to-1 margin. Conservatives oppose closure by 81% to 9%, and moderates by 53% to 36%. Only liberals support closing the facility, by 60% to 28%. Another example is the prosecution of U.S. officials who ordered enhanced interrogation techniques against captured terrorists. Most Americans have consistently opposed the idea. In our latest poll 58% oppose prosecution and 32% support the action. Conservatives oppose prosecution 68% to 23%, and moderates are 57% to 36% against. But liberals favor the action 54% to 38%. How does Obama compare with his predecessor on national security? A year ago, nearly one-half (49%) of Americans said the policies of the Bush administration made the U.S. safer from terrorism. For the current administration, this measure dropped to 26% in July 2009, 28% in September, 29% in October and 26% this month. Over the same time, the share of Americans who feel either "very safe" or "somewhat safe" has also declined. Four of five Americans (82%) stated they felt safe a year ago. The same metric declined to 73% in July 2009, to 69% in October and to 67% this month. In addition to specific actions, symbolic moves, such as replacing the term "war on terror" with "overseas contingency operations" and "act of terror" with "man-caused disaster," might also be contributing to the perception of administration policies as soft. In sum, the appeal for the administration's policies is limited to liberals who make up just 16% of the electorate. Most Americans identify themselves as conservatives (50%) or moderates (34%). Last Tuesday's special Senate election in Massachusetts is an example of the popularity of tougher policies. Senator-elect Scott Brown came across as being tougher on terror than his opponent. He also stated he did not believe waterboarding was torture. Mayur is president of TechnoMetrica Market Intelligence, which directs the IBD/TIPP Poll that was the most accurate in the last two presidential elections. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ACT for America P.O. Box 12765 Pensacola, FL 32591 www.actforamerica.org ACT for America is an issues advocacy organization dedicated to effectively organizing and mobilizing the most powerful grassroots citizen action network in America, a grassroots network committed to informed and coordinated civic action that will lead to public policies that promote America’s national security and the defense of American democratic values against the assault of radical Islam. We are only as strong as our supporters, and your volunteer and financial support is essential to our success. Thank you for helping us make America safer and more secure. The news items, blogs, educational materials and other information in our emails and on our website are only intended to provide information, news and commentary on events and issues related to the threat of radical Islam. 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