(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Many adults in the United States appear to have no reservations about a specific element of their federal government's electronic surveillance strategy, according to a poll by Rasmussen Reports. 59 per cent of respondents think allowing the government to intercept phone calls from terrorist suspects makes America safer.

In December 2005, U.S. president George W. Bush defended a secret domestic electronic surveillance program that includes the wiretapping of the telephone calls and e-mails of Americans suspected of having terrorist ties. The president's remarks came in response to media reports that, since 2002, Bush has authorized the National Security Agency (NSA) to operate this program without any judicial oversight.

In his Jul. 28 radio address, Bush urged the U.S. Congress to modernize the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA)—which requires the federal government to obtain warrants from a secret federal court in order to conduct domestic surveillance operations—saying, "Our intelligence community warns that under the current statute, we are missing a significant amount of foreign intelligence that we should be collecting to protect our country. Congress needs to act immediately to pass this bill, so that our national security professionals can close intelligence gaps and provide critical warning time for our country."

Earlier this month, the Protect America Act of 2007 was passed by the U.S. Congress. Bush expressed satisfaction with the outcome, saying, "When our intelligence professionals have the legal tools to gather information about the intentions of our enemies, America is safer. And when these same legal tools also protect the civil liberties of Americans, then we can have the confidence to know that we can preserve our freedoms while making America safer."

Original Release from Rasmussen Reports

Polling Data

Does allowing the government to intercept phone calls from terrorist suspects make America safer?

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