December 22, 2007

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Many people in the United States believe key members of their federal administration were privy to a decision by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to destroy tapes containing sensitive information, according to a poll by Rasmussen Reports. 70 per cent of respondents think it is likely that top officials at the White House knew the tapes were being destroyed.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Many people in the United States believe key members of their federal administration were privy to a decision by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to destroy tapes containing sensitive information, according to a poll by Rasmussen Reports. 70 per cent of respondents think it is likely that top officials at the White House knew the tapes were being destroyed.

Earlier this month, Americans learned that the CIA destroyed videotapes depicting the interrogations of two suspected al-Qaeda members: Abu Zubaydah and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri. The agency has said it destroyed the tapes—dating from 2002—two years ago, fearing the identity of the questioners would be exposed.

On Dec. 16, Republican Michigan congressman Pete Hoekstra—a member of the House Intelligence Committee—urged lawmakers to move on with a proposed inquiry into the destruction of the tapes, and to ignore a suggestion by the Justice Department saying they should let the matter "die". Hoekstra criticized the American intelligence community and its leaders, calling them "arrogant," "political" and "incompetent", and adding, "They’ve clearly demonstrated through the tapes case that they don’t believe that they are accountable to Congress. And when we are at war, that is a terrible position for the intelligence community to be."

On Dec. 20, U.S. president George W. Bush refused to comment on the matter, saying, "I’m just going to prepare you; until these inquiries are complete, until the oversights are finished, then I will be rendering no opinion from the podium."

Polling Data

How likely is it that top officials at the White House knew the tapes were being destroyed?

 

Very likely	47%
Somewhat likely	23%
Not very likely	20%
Not at all likely	3%
Not sure	6%

Source: Rasmussen Reports
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 800 likely American voters, conducted on Dec. 10 and Dec. 11, 2007. Margin of error is 3.5 per cent.