Just over half of Americans say torture is at least sometimes justified to thwart terrorist attacks and are evenly divided over whether to close the Guantanamo Bay prison, according to a poll.
The latest Associated Press-GfK survey underscores the challenges president Barack Obama faces in selling his terror-fighting policies but also shows he still enjoys the support of most Americans.
He has a strong 64 percent job-approval rating — and nearly half of Americans still think the country's headed in the right direction. That's despite bipartisan rebukes of the new president's ordered closure of the Cuban island facility and former vice president Dick Cheney's sustained criticism of Obama's approach to terrorism.
Terrorism and Guantanamo emerged in the poll as intensely partisan issues, with viewpoints largely split along ideological lines.
Such issues have dominated Mr Obama's agenda in recent weeks as he has wrestled with the fallout of Bush-era policies and the legal questions surrounding them, while trying to fend off criticism from friends and foes alike.
Obama ordered the prison's closure and emphatically stated "we don't torture" just days after taking office as he sought to improve a sullied world image. But since then, he has found that making good on those campaign promises has, perhaps, been more difficult than anticipated.
For now at least, the AP-GfK poll shows most Americans have faith in him, with 70 per cent saying they are confident of Mr Obama's ability to address terrorism. That's divided along party lines, with nearly all Democrats, two-thirds of independents and just over a third of Republicans expressing confidence.
Nearly eight years after terrorists struck on US soil, more than a third of Americans say they worry about the chance that they or their relatives might fall victim to a terrorist attack — essentially unchanged from 35 per cent five years ago.
The poll also shows potential areas of political vulnerability for Mr Obama and indicates he must walk a fine line as he seeks to both protect the country and turn the page on Mr Bush's national security policies.
Some 52 per cent of people say torture can be at least sometimes justified to obtain information about terrorist activities from suspects, an increase from 38 per cent in 2005 when the AP last asked the question. More than two-thirds of Republicans say torture can be justified compared with just over a third of Democrats.
On Mr Obama's plan to close the Guantanamo prison, 47 per cent approve, while 47 per cent disapprove. Again, the country is divided on partisan lines, with most Republicans disapproving and most Democrats approving. Independents are evenly divided.
Despite the president's safety assurances, more than half of Americans say they would be worried about the chance of terrorism suspects escaping from US high-security prisons.
Leading the charge by Republicans against Mr Obama's policies is Mr Cheney, who the poll shows may be benefiting from his outspokenness since leaving office. Nearly a quarter had a favorable opinion of the former vice president, a measure that's risen steadily from a low of 13 per cent in one 2007 poll.
In addition, more people identified themselves as Republican than did last month, 23 per cent to 18 per cent.
The AP-GfK Poll was conducted May 28th to June 1st by GfK Roper Public Affairs & Media. It involved landline and cell phone interviews with 1,000 adults nationwide and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
AP