48% of Americans Say Post-9/11 Wars and Surveillance Were Worth It
Nearly half of Americans believe the military operations and expanded domestic surveillance introduced after the 9/11 attacks were worth the cost, according to a new YouGov poll.
The survey found that 48% of respondents said US military operations abroad and increased security and surveillance at home were worthwhile. Another 27% were unsure, while 25% said the measures were not worth the cost.
Political divisions were significant. About 71% of Republicans said the policies were worth it, compared with a much smaller share of Democrats.
The poll was conducted ahead of the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people after hijacked planes struck the World Trade Center and Pentagon, while another crashed in Pennsylvania.
The survey also highlighted perceptions of Islamophobia in the United States. 52% of respondents said Muslims have been treated worse than people of other religions since 9/11. That figure rose to 71% among Democrats, compared with 28% among Republicans.
On US safety, just under half said the country is safer today than before 9/11. Among Republicans, 60% held that view.
The survey also asked respondents which perpetrators had carried out the greatest number of violent attacks in the US. Twenty-five percent identified right-wing extremists, while 19% chose Islamic extremists. Lone actors and left-wing extremists received 17% and 13%, respectively.
The findings come amid renewed debate over the legacy of the “war on terror.” Measures introduced after 9/11 included the Patriot Act, expanded surveillance powers and the creation of the Department of Homeland Security.
Research from Brown University’s Costs of War project has estimated that millions of people have died directly or indirectly as a consequence of post-9/11 conflicts across the Middle East, North Africa and Asia.
The YouGov survey questioned 1,098 US adults between August 20 and 23, with a margin of error of 4.1 percentage points.
