The number of Americans who say the government should do whatever it takes to protect its citizens against terrorism —even if it means violating civil liberties — has dropped almost in half since the days after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, according to a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll.
In January 2002, 47% of respondents said they were willing to have the government violate their "basic civil liberties" in order to prevent additional acts of terrorism. When asked last month, only 25% said they favored such a trade-off.