Poll: 51% Say Fort Hood Could Have Been Prevented

By: Brian Montopoli
Topics: Polling

(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

A slim majority of Americans believe the U.S. military had information that could have prevented the shootings at Fort Hood Army post, a new CBS News poll finds.

Fifty-one percent of Americans say the military had sufficient information to prevent the shootings, while 29 percent say it did not. Another 20 percent are not sure.

Republicans and independents were slightly more likely than Democrats to say the military had sufficient information, though the percentages were relatively stable across the political spectrum.

Forty-eight percent of Americans – including 65 percent of Republicans – deem the shootings an act of terrorism, while 38 percent say it was not terrorism. Fourteen percent say they don't know if the attack, allegedly carried out by Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, was terrorism.

Read the Complete Poll

(CBS)

President Obama spoke at a memorial service for those killed in the attack, and he gets relatively high marks for his performance in the wake of the incident. Fifty-seven percent say they approve of how Mr. Obama dealt with the shootings, while just 18 percent disapprove. One in four aren't sure how they feel.

Fifty-six percent of Americans say they have heard "a lot" about the shootings. Those who say they have heard "a lot" are more likely to consider the attack an act of terrorism and say it could have been prevented.

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This poll was conducted among a random sample of 1,167 adults nationwide, interviewed by telephone November 13-16, 2009. Phone numbers were dialed from random digit dial samples of both standard land-line and cell phones. The error due to sampling for results based on the entire sample could be plus or minus three percentage points. The error for subgroups is higher.

This poll release conforms to the Standards of Disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

Brian Montopoli
Brian Montopoli is the senior political reporter at CBSNews.com.
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by mnbrant November 23, 2009 12:02 AM EST: Don't forget the white power people. forgot one.; Reply to this comment


by mnbrant November 23, 2009 12:00 AM EST: There are all kind of clicks in the military, right, left, gay, religous, black, white, mexican, then you have the officers, non-comissioned, enlisted, then you have the drinkers, the smokers, the druggies, the crazies, the not so crazy, then you have the disciplined, the not so disciplined, the slobs, the smart, the average, the stupid. Ok people for a fun survey please X the people you think should be removed from the military. Don't say arab as I am quite sure we could not funtion very well without that click. hint. the army needs all this clicks to funtion.; Reply to this comment


by drthvader November 17, 2009 11:23 PM EST: While I don't blame the president. I know there is blame somewhere and it lies with this person being overlooked for his radical views. It happened, somebody is to blame. I don't need a news source telling me the percentage of anybody who blames blames blames. News sources should give us the NEWS, not try to form my opinion. This man was a threat, he was overlooked. Why was that? Why are there now dead people in the wake of his radical extremism? It was known. Why was it not dealt with?; Reply to this comment


by stn_sage November 17, 2009 8:19 PM EST: There existed more than sufficient information to realize that a problem existed and should have been dealt with!

Both Major Hasan's military and job administrative commanders should have stepped in and dealt with what was going on...BEFORE it erupted into this shooting!

IF he was being harassed by his peers about his religion or religious views, the base commander should have stopped that!

IF he didn't want to go to Iraq...again, because of his religious views they should have made an alternate posting available to him...but, enter it on his 'fitness report' that he declined service in that theater of operations!

NO! This didn't have to happen! IF I were the superior general in charge over this area, I'd personally be reviewing both the base commander's and administrative commander's next 'fitness report'!; Reply to this comment