ABSTRACT
In light of the public's exaggerated threat perceptions and the tendency for political officials to overplay the risks of terrorism with endless lists of potential targets, one would expect to see sustained public support for government surveillance activities. These, after all, are the tools the government claims it needs to improve intelligence gathering for counter-terrorist operations. But public support for surveillance and other perceived restrictions on civil liberties has steadily declined since 2001 (see Figure 5.1 1 ).
