Americans are more likely to say that terrorists are winning the war against the United States than they have been at any point since the 9/11 attacks, according to a new poll. Results from a CNN/ORC poll released Monday revealed that 40 percent of Americans said terrorists are winning, while 40 percent said neither side is winning and only 18 percent of respondents think the U.S. is winning.
Among the adults polled in the December survey, 74 percent said they were either "not too satisfied" or "not at all satisfied" when it came to the way things were going in America's war against terrorism, reported Politico. In 2007, 61 percent of Americans expressed dissatisfaction, which was the previous high.
However, Americans remain hopeful, according to CNN. A majority said the government can prevent all major attacks if it is diligent in anti-terror efforts, and only 45 percent said "terrorists will always find a way to launch major attacks no matter what the U.S. government does," which is down from about 60 percent in most previous polling on this question.
Although there are some differences along party lines as to how the U.S. has handled terrorism — and ISIS specifically — the majority of all political persuasions are unhappy with efforts on that front. Among Republicans, 86 percent are unhappy with America’s efforts, 79 percent of independents feel similarly, as do 59 percent of Democrats. Only 17 percent said they "have a great deal" of confidence in the Obama administration's ability to shield the U.S. from terrorism, reported the Hill.
Sunday, Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.), known for his hard-line positions on terrorism-related issues, said ISIS is "probably right" about the ineffectiveness of U.S. military action against the group, according to Fox News. King also called for more surveillance of mosques in the U.S., suggesting that Muslim terrorists visit them and that civil libertarians can “cry all they want” about the tactic.
"ISIS is stronger, I believe, than it was 16 months ago," he said, according to the Hill. "As we know, they also do intend to attack the United States."
