These poll numbers were released earlier today by Rasmussen Reports -- "an electronic publishing firm specializing in the collection, publication, and distribution of public opinion polling information."
War on Terror Update
39% Say U.S. Winning War on Terror
Thursday, February 3, 2011
There's little change in the number of U.S. voters who think the United States and its allies are winning the war on terror, but the number who feel the terrorists are winning has fallen to its lowest level in nearly two years.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 39% of Likely Voters say the United States and its allies are winning the War on Terror, consistent with findings over the past couple months. Yet only 19% say the terrorists are winning that war, down 11 points from early January and the lowest level measured since July 2009. Thirty-two percent (32%) feel that neither side is winning, the highest that finding has been in several years of tracking. (To see survey question wording, click here. )
In December, the number of voters who believed the terrorists were winning the war on terror hit 32%, the highest level in over three years. Confidence that America and its allies are winning fell below 50% on a regular basis in the spring of 2009 and has fallen below 40% several times since last October.
Nearly half (47%) of the Political Class believe the United States side is winning the war on terror, a view shared by just 36% of Mainstream voters.
Voters overall remain fairly divided on the safety of the country. Although 43% say the United States is safer today than before the 9/11 terrorist attacks, 35% disagree. Twenty-two percent (22%) are not sure. In early January 2010, confidence in the safety of our country dropped and remained low till early August. Since then, confidence in the safety of the United States has risen slightly.
The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters nationwide was conducted on January 31-February 1, 2011 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC . See methodology .
When it comes to the situation in Afghanistan, only 21% of voters say that situation will get better in the next six months, showing little change for a couple years now. Thirty-four percent (34%) feel the war in Afghanistan will get worse over the coming six months, but that's the lowest level of pessimism since May of last year. Thirty-one percent (31%) expect things to stay the same.
Voters are less pessimistic about the situation in Iraq, too. Twenty-eight percent (28%) say that situation there will get better in the next six months, roughly in line with views since last spring. Nearly as many (26%) say things in Iraq will get worse, but that's the lowest negative finding since last July. Thirty-five percent (35%) say Iraq will stay about the same.
Republicans and voters not affiliated with either of the major parties have a more negative view of future prospects in Iraq and Afghanistan than Democrats do.
An overwhelming majority (85%) of voters continue to rate the performance of the U.S. military as good or excellent. Most voters (65%) also believe America's military is the most powerful in the world .
The majority of Americans expect the unrest in Egypt to spread to other Middle Eastern countries and think that will be bad for the United States . But they also say America should stay out of the situation there.
Sixty percent (60%) of Americans think it is more important for the United States to be allies with any country that best protects our own national security than it is to be allies only with countries that have freely elected governments.
Following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the government created the national color-coded terror alert system, but a majority of voters agree with the Department of Homeland Security's decision last week to abandon that system in favor of more specific warnings .