A new poll sponsored by news channel CNN shows more Americans dissatisfied with U.S. anti-terror efforts than any time since September 11, 2001, with 40 percent saying terrorists are winning the war on the United States.
Those findings, published Monday, come just weeks after deadly terrorist attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, California. They show nearly three-quarters of Americans critical of anti-terror efforts by the Obama administration — far surpassing the 61 percent who voiced similar sentiments against the George W. Bush White House in 2007.
The survey, conducted jointly with the Opinion Research Corporation, shows 55 percent of Republicans believe that Islamist extremists have gained the upper hand, while 52 percent of Democrats see the global conflict as a stalemate.
Forty-nine percent said they favor sending ground troops into battle against Islamic State extremists occupying large swaths of Syria and nearby northern and western Iraq. A similar survey in the days after the San Bernardino massacre showed 53 percent backing the deployment of U.S. troops.
Terrorism and issues of national security have dominated the 2016 race for the White House, with several other surveys in recent weeks showing security concerns now top the economy as the No. 1 voter issue.
Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump has gone so far as proposing a "total and complete" ban on Muslims entering the United States, until Washington can "figure out what's going on."
The White House quickly condemned that proposal as "totally contrary to our values as Americans."
Trump Republican rival Jeb Bush also derided Trump's proposal, tweeting that his rival's " 'policy' proposals are not serious."
