A newly released CNN/ORC poll shows a record large percentage of Americans believing that, with respect to the global war on terrorism, the terrorists are winning, along with the lowest number yet thinking the US are winning.
The new poll saw 40% thinking terrorists are winning, 18% thinking the US is, and 40% saying no one is winning. This is a sharp split from the last poll, in 2011, which saw 9% believe terrorists are winning, 44% thinking the US is, and 45% saying neither.
Similar polls have been conducted since 2001, and the previous peak for the “terrorists” answer was 23%, in August 2005, immediately after the London Tube bombings. Even then, 34% thought the US was winning.
Other questions in the poll saw the public split 49-49 on the question of sending ground troops to Iraq and Syria, but perhaps even more interestingly, a record large number of Americans, 53%, believing the government can “prevent all major attacks if it works hard enough at it.”
There was no accompanying language suggesting exactly how the government would eliminate terrorism, but previous polls on the same question have tended to have a strong majority of Americans believing that terrorists would “always find a way.”
And the US is spending how much on (fighting) each terrorist? How sad. I guess this means Washington will have to spend several trillion more… That's the answer, isn't it, for both the right and the left.
You know, it may someday be possible, if we weren't already 'fighting' it, to form an 'enemy' construct that could never be 'defeated' per se. We could then proceed as if we intended some final victory over it, such that one could ask 'are we "winning" or is "[it]"?' until the Sun burns out completely.
Heard somewhere that "In times of peace, the warlike man attacks himself." Who 'wins,' you reckon?
Don't suppose any of those polled also thought that drugs are winning? Anyway, I highly recommend replacing the Global War on Fear-Itself with the Intergalactic War on Angst. Surely the warlike-man could 'win' that one.
an action,US invades let's just name one, Iraq,we created what's called reaction, we take the action out, we are left with no reaction, very simple.
The US public says the terrorists are winning.
The US government says they are winning.
Its a no brainer who the terrorists are.
Could the pentagon find an alternative to war, instead of invading? Might it be possible to lure those who are violently angry and join ISIS and such into another direction, building instead of suicide? If we stopped invading, bombing, droning, and worked for decent governments instead would that make a difference?
a testament to the sheer stupidity of the american rube. how are the terrorists winning? what part of our territory do they control?? the only thing "winning" is the gov't propaganda.
There's quite a bit of reality in this. Look at Northern Ireland. The British never succeeded in "defeating" the IRA but they could have held it to a draw at the price of unending war. Ultimately, they weren't willing to pay that price. Israel has been willing to pay that price and has had nearly 70 years of war, with no end in sight.
Of course the terrorists are winning for the idiot Americans are allowing their representatives and the media-govt complex terrorize them with fear which then allows them to take away their Bill of Rights for a national security police state.