Following President Obama's speech outlining his new strategy, there was a bounce in optimism about the war in Afghanistan. But the bounce has ended and confidence has fallen again. Confidence has also fallen in the broader War on Terror.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that only 21% of U.S. voters now think the situation in Afghanistan will get better over the next six months. That’s down 13 points from the survey immediately following the president’s speech.

Prior to that, voter confidence that things will get better in Afghanistan ranged from a low of 13% in October to a high of 29% in late June.

Forty-five percent (45%) now believe the situation in Afghanistan will worsen in the next six months, up six points from early December. Still, that’s a modest improvement when compared to attitudes captured from August until the President’s speech.

Following the president’s speech announcing his two-pronged strategy for the war, 53% supported his plan to send another 30,000 troops to Afghanistan, and nearly as many (47%) liked his plan to begin withdrawing troops in 18 months. Put the two together, however, and 37% supported the overall plan, while 38% opposed it.

In his speech, Obama stressed how important it is for America’s NATO allies to pitch in, but only 33% of voters are at least somewhat confident that NATO will do all it can to help the United States win in Afghanistan.

(Want a free daily e-mail update ? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.

Sixty-two percent (62%) of voters think it will be harder for America to make progress in Afghanistan than it was in Iraq. But 50% agree with the president that Afghanistan is a “just” war.

Following the Christmas Day terrorist attempt on a U.S. airliner, belief that the bad guys are winning the War on Terror is now at its highest level in over two years, and nearly half of voters say America is not safer than it was before 9/11.

Confidence also has fallen, although less dramatically, in the conduct of the lingering war in Iraq. Thirty-two percent (32%) say the situation in Iraq will get better in the next six months. That’s a drop of seven points from earlier in the month, but confidence in Iraq in general had been falling since June.

Thirty-one percent (31%) think the situation in Iraq will get worse in the next six months, while 27% believe it will stay about the same.

Little changed for months are the findings about which countries voters rate as the bigger threats to U.S. national security. Twenty-nine percent (29%) put Iran at the top of the list, while 14% say North Korea is the bigger threat.

Seventeen percent (17%) view China that way. Still, 84% of Americans rate the U.S.-Chinese relationship as important.

Ten percent (10%) and nine percent (9%) list Pakistan and Afghanistan respectively as number one. For three percent (3%), Iraq is America’s bigger threat, and two percent (2%) believe that of Russia.

Voters feel strongly that the United Nations has not been tough enough in responding to Iran’s nuclear program.

Sixty-six percent (66%) say preventing Iran from having nuclear weapons is more important than stopping an Israeli-Iranian war.

Confidence in Obama’s handling of national security issues has suffered since the Christmas Day attempted airliner bombing. Please sign up for the Rasmussen Reports daily e-mail update (it’s free) or follow us on Twitter or Facebook. Let us keep you up to date with the latest public opinion news.

See survey questions and toplines. Crosstabs and are available to Premium Members.