Confidence that the U.S. and its allies are winning the War on Terror declined slightly over the last month. Most Americans (54%) believe that in the long run the U.S. mission in Iraq will be judged a failure. Just 29% say it will ultimately be viewed as a success.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 36% of voters believe the U.S. and its allies are winning while 36% hold the opposite view and believe the terrorists are winning. A month ago, 37% believed the U.S. allies were winning while 32% said the terrorists are winning.

These results mark the third time in four surveys that 36% have said the terrorists are winning. That matches the highest level of pessimism ever recorded in this survey series conducted at least once a month since January 2004.

During Election 2004, more than 50% consistently believed that the U.S. team was winning. In mid-November, following Election 2006, 45% believed that the U.S. and its allies were winning. That figure reflected a post-election bounce as Democratic voters expressed more confidence following their party’s victory. That bounce has faded.

Thirty-one percent (31%) of American voters now say that President Bush is doing a good or an excellent job of handling the situation in Iraq. That’s up from 28% a month ago and 26% two months ago. However, 49% still say he is doing a poor job. Fifty-eight percent (58%) of Republicans currently give the President good or excellent marks for handling the situation in Iraq.

Forty-four percent (44%) of American voters say that the U.S. is safer today than it was before the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Forty percent (40%) disagree.

Just 25% now believe the situation in Iraq will get better over the next six months. That’s down slightly from 27% in our previous survey. Forty-nine percent (49%) say that things are likely to get worse in Iraq.

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