The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 45% of likely voters believe the U.S. and its allies are winning the War on Terror. Twenty percent (24%) say the terrorists are winning, while 26% say neither.

Those numbers are slightly more pessimistic than last month, when 47% believed the U.S. and its allies were winning and just 20% thought the terrorists were winning. Over the past several months, confidence in the War on Terror has grown to the highest levels since the President was re-elected. The 45% who say the U.S. and its allies are winning is well above the 33% who held that view at the beginning of 2007.

For the first time in six months, a plurality of voters believe the situation in Iraq will get worse over the coming months. Thirty percent (30%) now say the situation in Iraq will get better in the next six months while (36%) hold the opposite view and believe the situation will get worse.

Long-term optimism has also fallen slightly over the past month. Thirty-two percent (32%) of Likely Voters now say history will deem the U.S. mission in Iraq a success – a two-point decrease from last month. Now half (50%) of adults say the U.S. mission in Iraq will be deemed a failure. Forty-four percent (44%) of Likely Voters say the United States is safer today than it was before 9/11 while 36% say it is not. Those numbers have improved since last month.

Bush’s approval numbers have also decreased from last month. Just 28% say Bush has done a good or excellent job handling the situation in Iraq. Nearly half (49%) disagree and give him a poor rating. A separate survey has consistently found that roughly six-out-of-ten Americans would like to see the troops brought home from Iraq within the year.

Men are slightly more optimistic about the war than women. While half of men (50%) say the U.S. and its allies are winning, just 40% of women agree. Over a quarter of women (27%) say the terrorists are winning, while only 19% of men think the same. Men are fairly evenly divided as to how history will view the mission in Iraq. Forty percent (40%) of men say the mission will be deemed a success while 47% say it will be seen as a failure. Most women (53%) believe the efforts in Iraq will be seen as a failure. Just half as many--26%--believe it will be judged a success.

The overwhelming majority of Republican voters (75%) say the U.S. and its allies are winning the War on Terror. Less than a third of Democrats (29%) agree. While just 8% of GOP’s say the terrorists are winning, 38% of Democratic voters say the same.

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