Few Americans believe US winning fight against terror: Poll

Belief that the US is winning the fight against terrorism has dropped to its lowest level in more than a decade of regular tracking, a poll has found.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that just 27 percent of the likely US voters now believe the US and its allies are winning the fight against terrorism, the lowest level in more than a decade, Xinhua reported.

The figure is down eight points from 35 percent in April and 47 percent a year ago after hitting a high of 62 percent in February 2009 just after President Barack Obama's inauguration.

Then it steadily deteriorated until the US killing of terror mastermind Osama bin Laden in May 2011, when it rebounded into the 50 percent range, Rasmussen found.

In April, 39 percent said the US is safer than before the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington Sep 11, 2001, but 41 percent disagreed.

The poll comes as radical terrorists in the Middle East have suddenly captured worldwide headlines.

Fifty-nine percent of the poll's respondents believe there is a global conflict between the Muslim world and Western civilisation. Seventeen percent disagree, but 24 percent are not sure in findings that are consistent with earlier surveying, Rasmussen said.

Just 44 percent now think the US is too involved in the Middle East, down from 54 percent last October.

Twenty-one percent said the US is not involved enough in that region, an 11-point jump from 10 percent in the last survey. Twenty-four percent rate the US level of involvement in the Middle East as about right. Eleven percent are undecided, Rasmussen said.