Terrorism has blatantly been on the rise over the last several months. Only this week, the terrorist group Al-Shabab suggested that the Mall of America be targeted, and the recent attacks in Paris, Sydney, and Ottawa have forced the Western World to acknowledge these advancing threats.
At the same time, Obama’s counterrorism plan of “empowering local communities” and promoting “pluralistic values” has hardly evoked confidence from sea to shining sea.
Only 19 percent of likely U.S. voters believe America and its allies are winning the War on Terror, according to a Rasmussen Reports whereas 37 percent believe the terrorists are winning. This marks the highest level of pessimism since the attacks on September 11th.
Confidence in U.S. anti-terrorism efforts hit a high of 62% in February 2009 just after President Obama’s inauguration, then steadily deteriorated until the killing of Osama bin Laden in May 2011 when it rebounded into the 50s. But it has been trending steadily down for the past two years.
Forty-three percent of respondents fear the government does not focus on protecting the United States from internal Islamic terrorism threats. And it's easy to see why. One of the federal government's recent less-than-stellar schemes to combat ISIS domestically is being playing out in Minnesota. This is where the U.S. attorney has tasked local religious and business leaders to head a "community intervention team" to appease ISIS radicalization without the police.
Obama's lackadaisical leadership and pro-activism in the War on Terror has been enough to shake anyone's confidence.
