Roughly 40 percent of Americans say the terrorists are winning

Asked to decide whether terrorists or the U.S.-led coalition were winning the war on terror, far more Americans placed their bets on the terrorists. A CNN/ORC survey out Monday found that 40 percent of Americans say that the extremists are ahead in the fight, while only 18 percent say the same about the West, marking the highest percentage of Americans believing terrorists have the upper hand at any point since the 9/11 attacks. Back in August 2006, only 22 percent of Americans said they thought terrorists were winning.

That pessimism extends to Americans' opinions of the government's handling of the war on terror, too. Only 17 percent of Americans say they "have a great deal" of confidence that President Obama can protect the nation, while 20 percent say they have "not much" confidence and 30 percent say they have "none at all." And even if Americans had more faith in the government's ability to handle the situation, 45 percent don't think it would make that much difference and that, regardless, terrorists would continue causing bloodshed.

There was one glimmer of hope in the survey: 53 percent think the government could combat terrorism — if it "works hard enough."

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The survey's margin of error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.