Terrorism Index 2007

Foreign
Policy magazine has released the results of their
second survey of 100 foreign policy experts, on the topic of national
security.  The results are compiled into what they call the
href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=3700"
rel="tag">Terrorism Index.  Their sample
is bipartisan, with about 40% of the
participants identify themselves as conservative.  80% have
worked in Government, 26% in the military, 18% in intelligence.
 The results this year are
equally dismal.

Eighty-eight
percent of the experts believe that the war in Iraq is having a
negative impact on U.S. national security. Just 19 percent of
respondents believe that the strategy of deploying more troops in
Baghdad is a good idea. Perhaps more importantly, 92 percent said that
the Bush administration's performance on Iraq has been below average,
with nearly 6 in 10 experts of all political stripes saying the Bush
administration is doing the "worst possible job" in Iraq.

Most
think that the war in Iraq is a distraction. Most think that it would
have made more sense to surge in Afghanistan instead of in Iraq.
 There has been a 30% decline in the number who think that the
war in Afghanistan has had a positive impact on US national security.
 A majority think that the US has made progress in two out of
four major goals suggested by the 9/11 Commission.



57% say that the Taliban is stronger this year than last.  The
numbers go on and on, but you get the picture.