Al-Qaida not weakened in war on terror

WASHINGTON, Sept. 29 (UPI) -- Despite years of military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, a majority of people polled in a new study say the war on terror is not weakening al-Qaida.

The poll, conducted by international polling firm GlobeScan in partnership with the University of Maryland's Program on International Policy Attitudes, found that three in five people surveyed think that neither the United States nor al-Qaida is winning the war on terror, World Public Opinion reported.

The poll, conducted for the BBC, found that of the almost 24,000 people in 23 countries that were asked who is "winning in the conflict between al-Qaida and the United States," only 22 percent believe al-Qaida has been weakened.

In only three countries -- Kenya, Nigeria and Turkey -- did respondents believe the United States is winning. Even among people polled in the United States, only 34 percent believe al-Qaida has been weakened.

"Despite its overwhelming military power, America's war against al-Qaida is widely seen as having achieved nothing better than a stalemate, and many believe that it has even strengthened al-Qaida," Steven Kull, International Policy Attitudes program director, said in a statement.