On the same day that Iraqi forces recaptured Ramadi, CNN released the results of a poll showing that nearly three out of four Americans are not satisfied with the way that the war on terrorism is going. The very next day the Pentagon announced that 10 more ISIS leaders had been killed in coalition airstrikes, including some allegedly linked to the Paris attacks. These successes build on previous ones. In November, Kurdish forces recaptured Sinjar in northern Iraq and gained control of a strategic ISIS supply route. That same month an American drone killed the infamous executioner Jihadi John. A good case can thus be made that the U.S. is winning the struggle against the Islamic State. Why then are Americans so pessimistic and frightened?
The answer lies in the gap between how people perceive threats and how serious those threats really are. The attacks in Paris and San Bernardino coming fast on the heels of bombings in Beirut and the downing of a Russian airliner over the Sinai have made a powerful impression on everyone, just as ISIS intended they should. They have created the mistaken impression that the Islamic State can hit its enemies whenever and where ever it likes. These attacks have also convinced many observers that the extremist organization is gaining in strengthen when it may in fact be weakening. As ISIS gets squeezed at home, it lashes out abroad.
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