Why America is right to think Obama’s losing the War on Terror

(NYP) After the holidays, President Obama will no doubt resume his campaign to educate the American public about the brilliance of his anti-terrorism strategy. He’ll even have some facts on his side — just not most of them.

The latest CNN/ORC poll shows that more Americans think terrorists are winning their war against the United States than at any time since 9/11. The survey shows public discontent with the White House approach to be even greater than in the depths of George W. Bush’s Iraq debacle.

Sixty percent of Americans disapprove of Obama’s handling of terrorism; 64 percent of his approach to ISIS.

The White House is sure to point to the recent good news: US-aided Iraqi troops dislodged Islamic State fighters from Ramadi last week, seven months after the terrorists seized the Iraqi city.

And the Pentagon says US forces recently killed 10 skilled ISIS operatives, including two linked to last month’s Paris slaughter. At last, some of Obama’s long-promised “degrading” of ISIS.

But then there’s the no-so-good news: It remains to be seen if the Iraqis can follow up on the Ramadi win — or if the government will let its Shiite militias run wild, pushing the Sunni locals into the arms of the next terror group to come calling.

And the bigger bad news: In the 16 months since Obama announced his “degrade and ultimately destroy” approach, ISIS has acquired satellites around the Muslim world, from Libya to Afghanistan to the Sinai peninsula. Oh, and the Israelis broke up an ISIS cell in Nazareth just before Christmas.

Plus, the worse news: Al Qaeda again has bases in Afghanistan, with more on the way, as the Taliban controls more of the country than it has since 2001.

Gen. John Campbell, the US commander in Afghanistan, warned Congress in October: “Al Qaeda has attempted to rebuild its support networks and planning capabilities with the intention of reconstituting its strike capabilities against the US homeland and Western interests.” Only constant American pressure, he warns, is keeping the threat at bay. Yet President Obama is still drawing down US forces there.

Bottom line: The American public is all- too-right to disbelieve Obama’s brags, and instead trust its own “lying eyes.”