March 10 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. President George W. Bush's approval rating dropped back to its lowest level, and two-thirds of Americans think the country is on the ``wrong track,'' an Associated Press/Ipsos poll showed.

Bush in the past month has battled with Republican lawmakers over his approval of a deal that would have allowed Dubai's state-owned DP World to take over terminal operations at six U.S. ports. His administration has also been beset by an upsurge of sectarian violence in Iraq since the Feb. 22 bombing of a mosque.

Only 37 percent of Americans surveyed in the March 6-8 poll said they approved of the way Bush is handling his job, according to results on the Ipsos Web site. That's down from 40 percent last month, and matches the results for November and October, the lowest in the Ipsos data series that goes back to July 2003.

The poll shows Bush lost ground on his handling of foreign policy and terrorism, with 43 percent approving, down from 47 percent last month. The ports deal raised concern that Dubai's ownership of the terminals would pose a terrorism risk. Dubai is part of the United Arab Emirates, home of two Sept. 11 hijackers.

Just 30 percent of Americans surveyed said they thought the U.S. is on the ``right track,'' with 67 percent saying the nation is on the ``wrong track,'' the highest since at least March 2003, according to Ipsos.

More than half the people surveyed disapproved of the Bush administration's handling of the economy, domestic issues such as health care, education, environment and energy, as well as the relief effort for victims of Hurricane Katrina and foreign policy including the campaign against terrorism and the situation in Iraq, according to poll data.

Iraq Civil War `Likely'

When half of the poll's respondents were questioned further about the situation in Iraq, 49 percent said a stable, democratic government isn't likely to be established there, and 77 percent said they thought an Iraqi civil war is likely.

The dome of the Golden Mosque in Samarra, north of Baghdad, was destroyed in the Feb. 22 bombing. The destruction of the shrine, sacred to Shiite Muslims as the burial place of two ninth-century Imams, triggered reprisal attacks on Sunni Muslim mosques. A total of 452 people have been killed in violence across Iraq since then, U.S. Major General Rick Lynch said yesterday in a televised news conference in Baghdad.

The March 2003 U.S.-led invasion has opened up a ``Pandora's Box'' in Iraq, with the potential for civil war, U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad told the Los Angeles Times in an interview published on March 7. Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said on Feb. 23 that insurgents were doing ``everything'' to foment civil war.

Bush has also faced criticism over his handling of the purchase by DP World of the U.K.'s Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Co., which would have given the Middle Eastern company control over some operations at six U.S. ports.

The administration approved the deal in January after a 30- day review. While DP World agreed to a new 45-day review of the transaction because of congressional criticism, the Dubai company yesterday abandoned its effort to take over the port operations after Congress made clear it would block the deal.

Ipsos interviewed 1,000 adults, including 828 registered voters. The poll's margin of error is 3.1 percentage points.

To contact the reporter on this story: Alex Morales in London at amorales2@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: March 10, 2006 06:48 EST