Yeah, So?

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It's long been understood that Al-Qeada (also spelled "Al-Qaida") wants John McCain elected so they'll have a more full-on, never-say-die war effort to deal with in Iraq, which will advance their cause by inspiring more young and disaffected Middle Eastern men to join up and give their lives. So it's not that big a deal for an Al-Qeada backed website called al-Hesbah to have posted a message along these lines.

The message reported late last night said that in order "to exhaust the United States militarily and economically," Al-Qeada believes that the "impetuous Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain is the better choice because he is more likely to continue the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan" and will otherwise "continue the failing march of his predecessor, Bush."

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on October 22, 2008 at 1:53 PM

comment #1

115thDreamer says ...

You hate to give any kind of credit to the bad guys, but their assessment of McCain seems perfectly reasonable. As for McCain/Palin, wow...you know your campaign is fucked when a radical terrorist group seems like a think tank compared to your own staff. That Steve Schmidt guy probably couldn't even get a job interview at this al-Hebah place.....

Posted by 115thDreamer at October 22, 2008 2:15 PM

comment #2

admiralmpj says ...

Politically, when Usama Bin-Laden (how the FBI spells it) releases his Halloween video, how does John McCain argue that he's better at protecting America from the Terrorists, when there are news stories saying the Terrorists hope he wins?

Posted by admiralmpj at October 22, 2008 2:25 PM

comment #3

calraigh says ...

Seriously, Monty Python is looking decreasingly like satire as the days go on. We're through the looking-glass here people.
I can't wait for the spin on this.

Posted by calraigh at October 22, 2008 2:25 PM

comment #4

Sean says ...

Well, it's a damned-if-you-do/don't think. It happened last election with Kerry.

If al-Qaeda (not Qeada, Jeff) says they want a candidate on a document that they can act like was supposed to be secret but nevertheless gets exposed, what's the outcome? al-Qaeda said McCain, therefore Obama. Ah, but they knew you'd draw that conclusion, which is why they said it; therefore, McCain. But surely that ruse occurred to them as well; therefore Obama.

As cinema has taught us, the only solution is to build up a tolerance to this stuff so it doesn't affect you.

Posted by Sean at October 22, 2008 2:49 PM

comment #5

Jack Price says ...

Not sure where the ambivalence is coming from Jeff.

It's not just stating what we've all been assuming about Al-Qaida's view on McCain. That on it's own isn't a stretch. But what's significant is the site also entertains the idea of a pre-election attack in order to shift the polls to the other direction.

Meanwhile, we see another one of Joe Biden's gaffes get considerable spin from the GOP (you know, the one about "an international crisis" occurring if Obama gets elected, though that's the butchered paraphrasing of it), and just a couple posts down from this one you have a clip of McCain having a Freudian slip of the tongue.

This feels far more relevant to me than either of those instances.

Posted by Jack Price at October 22, 2008 3:29 PM

comment #6

Jack Price says ...

Actually, scratch that. There's nothing that explicit in the actual article. I misread from the previous site that linked to it.

Non-news item indeed.

Posted by Jack Price at October 22, 2008 3:34 PM

comment #7

MAGGA says ...

What Al-Qeada wants is relevance, to stay in the headlines, to make Americans act out of fear no matter who they vote for. This fear has caused the Bush administration to do precisely what the terrorists hoped they would do after 9-11. The way to defeat them is to ignore them on all fronts apart from security, because at heart they are a small, pathetic organisation that get inflated importance, increased recruitment and a place in the media and the American conscience due to pulling off that one horrible attack, and the understandable panic that followed. Deny them that and they have lost.

Posted by MAGGA at October 22, 2008 4:06 PM

comment #8

televisiontears says ...

Amen, MAGGA. I couldn't have said it better myself. Al-Qaeda is a pathetic little club that operates under the idea that the world gives one shit about them. When we do (aside from security - as MAGGA says), that fuels their little egos and they feel validated. They landed international notoriety with 9/11 - which was a fluke, albeit a well-planned one - and have been savoring the American fear ever since.

In a way, I second Jeff's "Yeah, So?". Who should honestly give a fuck about what they say or think, other than the Pentagon?

Posted by televisiontears at October 22, 2008 5:21 PM

comment #9