On Al-Qaeda Web Sites, Joy Over U.S. Crisis, Support for McCain

By Joby Warrick and Karen DeYoungWashington Post Staff WritersWednesday, October 22, 2008; A13

Al-Qaeda is watching the U.S. stock market's downward slide with something akin to jubilation, with its leaders hailing the financial crisis as a vindication of its strategy of crippling America's economy through endless, costly foreign wars against Islamist insurgents.
And at least some of its supporters think Sen. John McCain is the presidential candidate best suited to continue that trend.

"Al-Qaeda will have to support McCain in the coming election," said a commentary posted Monday on the extremist Web site al-Hesbah, which is closely linked to the terrorist group. It said the Arizona Republican would continue the "failing march of his predecessor," President Bush.

The Web commentary was one of several posted by Taliban or al-Qaeda-allied groups in recent days that trumpeted the global financial crisis and predicted further decline for the United States and other Western powers. In language that was by turns mocking and ominous, the newest posting credited al-Qaeda with having lured Washington into a trap that had "exhausted its resources and bankrupted its economy." It further suggested that a terrorist strike might swing the election to McCain and guarantee an expansion of U.S. military commitments in the Islamic world.

(The Full Article)

Snop's Commentary:

Again, Al Qaeda wants to manipulate our election and I don’t think it matters who wins. They will still have trouble with the US. BTW, I heard that Iran is backing Obama -interesting thing Shiites for Obama--Sunnis for McCain. Crazy! Our globalized media world allows all sorts of unsavory characters to weigh in on our domestic elections. Sadly, too many people expect problems with the Muslim world to go away, as if George Bush stirred all this up in the first place. I am very concerned about our ability to continue fighting the GWOT with a faltering economy. Al Qaeda rightly touts their strategy of exhaustion—they have the time—we don’t have the money. Talk about asymmetry, for every billion dollars we spend Al Qaeda spends a thousand. 9/11 cost 500k! We’ve spent well over 500billion in Iraq and Afghanistan already.

We need to find a stasis in the present struggle to regroup and refresh. Seven solid years of fighting is taking its toll on our equipment and people--not to mention our pocket books. I don’t agree with Al Qaeda’s assessment that Obama or McCain would act any different in the face of a massive terror hit. The American people would demand retribution. Its not like Obama could say sorry America I’m not George Bush so I’m going to start some dialoging with Bin Laden et al to understand their point of view –rubbish! The wheels of exhaustion will keep turning. Obama has already stated he would attack into Pakistan and McCain said he’d track Bin Laden to the gates of hell.

Sadly, I think we’re trapped by our own culture code and we are being played psychologically like a fiddle. Only a complete refocusing of our weight of effort from the physical struggle to the psychological/political struggle will we be successful in the end—me thinks. If it sounds like I’m contradicting myself, I probably am because there is a natural tension between the emotional and rational elements of conflict—especially this one. The emotional element in this day in age is amplified by the Cognetic Effect of global media. Look at the stock market—emotion. Look at media propagated terror—emotion; Bird Flu, SARS, climate change!!! Its all fear channeled through a hyperactive densely interconnected fabric that pulses, spikes and flows completely and utterly devoid of rationality. I’m starting to wonder if Globalization must die for us to live.