RECENT POSTS
- White House State Dinner Party Crashers
- Obama to Lay Out Emissions Goals in Copenhagen
- Free Bird
- The "Good" War
- The Presidential Planner
- Under the Stars, Obama Toasts India’s Prime Minister
- White House State Dinner – Who Made the Exclusive Guest List?
- Admiral Mike Mullen To Geneva for START Talks
- VP Biden to Indian Prime Minister: “You’re the Hottest Ticket in Town”
- FLOTUS on the State Dinner: Like a Swan, "Calm and Serene Above Water, But We're Paddling Like Mad, Going Crazy Underneath"
MONTHLY ARCHIVES
« Previous | Main | Next »
Which Candidate is Al Qaeda's Choice?
October 23, 2008 8:23 AM
The McCain campaign aggressively pushed back against stories in the Washington Post and the Associated Press about a commentary posted on the website al-Hesbah, which some have suggested is linked to al Qaeda, calling for Al Qaeda supporters to help elect Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.
"Al Qaeda will have to support McCain in the coming election," the commenter said, arguing that McCain would continued the "failing march of his predecessor, Bush."
The poster, Muhammad Haafid -- who experts say is said to NOT have "a direct affiliation with Al Qaeda plans or knowledge of its operations" -- also said that a terrorist strike against the U.S. "will push the Americans deliberately to vote for McCain so that he takes revenge for them against al-Qaeda. Al Qaeda then will succeed in exhausting America."
Adam Raisman, a senior analyst for the Site Intelligence Group, which monitors the al-Hesbah website, told the Post that "The idea in the jihadist forums is that McCain would be a faithful 'son of Bush' -- someone they see as a jingoist and a war hawk. They think that, to succeed in a war of attrition, they need a leader in Washington like McCain."
"If one takes one individual Islamist blogger from one terrorist Islamist blog, who has come up with this statement that it would be good to have McCain in the White House, I think one has to consider the motives," responded former CIA director Jim Woolsey, a McCain supporter.
On a conference call arranged by the McCain campaign, Woolsey said that Haafid "knows that the endorsement of people like him is a kiss of death, figuratively and literally, so it seems to me it's pretty clear that by making this statement that he wants, that it would be a good thing for McCain to be President, he is clearly trying to damage John McCain, not speaking from his heart. So I must say I think the overall structure of the debate as one analyzes it coming out of this story taken at face value is quite remarkable."
More importantly, Woolsey said, McCain as one of the original proponents of the surge strategy in Iraq has been responsible for crippling Al Qaeda.
"On important aspect of the change in strategy was to link up with the Sunnis and the Awakening Movement in the Anbar Province and to cooperate in going after Al Qaeda in Iraq," Woolsey said. "In posting after posting, it was clear from al-Qaeda itself and from Bin Laden's statements and Zawahiri's statements that this link up which John McCain was essentially the father of, this change in strategy, was what was causing al-Qaeda in Iraq, which Al Qaeda put at right in front of their struggle, the biggest difficulty and the biggest problem. It was killing Al Qaeda in Iraq, leaders that drew the biggest concern from Al Qaeda and from really all of the Islamists."
Concluded the former CIA director: "John McCain was responsible as much as anyone in the country for that turn around. It is ridiculous to believe that in its heart of hearts Al Qaeda wants John McCain to be the President. And it is ludicrous."
McCain's senior foreign policy adviser Randy Scheunemann said, "if we are going to talk about who had got support from terrorist groups in this election I am going to read some quotes, I am not going to characterize them, I will let others judge whether the amount of expression of support or opposition whether they amount to expressions of endorsement or opposition.
"First, this week a Hamas spokesman, Ahmed Yousef, said quote, 'I do believe Mr. Biden is a great man and we do count on him as also a good partner with Mr. Obama to put the right policy regarding how to handle problems in the region. It is good for America to have the new administration with someone like Mr. Obama and his vision for change. I do believe actually with this administration, the Bush administration, we don't have luck in ending our isolation. We as Palestinians are thinking we might have better luck with the new administration if Obama wins the election. I do believe that he will change American foreign policy in the way they are handling the Middle East.'
Scheunemann continued, "Second, last month when Iranian President Ahmadinejad was in the United States, he was asked by a student whether he supports Democratic nominee Barack Obama or Republican John McCain. This is what president Ahmadinejad, who has called for the extinction of Israel has said, quote, 'the American government 28 years ago decided to cut its own ties with Iran. We do prefer to have relations whereas one of the candidates in this election would prefer that.' I think everybody on this call understands which candidate for president has endorsed unconditional meetings with president Ahmadinejad.
"Three, from Muammar Qaddafi of Libya, he said talking about Obama 'all the people in the Arab and Islamic world and in Africa applauded this man. They welcomed him and prayed for him and for his success and they may have even been involved in legitimate contribution campaign to enable him to win the American presidency.'"
The McCain adviser then seemed to suggest that Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., would clearly be Al Qaeda's choice.
"Only Senator Obama has advocated withdrawal and surrender to Al Qaeda in Iraq when Al Qaeda was at the peak of its power," he said. "Senator Obama advocated a withdrawal and voted against funding for our troops while we were engaged in fighting with Al Qaeda in early 2007, when Al Qaeda was at the peak of its power."
The Obama campaign had no comment about Haafid's posting.
-- jpt
October 23, 2008 | Permalink | Share | User Comments (112)
You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.
Do we really want to give this much deference to terrorists on which candidate they support?
All that matters is who Americans support in this election. That's what the McCain campaign should be saying if they truly are the ones who put "Country First".
Posted by: cincyr | Oct 23, 2008 11:41:26 AM
Ahmadinejad is a big lair .he don't really want talk to US . of course he prefer McCain. also when US army is in Iraq , Israel can not attack Iran because Israel should pass through Iraq sky .actually at this time US army protect Iran from Israel attack.
also US army protect Iran from Taliban and Al Qaeda .don't forget Taliban and Al Qaeda is real enemy for Iran.
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran will refuse any request by U.S.-based non-governmental organization American-Iranian Council (AIC) to open an office in the Islamic Republic, the interior minister said in comments published on Wednesday.
In a rare move, the United States this month said the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Asset Control had granted permission to New Jersey-based AIC to operate in Iran.
Posted by: Sina | Oct 23, 2008 11:32:23 AM
Al Qaedas's wants McCain to be president is just plain bull!. They want the American people to believe this because they think it will give Obama a better chance to defeat McCain. It is just a ploy, Terrorists will fear McCain and know he will be a strong defender of America, Israel and it's interests.
Come on be real you liberals. Obama is afraid to go on Sean Hannity's show,let alone him facing real live threats to our country and he has to defend us. Give me a break. Obama is a liberal whimp and Biden was right, we will be tested by our enemies if he is President. You think the economy is bad now, wait to see what happens when a weak President Obama takes office. God help us!.
Posted by: Pee Vee, Long Island | Oct 23, 2008 11:27:30 AM
The only country in the world where someone like bush or john mccain could be president is the united states of america. The whole world can see it, why cant americans? Bush screwed up the world economy and invaded a country that never had weapons of mass destruction, John McCain supported that ignorant decision. Stop living in a bubble and vote Obama.
Enough said.
Obama / Biden '08
Posted by: westindian | Oct 23, 2008 11:20:24 AM
Al qaeda has an intent and purpose for every statement they make. If you remember, they didn't want Bush to win in the last election and put out a statement just before the election. Their remarks caused undecided voters to vote for Bush. Have you ever heard of reverse psychology? Well, that's al qaeda's ploy right now! They want Barack Obama to win the election.
Posted by: disgustedvoter | Oct 23, 2008 11:17:59 AM
I m from Iran. in Iran people prefer Obama because we hate the war . we like to have good relation with US.
but our goverment prefer McCain . they really menace to Obama . Obama is a frank man .Ahmadinejad knows Bush or McCain never talk to him so he propose for conversation . but it is only a tactical game .if the Obama win , it will be the end of Islamic repulic of Iran.
Posted by: Sina | Oct 23, 2008 11:06:40 AM
God I love seeing the wacko right wing jerks panicking, throwing every despicable thing at Obama that their deranged minds can think of. Terrorist! Black! Liberal! Elitist! Un-American! Funny how it all bounces back and makes them look like ugly losers.
Seems like only yesterday we were subjected to the sight of Newts giant empty head, the Hammer's slimeball tactics, W's cocky flight suit prancing. Now they will have some time to lurk in Airport restrooms, assuming the "wide stance" that they favor.
Posted by: D Miner | Oct 23, 2008 10:49:38 AM
This has got to be the dumbest, most tortured spin on a non-issue that has yet come forth in Obama's mainstream media.
Posted by: C Nelson | Oct 23, 2008 10:49:19 AM
QUOTES VOTERS LOVE:
JOE BIDEN QUOTE: "Obama is not ready to be President".
HILLARY CLINTON, QUOTE: "Obama lacks all the skills needed for the most demanding job on earth and he is woefully lacking in experience".
JESSE JACKSON, QUOTE: "I would like to cut Obama's *** off."
You got to love Jesse as he can say it all in just a few words.
Posted by: ltk01 | Oct 23, 2008 10:34:47 AM
disinformation is the new information
Posted by: sean truitt | Oct 23, 2008 10:33:52 AM
this is a question I'd like to hear explained too.
["Larry, tell me why Colin Powell would back a terrorist? (I expect you'll leave race out of it as you mentioned)."
Posted by: Desi | Oct 23, 2008 10:01:27 AM]
I'd like to see ONE shred of evidence that Obama is a terrorist. Not an association, not an opinion....EVIDENCE.
Posted by: mdj | Oct 23, 2008 10:33:20 AM
Posted by: Frank | Oct 23, 2008 10:14:50 AM
An educated perspective, thank you for posting Frank.
Posted by: mdj | Oct 23, 2008 10:19:11 AM
Look, I am a PhD student in Int'l Relations. From what I know of Islamic Exremism, and I think it's quite a lot, Jihadists welcome death and seek the "exhaustion" of the US. McCain, more so than Obama, is committed to "Victory". This is exactly what these militants want. Al Qaeda, quite frankly, fears two things. First, a strong America with dedicated allies. Let's be honest, our NATO counterparts are more willing to follow Senator Obama. Second, they do not want a US that is looking to leave the region. Withdrawing weakens their cause. It makes it more difficult to garner funds and recruit. Simply said, Obama is the candidate least dedicated to destroying the region. As such, he is the candidate most feared by al Qaeda. It sounds counterintuitive but it's true. Nevertheless, this is NOT intended to convert McCain supporters to Obama's side. It is merely a statement of fact. READ the 1% Doctrine written by former NSA and CIA Analysts.
Posted by: Frank | Oct 23, 2008 10:14:50 AM
Desperation is truly in the air in Republican circles this year. It's shaping up to be the second landslide election in a row for Democrats (not that they deserve it). And still to this day the GOP clings to the strawmen that worked so well for them in 02 and 04, oblivious to the fact that people are sick of their tactics. For their years of calling other Americans who disagreed with their tactics traitors, for stating that their opponents wanted to "offer aid and comfort to the terrorists", may the Republican Party be cast into the political wilderness for decades to come.
Posted by: Tim B | Oct 23, 2008 10:14:28 AM
"More importantly, Woolsey said, McCain as one of the original proponents of the surge strategy in Iraq has been responsible for crippling Al Qaeda."
There was no Al Qaeda in Iraq before the war, this is not the same Al Qaeda that attacked us on 9-11. This was an anti-American group in Iraq taking on the name.
Posted by: Stephen | Oct 23, 2008 10:13:19 AM
Face it. John McCain is too old, and too anxious to attack/kill/fight whatever gets in his way.
Sarah Palin is not qualified to be POTUS underscored by the only words (rally the troops) that come out of her mouth as she has proven she can't be left alone to talk to the citizens off script.
The McCain/Palin campaign is shameful. Show me the integrity, show me more than words that say "I have a plan".
How can the citizens of our country be comfortable with a candidate that could assume the presidency that can't even face/withstand answering questions?
I don't get it. I don't get how Republican supporters really think that the McCain ticket is solid, sound and sensible. McCain may have his silver haired military experience but he reminds me of a grandfather who once was a strong common sense man who emanated confidence during his prime, but now has faded into a frailer version unable to withstand and project the man he was was.
Posted by: mdj | Oct 23, 2008 10:09:00 AM
Hold on a sec. So, one guy makes these detestable remarks and puts the McCain campaign on their heels. So, their way of handling it is to say, "No no no, Obama is Al-Qaeda's choice. And they are even praying for him. Who knows, some of them may be even helping him to win the presidency."
Now that is just pathetic!
Posted by: Josh Woods | Oct 23, 2008 10:01:55 AM
the US is lost with BO as president... But at least will we get rid of affirmative action
Posted by: jame | Oct 23, 2008 10:01:33 AM
Larry, tell me why Colin Powell would back a terrorist? (I expect you'll leave race out of it as you mentioned).
Posted by: Desi | Oct 23, 2008 10:01:27 AM
For all of you that really think you know anything about anything. When voting for Obama you need to be careful of what you wish for. I would think that pictures are worth more then the MSM opinions. When you see a man running for the highest office in our country and won't put his hand over his heart when our national athem is played and also reads books for light reads about the down fall of the american society, which are all islamic views. Again I say you need to be careful for what you wish for.
Posted by: Bear | Oct 23, 2008 9:53:41 AM
People like you make me so angry.
Posted by: Jwench | Oct 23, 2008 10:00:03 AM
Post a comment
