[+/-] Al Qaeda supporters endorse McCain

Terror group hopes McCain continues 'failing march' of Bush:

A Web site linked to international terror group al Qaeda has endorsed John McCain's presidential bid, believing the Republican candidate will keep US troops engaged in costly, intractable wars abroad and continue the policies of President Bush, according to news reports.

Al Qaeda also is cheering the ongoing financial crisis in the US, according to the messages taken from a password-protected site linked to the group, according to the Washington Post.

"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.

"It will push the Americans deliberately to vote for McCain so that he takes revenge for them against al-Qaeda," said the posting, attributed to Muhammad Haafid, a longtime contributor to the password-protected site. "Al-Qaeda then will succeed in exhausting America."

The Associated Press has more. "This requires presence of an impetuous American leader such as McCain, who pledged to continue the war till the last American soldier," the message said. "Then, al-Qaida will have to support McCain in the coming elections so that he continues the failing march of his predecessor, Bush."

SITE Intelligence Group, based in Bethesda, Md., monitors the Web site and translated the message. McCain's campaign responded to the calls during a conference call Wednesday. According to several reports [1][2], the McCain campaign didn't engage the possible reasoning behind al Qaeda's near endorsement; instead, McCain advisers rehashed old quotes from other US enemies that were vaguely supportive of Obama. Spencer Ackerman notes,

What was absent from the call, oddly enough, was any discussion about why Al Qaeda might want McCain to win. And there the case is simple enough. Al Qaeda prefers an indefinite U.S. occupation of Iraq and a bellicose U.S. all across the Muslim world to radicalize Muslims to its terrorist cause and drain the U.S. of its financial wealth — what Osama bin Laden calls his “bleed to bankruptcy” strategy. Hence, the reason why, as the CIA eventually concluded, Bin Laden tried to help George W. Bush’s reelection in 2004 by releasing a late-October tape. McCain pledges basic continuity with Bush on the Iraq war. As Scheunemann put it, “John McCain will spend what it takes to win.”

The messages could be seen as undercutting past Republican attempts to paint Democrats as the preferred party of "the terrorists."

In 2004, former Rep. Dennis Hastert, who was then Speaker of the House, predicted a pre-election terror attack from al Qaeda in an attempt to shift votes to John Kerry.

Osama bin Laden released a videotaped message before the 2004 election, but he's been silent so far this year.

The online posting says an attack would drive voters to McCain because the GOP candidate would promise to seek revenge and ramp up the global war on terror. Indeed, it seems al Qaeda couldn't be happier at its prospects after eight years of President Bush's foreign policy.

Earlier this spring, Jerome Corsi, who's gained prominence lately for his anti-Obama writings, reported on another al Qaeda-linked group that was backing McCain.

Whatever the case, it seems the latest message represents something of a consensus among Islamic extremists, an intelligence analyst told the Post.

"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," Adam Raisman, a senior analyst for the Site Intelligence Group, said. "They think that, to succeed in a war of attrition, they need a leader in Washington like McCain."

If you recall, in March 2004 Al Qaeda endorsed Bush.