Obama vs. Osama: new terror message from Al Qaeda

Al Qaeda's number 2, Ayman al-Zawahiri, released his first message since the election...describing the president-elect in demeaning terms that imply he does the bidding of whites.

Zawahiri also challenged Obama's policy on Afghanistan and Pakistan saying

Be aware that the dogs of Afghanistan have found the flesh of your soldiers to be delicious, so send thousands after thousands to them

The press is reporting this as Al Qaeda's first direct challenge to Obama. But what does it actually say about Al Qaeda? More than anything it demonstrates that Al Qaeda is genuinely concerned about an Obama presidency and views it as a strategic threat to its existence.

First and foremost, Al Qaeda is an organization that thrives on propaganda. It paints the United States as an evil empire that oppresses its own minorities and has little regard for the rest of the world. Al Qaeda uses these types of narratives to raise funds and recruit. The Bush administration played right into this trap. Its "with us or against us" mentality and invasion of Iraq damaged America's image around the world and reinforced Al Qaeda's narrative.

But Al Qaeda's narrative is now under siege and it's clearly uncertain about how to react. The election of the first African American President, one with a Muslim father, flies in the face of this narrative. It shows America as an open and tolerant society - not the oppressive empire Al Qaeda would like to portray. In fact, the overwhelmingly positive international reaction to Obama's election is proof of the the threat Al Qaeda faces. As a 29 year old at a Bangkok Starbucks explained,

What an inspiration. He is the first truly global US president the world has ever had. He had an Asian childhood, African parentage and has a Middle Eastern name. He is a truly global president.

Thus, it's not surprising that Zawahiri has resorted to calling Obama a "house negro" to try and paint him as just another American President. But this is clearly more a defensive and weak message than effective propaganda that might actually work.

Moreover, Zawahiri's message about Afghanistan and Pakistan portrays a certain level of nervousness over an administration that is actually going to go after the real terrorist haven on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. Al Qaeda viewed the invasion of Iraq as a positive creating a recruiting and training ground for terrorists.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ilan-goldenberg/what-zawahris-message-say_b_144...
Ayman Al-Zawahiri has issued, in which the terrorist calls the President-elect a "house slave." If this isn't disinformation--and it would be nice if our intelligence community were clever enough to have forged the statement--it is fabulous news for reasons most succinctly described by Richard Clarke:

"Obama's election has taken the wind out of al Qaeda's sails in much of the Islamic world because it demonstrates America's renewed commitment to multiculturalism, human rights, and international law. It also proves to many that democracy can work and overcome ethnic, sectarian, or racial barriers.
"Obama's commitment to withdraw from Iraq also takes away an al Qaeda propaganda tenet: that the U.S. seeks to occupy oil rich Arab lands. His commitment to defeat al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan also challenges their plans. Most of all, by returning to American values the world admires, Obama sets al Qaeda back enormously in the battle of ideas, the ideological struggle which determines whether al Qaeda will continue to have significant support in the Islamic world."
The Zawahiri letter is one of the first real indications we have of the new international state of affairs (the Ahmadinejad letter of congratulations may also have been a good sign, but was leavened by the author's lack of real power and the fact that he's running for reelection). The terrorists are now exposed as racists, on top of everything else. We have many miles to go in Afghanistan and the northern and western precincts of Pakistan, and more blood to shed--and innumerable ways to screw up, since no one has ever gotten Afghanistan right--but the wind seems to have shifted slightly and is now at our back.
http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2008/11/19/things-that-matter/

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[waltermh111]

You cannot prove anything to anybody by doing exactly what the enemy says except to prove the enemy right and bring others to the enemies side.

I am not talking pacifism or ignoring them.

Crimes have been made on both sides and we both must pay. I am just saying move to a mindset that these people, though they are extreme are still humans with some legitimate concerns.

Right now we are fighting ideas that Al Quaeda is simply evil.

You cannot beat ideas.

[Stopawh]

Well I'm pretty sure Obama won

[jalexcout64]

Arriba mexico



[Oxygen97]

@MrOutofthis I don't live in america. But america is one of the most powerful countries in the world. America or Russia. But i actually think America would win :)

[MrOutofthis]

@mreyesky .i doubt it very much that america could defeat iran,its stretched to its limits ,iran is a massive country,its not going to be a walk over like iraq or afghanistan.im not saying iran would win in a war,but id say it would be a tactical withdraw for america.

[Jimani2012]

Obama laid the smackdown on his candyass! hahahahahahaha

[Samsterrz]

Obama vs osama. Obama Win.

[residentevil4legend]

this is somthing we need for gorge bush

[EriNoXoRandoM]

i am not against you.we are as much terrorists as they are,what are your reasons