Al-Qaeda never fails to disappoint
For Islamic terrorists, it doesn’t matter who sits in the highest office in the land that is the Great Satan; it matters that America is the Great Satan, regardless of who sits in any office therein:
Here’s a helpful reminder to anyone labouring under the misapprehension that Al Qaeda is an organization with a particular hate for the Bush administration.
The #2 crackpot in the organization, Ayman al-Zawahri, posted a message on friendly web sites denouncing President-elect Barack Obama as a “house negro” who does the bidding of white masters.
Just to ensure everyone got the message, al-Zawahri added that Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice are similar “house negroes”.
Al Qaeda posted the message in Arabic, according to the Associated Press, but pointedly included an English translation of the term, which could also be translated as “house slave”.
What will be interesting — likely in the most “Chinese curse” sense of the word that is possible — to see in the coming months and years will be what happens on the domestic security front during Obama’s turn in the Oval Office.
The above is Al Qaeda throwing down a glove and reminding the world that in the end, “Death to America” is still their guiding principle. That was the case on George W. Bush’s watch; it’ll be the case on Obama’s watch. The key difference, then, will be the perception of the man on watch on the international stage — how America’s president is seen by the world, and especially by Al Qaeda, will determine what actions (if any) Al Qaeda will take against the United States.
Say what you like about Bush: since 9/11/2001, there haven’t been any acts of terror perpetrated by Al Qaeda or any of its cellular offshoots on American soil. Al Qaeda hasn’t been dormant during all that time, but — like any schoolyard bully — they’ve gone after weaker targets rather than mess with an American president, and with an America, that is willing and able to punch back, and punch harder than it was hit.
Pace Osama bin Laden’s remark concerning weak horses and strong horses, how Obama conducts himself in office in the first few months will, I think, determine the nature and extent of America’s domestic security woes during the remainder of Obama’s term in office. If he presents himself as someone who, like Bush, is willing to punch back when punched, then America will probably have very little to worry about. If, on the other hand, he presents as some kind of quasi-European appeasement fetishist, America will have a great deal to worry about — falling camels and knives, and all that jazz.
At present, it seems that Al Qaeda thinks of Obama as being in the “weak” category; let’s hope that Obama himself does enough to convince them to re-evaluate that position. One finds that the alternative does not bear contemplation, save as an exercise in horror.
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