Gloating over the U.S. economic crisis, al-Qaeda strategists are telling each other that a John McCain victory is crucial if the slide of their American enemies is to continue and possibly accelerate.
With McCain struggling in the polls, some al-Qaeda operatives even are discussing the possibility of a new terrorist attack timed before the Nov. 4 election to rally the American people to McCain's candidacy.
"Al-Qaeda will have to support McCain in the coming election," declared one commentary on a password-protected site, al-Hesbah, which has been linked to the terrorist organization.
The commentary argued that a last-minute terrorist strike could galvanize American voters behind McCain's hard-line positions and bring about a McCain administration that would follow the "failing march" of George W. Bush. [Washington Post, Oct. 22, 2008]
This al-Qaeda logic is something that U.S. intelligence agencies have long understood, that Bush's tough-guy strategies often have played into al-Qaeda's bloody hands by exacerbating anti-Americanism in the Islamic world.
For instance, CIA analysts recognized that al-Qaeda's "October Surprise" for Campaign 2004 – a videotape of Osama bin Laden denouncing Bush that was released on Oct. 29, the Friday before the election – had the predictable effect of driving American voters to Bush.
"Bin Laden certainly did a nice favor today for the President," said deputy CIA director John McLaughlin in opening a meeting to review secret "strategic analysis" after the videotape had dominated the day's news, according to Ron Suskind's The One Percent Doctrine, which draws heavily from CIA insiders.
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