Al-Qaeda is funny. Well, not usually, but the jihadist group’s announcement on Wednesday morning that it is endorsing John McCain in the 2008 United States presidential election is undeniably comical. A posting on al-Hesbah, an extremist web site that has been tied to al-Qaeda, declared: "Al-Qaeda will have to support McCain in the coming election," because he is likely to continue the "failing march of his predecessor."
Wavering between complete obliviousness and self-awareness in its most absolute form, al-Qaeda is in a position that must be making a bunch of people pretty uncomfortable. No American politician wants to be linked to the organization responsible for September 11, and there is no doubt that the terrorist group knows that. With al-Qeada’s announcement comes a barrage of attempts at rationalization:
Is al-Qaeda endorsing McCain because they actually want him to win, or are they using reverse psychology in hopes of disparaging McCain and driving voters into Barack Obama’s court? If that is the case, what would they have to gain from an Obama presidency? Or what if al-Qaeda is actually not aware of the horrible connotations that come with any mention of their name and believe themselves to be making a serious endorsement? What’s going on with these guys, anyway; does a, al-Qaeda central governing body even exist anymore?
The al-Hesbah post continues with what has become standard-issue anti-America terrorist punditry, claiming that the group is considering launching an attack on America at some point in the weeks leading up to the election, believing: "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 whole situation is great; it’s like that episode of The Simpsons where Homer attempts to be nice to Ned Flanders but ends up destroying his life. Killing through kindness…classic.