Recently, Al Qaeda intelligently threw its support behind John McCain for president. Not because they think McCain is best for America, but because he suits their interests.
This endorsement has many
security officials concerned that
Al Qaeda may attempt to sway
the election toward McCain
through acts of terrorism.
Obviously, McCain is seen as
the more “tough on terrorism”
presidential candidate.
To me, this is hardly a surprise.
For Al Qaeda, McCain
(a George Bush foreign policy
clone) makes perfect sense.
If you were the enemy of the
United States, who would you
vote for? How would you fight
the war on terror against the
U.S.? Here’s how I would do it.
First, I would attack the heart
of America, perhaps the World
Trade Centers and the Pentagon,
hopefully scaring Americans to
the point they invade another
country and become entangled
in another long, protracted guerilla
war similar to Vietnam.
After they invade this country,
I would use it as a pretext
to hire even more vengeful,
religious fanatics to attack the
Americans. I would encourage
a never-ending war of attrition
with the U.S., and I would promote
instability in the “liberated”
country.
Once the war of attrition
gains momentum, I would use
the collateral damage as another
recruiting tool to hire more
people to fight the U.S. Since
I know most of my followers
are not actually religious fanatics,
but educated, impoverished
citizens who have been ruined
by U.S.-backed governments
such as Pakistan and Egypt, I
would applaud America when
they ally with unstable, corrupt
governments that only further
exacerbate the problems of their
people.
I would pray that the longterm
commitment of American
forces would over-stretch and
exhaust the American military
to the point that, over time, it
cannot maintain a presence in
the Middle East and will most
likely lose its next conflict with
a near-peer such as China or
Russia, who would not intervene
in Middle Eastern affairs.
I would promote the belief in
the West that terrorists attacked
the U.S. because it is a beacon of
freedom and democracy around
the world, because I know this
will lead to bigotry and arrogance.
Furthermore, it will
hide the real reason I attacked
America, which was to avenge
its foreign policy in the Middle
East and to kick it out of the
Holy Land (Saudi Arabia). I
hope that it would turn into a
war between Christianity and
Islam, West and East, because
then I would have the support
of one whole half of the world.
Lastly, I would vote for
McCain so all this would continue
to happen and so that U.S.
forces will eventually become so
weak they cannot defend the
home front because America is
stretched too far and too thin.
Then, I would dance when the
U.S. went to war with a country
like China, Russia or Iran.
The point I am trying to
make is that our neoconservative
foreign policy is falling right
into the hands of Al Qaeda. Al
Qaeda’s endorsement should be
a catalyst for many Americans
to wake up and realize what is
going on. Terrorists are evil, no
doubt about it, and are to blame
for their terrorist acts, but they
are facilitated by a foreign policy
that weakens our domestic security,
helps them recruit more
members, props up abusive governments
and antagonizes the
rest of the world.
If that’s what they want,
McCain is the perfect candidate
for them.
Lazarus Austin is a senior majoring
in history. He can be contacted
at [email protected].