Al Qaeda Endorses McCain, Chertoff Undermines His Spin

By Cernig

Wingnuts from John McCain on down have been breathless in the last couple of days about Joe Biden's remarks that a terrorist attack would almost certainly try to test President Obama in his first six months in office. The spin is that Obama is too risky a choice and Mccain has already been tested (P.O.W.!). McCain even had a "mushroom cloud" moment!

Unfortunately, Michael Chertoff has already undercut McCain's spin by saying he would expect terrorists to try to test either candidate if they should become president - and suggested that any test of Obama would be likley to come from domestic bloodthirsty nutcases, not foreign ones.

``Any period of transition creates a greater vulnerability, meaning there's more likelihood of distraction,'' Chertoff said in an interview yesterday. ``You have to be concerned it will create an operational opportunity for terrorists.''

The risk is the same whether Democrat Barack Obama or Republican John McCain is elected president on Nov. 4, he said. That comment undercuts McCain's argument that the U.S. would be more in danger of an attack if Obama, 47, wins.

... Still, he said, he's concerned about the effect of rhetoric from some hate groups or individuals during the campaign.

``There's a general level of intemperateness in the discussion as we approach the election,'' he said. ``Do I worry that it could trigger in a disturbed individual a desire to do something? Absolutely, I worry about it.''

And now, there are reports that McCain has the backing of Al Qaeda. The logic, for them, is simple:

The message, posted Monday on the password-protected al-Hesbah Web site, said if al-Qaida wants to exhaust the United States militarily and economically, "impetuous" Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain is the better choice because he is more likely to continue the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"This requires presence of an impetuous American leader such as McCain, who pledged to continue the war till the last American soldier," the message said. "Then, al-Qaida will have to support McCain in the coming elections so that he continues the failing march of his predecessor, Bush."

SITE Intelligence Group, based in Bethesda, Md., monitors the Web site and translated the message.

"If al-Qaida carries out a big operation against American interests," the message said, "this act will be support of McCain because it will push the Americans deliberately to vote for McCain so that he takes revenge for them against al-Qaida. Al-Qaida then will succeed in exhausting America till its last year in it."

The WaPo adds:

the comments summarized what has emerged as a consensus view on extremist sites, said Adam Raisman, a senior analyst for the Site Intelligence Group, which monitors Islamist Web pages. Site provided translations of the comments to The Washington Post.

"The idea in the jihadist forums is that McCain would be a faithful 'son of Bush' -- someone they see as a jingoist and a war hawk," Raisman said. "They think that, to succeed in a war of attrition, they need a leader in Washington like McCain."

And Eric Martin notes that this should come as no surprise. "The CIA concluded that bin Laden attempted to swing the election for Bush in 2004 with the release of a videotape in the last weeks of the campaign." McCain is like Bush on speed when it comes to belligerent, unthinking words and actions. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to work out that equation.

Update: Spencer Ackerman relates a "panicked" conference call with Mccain advisers.