A Paradox: "Allies" Where You Least Expected It

The terrorists hope that a republican victory will lead to the prolongation of the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq so that they can kill more Americans.

Among the hypotheses that might lead to McCain gaining popularity is a major terrorist attack.

“Al-Qaeda will have to support McCain in the coming election,” wrote a terrorist group that is close to Osama bin Laden’s network on a Web site . The message was translated and made public by the SITE Intelligence Groups, an institute that monitors the online presence of terrorists. But the arguments used by the terrorists don’t hint at any sympathy for the republican candidate. Instead it looks more like it was thought of by the rival Obama’s campaign.

The al-Hesbah group would like McCain to win because he would continue the “failing march of his predecessor.” According to terrorist logic, McCain is more likely to keep American forces in Afghanistan and Iraq than Obama, and so the terrorists’ chances of defeating America would grow.

McCain’s determination to carry on fighting is no secret. He even set a very ambitious target that by 2013, when he hopes to begin a second mandate, he will have captured bin Laden.

The “hope” of the terrorists, who are rejoicing because of the weakening of America as a result of the financial crisis, has been interpreted by antiterrorism experts and political analysts. Among them, the “optimists” consider that al-Hesbah and Al-Qaeda are actually afraid of another Republican victory as it would continue the hunt for all the members of the cells that have declared war on America.

The “pessimists” fear that the terrorist are planning a major attack (anticipated on the al-Hesbah website) as close to the election date as possible, as the U.S. will be most vulnerable then. A major hit could lean the balance towards McCain for good, in spite of his rival’s lead. This is what happened in Madrid, when the March 2004 Atocha Train Station attacks led to a crushing socialist win against the Jose Maria conservatives, who was considered an ally of Washington.

In 2004, bin Laden “supported” John Kerry

If there will be an attack, McCain could win the elections. If nothing happens until November 4, he might suffer the fate of Democrat John Kerry, which came as the result of a “supportive” al-Hesbah message. Back then, four days before the elections, bin Laden himself hinted at his “preference” for John Kerry in a tape meant for the Americans, whilst mocking and calling Bush a “puppet.” The idea that the country would be safer with a democrat president irritated voters and turned into a key argument in favor of Bush, who won his second mandate.

McCain fears a nuclear crisis

Bewildered by the lead Obama is gaining in polls, McCain brings up how insecure America would be if it were to fall in the hands of a president who would “incite the world to test him” in all the campaign reunions he has left.

After vice presidential candidate Sen. Joseph Biden warned that countries hostile to the U.S. would test Obama just like they tested John Kennedy, McCain pointed out the crisis caused in Cuba by the nuclear missiles the soviets had installed in 1962. It is considered the tensest moment during the Cold War as the world came close to a nuclear confrontation, moment that might repeat itself, as the Republican suggested.

“America will not have a president who needs to be tested,” promised McCain to fans at a rally in Pennsylvania, which happens to be one of the states that might decide the fate of the elections this year.