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One of the arguments in favor of a President Obama -- not one that he predominately made -- was that, strictly by virtue of his skin color, he would immediately have an impact on the United States' reputation abroad. And he has proven very popular in many lands, particularly Africa, where people on the continent see a man who looks like them. But his skin color may now have tripped up Al Qaeda in a way that could be very damaging to the terrorist group.
In a new video, Al Qaeda #2 man Ayman al-Zawahiri referred to Obama as a "house Negro." The Counterterrorism Blog's Evan Kohlmann explains why Zawahiri did this: "Clearly, Al-Qaida is seeking to undermine the surge of popularity and enthusiasm for the Obama victory that has spread throughout the developing world, and particularly in Africa -- where Al-Qaida has strong vested interests in at least two ongoing military conflicts." But here's where the backfiring part comes in: "By playing the race card so quickly and so brazenly, al-Zawahiri may end up causing backlash against Al-Qaida in the very constituencies he is seeking to woo."
Over at Wired's Danger Room, Noah Schatchman notes the pettiness of it all: "Al Qaeda used to be the kings of propaganda, outmaneuvering the American media machine at every turn. Now, it's clear the terror group's information operators have stumbled, big time... That's right. The guys who used to kill people, just to get their death on tape, have been reduced to name-calling."
It is such a potentially monumental misstep that some folk -- starting with Spencer Ackerman -- are wondering why the State Department isn't making serious hay out of Zawahiri's remarks. "That sort of disruption is precisely what the U.S. needs to rapidly exploit," Ackerman wrote. "In both policy and public-diplomacy terms, the clay is still wet." |
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