Thanks for the help, Zawahiri

Ayman al-Zawahiri’s recent portrayal of Barack Obama as a ‘house Negro’ and Jewish pawn highlights Al-Qaeda’s current state of anxiety. The election of America’s first multi-ethnic and internationalist president may deal a heavier blow to the group than have the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Al-Qaeda, despite the politically potent terrorism tag, exists and operates as an insurgency with a global reach and agenda. Insurgent groups rely heavily on propaganda-driven recruitment to sustain their existence and secure their safe havens. If Al-Qaeda loses this battle for hearts and minds, it will become less influential and effective in the coming years. This is all fairly straightforward to any student of international relations.

Zawahiri’s recent pronouncement is revealing in that it indicates Al-Qaeda’s reactionary and defensive stance. There is an urgency to counteract the intangible impact of Obama’s historic election on public opinion. Indeed, the group may see recruitment levels plummet as the U.S. begins to look less and less like the crusading empire of terrorist lore. The election gave pause to many in the world who believed this country had started down a path of self-destruction that could not be stopped. But the U.S. launched a salvo from the ballot box. No invasion. No prison camps. No fuel for Bin Laden’s propaganda machine. Just definitive proof that democracy works and that countries evolve.

And so Al Qaeda was forced to react. No terror attack. No elaborate plans to down planes over the ocean. No dirty bombs in Times Square. Just Words. Words that serve to convince a wavering constituency that the new American president is a mere stooge – that behind a half-African man with Muslim lineage and multicultural sensibilities is a cadre of evil warmongers waiting to remake the world in its image. Much like Al-Qaeda’s raison d’etre actually.

By pulling the race card, Zawahiri risks alienating a majority of the group’s network of support. As the Post reported; “while al-Qaeda has tried to appeal to Muslims of all races and nationalities, its leadership has always been dominated by Arabs and followers with darker skin have found themselves marginalized.” It continues; “Al-Qaeda is not a model of racial harmony, and it’s never been one…it’s led by a small coterie of Arab Muslims, in particular Egyptians. The rest have been treated as second-class citizens, people to whom orders are given.” Imagine if Al-Qaeda, in espousing racially-charged rhetoric, manages instead to disrupt its own operational cohesion by alienating many of its members. What an exciting prospect – an Al-Qaeda strategy that actually serves American interests.