Obama throws al Qaeda a curve

[babylonsister]

Obama throws al Qaeda a curve
Posted January 25, 2009 6:23 PM
The Swamp

by Frank James


The people of the United States threw al Qaeda a massive intercontinental curve ball when they elected President Barack Obama, leaving the world's most famous terrorist group apparently grasping to come to grips with what just happened.

Fighting a crusader who looked like a crusader was easy. Crusader was what Osama bin Laden liked to call President George W. Bush. It was a term that resonated in a part of the world where grudges are measured in centuries and Saladin's victory over European knights is talked of like it happened in the 1970s.

But a brand new funky president named Barack Hussein Obama who orders the closing of Guantanamo Bay and plays well in the Muslim world is causing some messaging problems for al Qaeda. It's like the American people conducted their own massive and effective psy ops against al Qaeda that has left them floundering.

The Washington Post examines al Qaeda's problem.

An excerpt:

more...

http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2009/01/obama_throws_al_qaeda_a_curve.html#more

[Captain Hilts]

1. I said over a year ago that should he become prez, the name 'Hussein' will be an asset.

And it is.

[eowyn_of_rohan]

5. Brilliant.

I had not even thought of this happening.

[4_TN_TITANS]

17. Hussein is a particularly revered name in the Arab world. n/t

[greyl]

2. Loving it. nt

[tabatha]

3. Funny - Republicans and Al Qaeda opposed to Obama.

Now that's an odd couple.

[JCMach1]

4. It's weird that everyone focuses on the second name... Barack in Arabic means 'blessing'

i.e. it's a Muslim name...

In fact, I expect in less than 12 months there will be a baby boom here of little Baracks running around.

[babylonsister]

8. I've read it's already happening. Several articles. And then there's this.

Babies and Obama-947,000 hits. :)

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=baby+names+obama&btnG=Search

[JCMach1]

10. I'll keep everyone updated on that here in Arabia

They love American stuff and 'trendy' thing here in the UAE. Barack is not a common Muslim name, but I expect it to explode over the next couple of years.

[babylonsister]

11. Wow.

How was the election of President Obama there? If you had a post, I either missed it or don't remember it. Was it good for you?

[JCMach1]

15. Partied like it was 1999... Every one is happy about Obama,

but VERY worried about the economy... even the Gulf has caught the economic contagion... Even Dubai was on the brink of bankruptcy in the last few months...

[MADem]

9. Hussein means beautiful! (Handsome). So he's Blessed and Beautiful from the Obama tribe.

Mohamad Hosni Mubarack of Egypt has that "Barack" thing working in his name, too...it's not uncommon.

[Idealism]

6. I agree it hurts Al-Qaeda's enlistment possibilities

but our actions yesterday in Pakistan hurt our cause!

We must tell President Obama to stop killing Pakistani and Afghan citizens. Militants or not: violence breeds extremism!

[eleny]

7. This is such an enjoyable article to read

k&r

[EraOfResponsibility]

12. If Al Queda's talking shit about Obama, that means he's doing something right |eom

[hughee99]

13. Eh, they talked shit about * and he didn't do anything right. n/t

[Eurobabe]

14. Thanks for the article

interesting read. :hi:

[DeSwiss]

16. This is what happens to ill-prepared, inept political....

...organizations that don't use focus groups.

- K&R!!!