Who the hell cares what al Qaeda thinks? The right, apparently

[LuckyTheDog]

This makes me nuts. How many times have we heard basically this:

"Hey, somebody in al Qaeda said that if we leave Iraq, they'll be happy about it. Thus, we should stay and show them that we have staying power!"

That's a bad argument for two main reasons:

1) al Qaeda (or any adversary) is likely to make statements intended to mislead us about their real positions on things. Hence, such statements are completely unreliable. It is just as likely, for example, that al Qaeda wants us to stay in Iraq and bleeding resources for as long as possible. If the Sunni insurgency is killing Americans, it gives al Qaeda time to regroup.

2) Decisions about things as important as war should not be made emotionally -- to show how "manly" we can be. We need to make such decisions based on a cold, hard assessment of our best interests. We cannot be concerned about how our adversaries "feel" once we have made our decision. And we should not make decisions that are emotionally gratifying, but otherwise stupid.

[Ratty]

1. Al Qaeda as moral compass

Too true. I've also always hated how republicans often look to Al Qaeda for moral guidance. "Abu Graib is fine because Al Qaeda does much worse things to their prisoners." That one's my favorite. I hear it from my RW relatives all the time. Bitching about the uproar over US torture, since Al Qaeda does it we should be able too as well.

[Phredicles]

2. "should not be made emotionally -- to show how "manly" we can be"

Excellent point. Unfortunately, that seems to be exactly the official explanation for why we're still in Iraq: It's all about "showing resolve". It's very simplistic thinking - big surprise - that if we just show that we're determined enough, the bad guys will finally just give up. And it's that sort of profound thought that determines how many people keep dying.:eyes::grr::puke:

[Old and In the Way]

3. Al Qaeda and the MIC

A socially dysfunctional, mutually co-enabling couple. Can't live with each other...can't survive without each other.

[butterfly77]

4. Repugs always say they don't care what the world thinks but...

they are worried about Al Qaeda. They are also worried about what the world thinks when they say we can't lose, we have to have Victory. They sound so foolish when we all know that the world knows what is going on. They always make sure to mention to us that the Iraqis have satellite dishes and cell phones so what makes them think that it is a secret that george w is an asshole...The world is ready everytime he speaks and this is what they are doing :popcorn: :rofl: :popcorn: :rofl: :popcorn: :rofl: :popcorn: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[Parche]

5. Al-Kida

Who is Al-Kida anyway?

I think it is just a CIA front named after a few Taliban 'freedom fighters' and they
coined the phrase


Can we really believe that they are operating out of caves, with all of this technology?