Al-Qaeda Official: Nothing's Changed

Al-Qaeda says Obama 'did not change anything'

I wonder how many more times Al-Qaeda is going to have to tell us in plain English exactly why they're killing us before someone in America actually hears? They have no incentive to lie about this, just like a kidnapper has no incentive to lie about his or her ransom demands. "Islamic fundamentalist" terrorism is a complete misnomer. This is about the expansion of the United States' empire in the Middle East.

From the article:

It is America that is still killing Muslims in Palestine, Iraq, and Afghanistan. It is America that steals their fortunes, occupies their land, and supports the thieving, corrupt, and traitor rulers in their countries. And consequently, the problem is not over. Rather, it is likely to deteriorate and escalate.

Now, the caveat here is that while terrorism is usually a political action, not a religious one, church and state are much more intertwined in the Middle East than they are in other places. To say that terrorists are "Islamo-fascists" who "hate freedom" essentially misses the point. We may not agree with these folks' ideal form of government, but that disagreement is peripheral to the terrorism issue, not central to it.

Right-wing partisans in the US will seize on this as proof that Al-Qaeda will attack us no matter what the US's foreign policy is. They might have a point if anything Obama had done anything other than give us what has so far been Bush's third term.

War in Iraq? Still going strong.
War in Afghanistan? Getting ready for a ramp-up.
In bed with the Saudi royal family and antagonistic to the most secular government in the region? Check and check.
Willing to support anything and everything Israel wants? You betcha.

Hooray! Change we can believe in!