Zawahiri to Democrats: Let's Make a Deal

Allahpundit sums it up more concisely than I ever could, as usual:

This sounds familiar.

Zawahri says he has two messages for American Democrats.

“The first is that you aren’t the ones who won the midterm elections, nor are the Republicans the ones who lost. Rather, the Mujahideen — the Muslim Ummah’s vanguard in Afghanistan and Iraq — are the ones who won, and the American forces and their Crusader allies are the ones who lost,” Zawahri said, according to a full transcript obtained by ABC News.

Zawahri calls on the Democrats to negotiate with him and Osama bin Laden, not others in the Islamic world who Zawahri says cannot help.

“John Kerry immediately booked a flight to Islamabad,” says Ace, who wants to know why AQ is hot for us to pull out if our presence in Iraq is, per leftist dogma, such a powerful recruiting tool for jihad. Possible answer: because being perceived as having defeated America would be an even bigger recruiting bonanza. Another possible answer: because they expect a surge in U.S. troops and know things are about to get tough(er) for them, so they’re trying to sweeten the pot re: withdrawal. Yet another possible answer: they fear the Shiites’ rising prestige and want to cast themselves as the real seat of power in the country. And yet another possible answer: it’s just more empty propaganda designed to drive a wedge between the American left and right. Pick your poison.