Radical Militants on Planet al-Qaeda Wanted Bush t...

[Informed Comment]Radical Militants on Planet al-Qaeda Wanted Bush to Win US Election

Georges Malbrunot, one of two French journalists recently released by radical Muslim fundamentalists in Iraq, spoke to CNN on Friday:

Malbrunot quoted his captors as saying Bush's re-election "would improve our ability to fight . . . We vote for Bush because Bush help us a lot by intervening in Afghanistan. So, from that point we could spread all over the world and we are now in 60 countries," Malbrunot cited one of the militants as saying on October 15, two weeks before Bush defeated Democrat John Kerry. Malbrunot, 41, quoted the same militant as saying: "Our main targets are Saudi Arabia and Egypt. And because of Bush, if he is re-elected, we are sure that American soldiers will remain in Iraq for years."

Malbrunot said that the group that held him was not Iraqi nationalists but rather internationalist jihadis and that he felt as though he were on Planet Bin Laden while in captivity.

Actually, that the radical Muslim fundamentalists much preferred that Bush win was self-evident, since Bin Laden and his fellow travellers want to sharpen contradictions between the Muslim world and the West. It is in that extreme polarization that they know they will find the best chance to pose as champions of Islam and ultimately to take over. They know very well that Bush has decided to make a long-term US push into the Muslim world, involving probably several wars and more occupations. If Bush had stopped with Afghanistan and rebuilt the country properly, he could have dealt a death blow to al-Qaeda. By occupying Iraq militarily, he has given al-Qaeda unprecedented access to the Sunni Arabs (and some Kurds and Turkmen) of Iraq. They hope to use this new base not only to roil Iraq but ultimately to throw Saudi Arabia into turmoil, as well. It is not that far from Mosul to Jidda, where al-Qaeda recently attacked the US consulate in revenge for the assault on Fallujah. Three years ago, an al-Qaeda attack on a US consulate in Saudi Arabia would have horrified most Saudis. Now? I'm not so sure.

Juan Cole has an interesting note on comments made by one of the French journalists held in Iraq by internationalist jihadis. Osama needed a focal point for his ambitions to drive towards a worldwide caliphate, a new Islamic Empire. He needed a new Crusade to show the Muslims of the world that racism and religious intolerance lies just below the surface in the West. Bush was enthusiastic in his response. By attacking the World Trade Center twice, once he flubbed badly, the second time he succeeded beyond his wildest dreams. He has unearthed the Great Satan enemy Muslims have been warned about. A new Crusade has begun. Right wing Christians see it as the beginning of the end and stoke the fires of war to bring on the Rapture. Civilization may well hang in the balance.

This is a very sick world. Perhaps we shall find out if we deserve to live here.

Complete Article
Militants 'wanted Bush re-elected'
Freed journalist attacks failed mediation bid
(CNN) -- A French journalist held hostage in Iraq for four months says his captors wanted U.S. President George W. Bush re-elected because it would help promote their cause.
Georges Malbrunot, who was released Tuesday along with fellow journalist Christian Chesnot, told CNN the Iraqi militants "need someone tough against them, it's like boxing."
Speaking by telephone from Vichy, France on Friday, Malbrunot quoted his captors as saying Bush's re-election "would improve our ability to fight."
"We vote for Bush because Bush help us a lot by intervening in Afghanistan. So, from that point we could spread all over the world and we are now in 60 countries," Malbrunot cited one of the militants as saying on October 15, two weeks before Bush defeated Democrat John Kerry.
Malbrunot, 41, quoted the same militant as saying: "Our main targets are Saudi Arabia and Egypt. And because of Bush, if he is re-elected, we are sure that American soldiers will remain in Iraq for years."
In a separate interview on RTL radio, Malbrunot said it would take time for them to recover from their ordeal.
"Sleeping, for example, is hard," he said. "But the life of a free man is far easier than that of a hostage," he added.
Le Figaro reporter Malbrunot and Chesnot, 37, who works for Radio France Internationale, were reported missing August 21 after they left Baghdad for Najaf.
An Iraqi insurgent group calling itself the Islamic Army in Iraq said in a statement posted on Islamist Web sites Tuesday it released the pair for several reasons, including some French government positions on Iraq and appeals by Islamic groups for their freedom.
They returned to France late on Wednesday to a heroes' welcome from family, friends and politicians led by President Jacques Chirac. French government sources said the release was arranged through intermediaries, and no ransom was asked and none was paid.
The militant group had demanded the French government repeal a ban on the wearing of head scarves by Muslim girls in public schools.
The law, which also covers religious items such as yarmulkes and large crosses, took effect at the start of the school year.
The French government had been attempting to win the journalists' freedom but did not repeal the ban. French Muslim leaders had joined government officials in condemning the kidnappings.
Sources credited the French Muslim community with helping to aid in the release arrangements.
France has the largest Muslim population in Europe, estimated at 5 million.
Shortly after returning to France, Malbrunot reignited a row over a failed bid in September by self-appointed mediators to secure the reporters' freedom, launching a fierce attack on those behind the venture.
"I am outraged by (their) behavior ... it was playing with the lives of their compatriots, which deserves nothing but contempt," Reuters quoted him as saying.
Didier Julia, the deputy at the center of the storm, faces expulsion from Chirac's ruling UMP party for his role in the affair. His emissary in the matter was Philippe Brett, a little- known businessman with a history of political dealings in France and Iraq.
Copyright 2004 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.