AQ Bomb Threat–Why Now?

Al Qaeda is as politically sophisticated as they are technologically backward.  The effects of their attacks extend well beyond the actual damage they cause.  The timing of the current attacks, described below, is so close to to a US election that we should consider whether or not influencing the election is part of their intent, especially since they have attempted to do so before with good results from their perspective.

Suspicious packages found on United Parcel Service and FedEx planes reportedly originated in Yemen. While the planes appear to be undamaged, the incidents could bring fresh scrutiny to Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the relatively new franchise that claimed responsibility for the failed underwear bomber plot on Christmas Day last year.

A spokesman in Yemen’s US embassy said in a statement that the Yemeni government, which has carried out numerous strikes against suspected AQAP operatives over the past 10 months, has launched a full-scale investigation.

“We are working closely with international partners – including the US – on the incident,” said Mohammed Albasha, adding that no UPS cargo planes land or take off from Yemeni airports.

However, an airport employee in Sanaa, who did not want his name used, confirmed that there are private company flights from Sanaa to the United Kingdom, where a suspicious package was found at East Midlands airport at 3:28 a.m. local time.

The UPS store in Sanaa was staffed with one employee and one guard Friday evening local time. The employee refused to talk to the media.

The White House said that in addition to the package found in the UK, which according to CNN contained a “manipulated” toner cartridge, another suspicious item was found in Dubai. Both were said to have originated in Yemen.

“Last night, intelligence and law enforcement agencies discovered potential suspicious packages on two planes in transit to the US,” White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Friday. “As a result of security precautions triggered by this threat, the additional measures were taken regarding the flights at Newark Liberty and Philadelphia International Airports.”

Among the suspected targets were Chicago-area synagogues…

Inserted from <Christian Science Monitor>

In 2004, Osama released a message saying that he hoped John Kerry would win the Presidential election, and the right wing blogosphere and corporate media went crazy with it.  OBL was being very sly with that one, because he had to know that American voters would consider his endorsement a negative, and thus, increase the likelihood of what OBL really wanted: four more years of Republican rule.  Al Qaeda wants Republicans in power for two reasons.  First, they have never succeeded in a major attack on US soiled when Democrats were in power.  It took Republican incompetence to ignore the specific warnings resulting in the successful 9/11 attack.  Second, Republican hatred of Islam is so obvious that it provides AQ a wonderful recruiting tool.

If these attacks had been successful, right before an election, Democrats would have been blamed, making Republicans more likely to do well.  Fortunately for the intended victims, America voted out the incompetents in 2008.