# "Al Quaeda Supports John Kerry" **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 25, 2004, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-quaeda-supports-john-kerry/246986 "2004-05-25T13:53:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![WernhamHogg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a587f6/32.png) [@WernhamHogg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WernhamHogg)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2004, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-quaeda-supports-john-kerry/246986/1 "2004-05-25T13:53:01Z")
I saw a bumper sticker on an SUV that read, “Al Quaeda Supports John Kerry.” There were also a plethora of Bush/Troops/America stickers on the car, leading me to believe this was not an endorsement sticker by a member of Al Quaeda, but a bit of fallacious bullying, to wit: “If You Vote for Kerry, the Terrorists Win!” Never mind there’s no support for the claim that Al Quaeda wants Kerry to win, what difference does it make? Al Quaeda hates Bush. Most of the world hates Bush at this point. What if it turns out Al Quaeda likes fuzzy puppy dogs, cold ice cream, and the Mozart? Would that mean these things are evil, and anyone who likes them is also evil? Your political sensibilities are reduced to the binary simplicity of one of those logic puzzle islands of truth-tellers and liars, isn’t it? Your fucking gas-guzzling SUV probably supports Al Quaeda. Well, maybe not, but it’s a stronger connection than whatever you think it means to suggest that ousting the incompetent and spiteful asshole out of office is a boon to Al Quaeda. Moron. ---
**Author:** ![TwistofFate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@TwistofFate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwistofFate)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2004, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-quaeda-supports-john-kerry/246986/2 "2004-05-25T14:09:30Z")
A-q probably love Bush, seeing as his gung ho crusader attitude has been a brilliant recruitment tool for them. ---
**Author:** ![One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/838e76/32.png) [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/One_And_Only_Wanderers)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2004, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-quaeda-supports-john-kerry/246986/3 "2004-05-25T14:13:14Z")
oldest smear in the book isn’t it? “A vote for {insert opposition description here} is a vote for {topical enemy hated by everyone}” ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2004, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-quaeda-supports-john-kerry/246986/4 "2004-05-25T14:48:07Z")
Has anyone in history ever had their vote swayed by a bumper sticker anyway? Are there undecided voters driving around who see a “Bush/Cheney” bumper sticker and make their decision based on that? Are there Kerry supporters who are going to see the stupid sticker described by the OP and then say “Oh my, al Qaeda supports John Kerry? I did not know that. I must vote for Bush?” Actually, bumper stickers like the one in the OP are probably a marginal good since they are an effective marker for a car with a (quite possibly drunk) moron behind the wheel. This warns non-morons to keep an ample distance from said car and may cut down on accidents. ---
**Author:** ![MysteryFellow63427](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e4f/32.png) [@MysteryFellow63427](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MysteryFellow63427)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2004, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-quaeda-supports-john-kerry/246986/5 "2004-05-25T14:53:08Z")
I fully support morons self-labeling their own vehicles. ---
**Author:** ![athelas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@athelas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/athelas)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2004, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-quaeda-supports-john-kerry/246986/6 "2004-05-25T19:11:12Z")
Even if Bush is helping AQ recruit (cite?), I’d think that the Al Qaeda High Guard would be somewhat concerned for their own lives. If I were a terrorist, I’d rather have John Kerry’s tiptoeing foreign policy than George Bush’s big stick, as clumsy as it may be. ---
**Author:** ![Frankenstein\_Monster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ccd318/32.png) [@Frankenstein\_Monster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frankenstein_Monster)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2004, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-quaeda-supports-john-kerry/246986/7 "2004-05-25T19:31:56Z")
> [@athelas](#): > > Even if Bush is helping AQ recruit (cite?), [This just in](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A54789-2004May25.html) > [@](#): > > The report suggested that the two military centerpieces of the U.S.-led war on terror - the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq - may have boosted al-Qaida. > > Driving the terror network out of Afghanistan in late 2001 appears to have benefited the group, which dispersed to many countries, making it almost invisible and hard to combat, the story said. > > And the Iraq conflict “has arguably focused the energies and resources of al Qaeda and its followers while diluting those of the global counterterrorism coalition that appeared so formidable” after the Afghan intervention, the survey said. > > The U.S. occupation of Iraq brought al Qaeda recruits from across Islamic nations, the study said. Up to 1,000 foreign Islamic fighters have infiltrated Iraqi territory, where they are cooperating with Iraqi insurgents, the survey said. ---
**Author:** ![WernhamHogg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a587f6/32.png) [@WernhamHogg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WernhamHogg)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2004, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-quaeda-supports-john-kerry/246986/8 "2004-05-25T19:55:16Z")
> [@athelas](#): > > Even if Bush is helping AQ recruit (cite?), I’d think that the Al Qaeda High Guard would be somewhat concerned for their own lives. If I were a terrorist, I’d rather have John Kerry’s tiptoeing foreign policy than George Bush’s big stick, as clumsy as it may be. So if it turns out terrorists want sane and competent foreign policy from the US, we should give them more insane and incompetent foreign policy, at whatever cost in terms of lives and dollars, just to show 'em. That must be what the bumper sticker means. Fuck Al Qaeda. I don’t care enough about them to continue fucking up the world just to piss them off. ---
**Author:** ![Frankenstein\_Monster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ccd318/32.png) [@Frankenstein\_Monster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frankenstein_Monster)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2004, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-quaeda-supports-john-kerry/246986/9 "2004-05-25T20:14:14Z")
> [@athelas](#): > > …John Kerry’s tiptoeing foreign policy than George Bush’s big stick… I have to debunk this, too. Although I think John Kerry is a right-wing war-monger, he is very smart to aim at better cooperation with other countries in the fight against terrorism. After all, many other countries (especially France) are **much better** at fighting terrorism than the U.S. is. Is has already been proved that U.S. is very ineffective against terrorism. France, in contrast, has [become extremely successful](http://www.brook.edu/views/articles/fellows/shapiro20030301.html) in fighting terrorism. Also remember that, what little the U.S. does know about fighting terrorists, they [learned from the French](http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/news/nation-world/terroristwithin/chapter16.html). ---
**Author:** ![Frankenstein\_Monster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ccd318/32.png) [@Frankenstein\_Monster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frankenstein_Monster)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2004, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-quaeda-supports-john-kerry/246986/10 "2004-05-25T20:17:20Z")
Oops, first link in previous post is broken. Correct link: [The French Experience of Counter-terrorism](http://www.brook.edu/views/articles/fellows/shapiro20030301.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2004, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-quaeda-supports-john-kerry/246986/11 "2004-05-26T01:47:41Z")
Didn’t something from al-Qaida a bit ago (around the time of the Madrid bombings) suggest that they in fact support Bush’s re-election, that they believe his staying in power would aid their cause? Can someone refresh my memory here? ---
**Author:** ![Spavined\_Gelding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@Spavined\_Gelding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spavined_Gelding)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2004, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-quaeda-supports-john-kerry/246986/12 "2004-05-26T01:49:58Z")
Well, it’s a pleasant relief from the claim that as President Senator Kerry will force Boy Scouts to engage in gang anal intercourse and outlaw Sunday School. It makes about as much sense. ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2004, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-quaeda-supports-john-kerry/246986/13 "2004-05-26T01:53:04Z")
> [@Knorf](#): > > Didn’t something from al-Qaida a bit ago (around the time of the Madrid bombings) suggest that they in fact support Bush’s re-election, that they believe his staying in power would aid their cause? Can someone refresh my memory here? [http://thecomment.collegepublisher.com/news/2004/05/06/YourComments/AlQaeda.Endorses.Bush.For.Reelection-679586.shtml](http://thecomment.collegepublisher.com/news/2004/05/06/YourComments/AlQaeda.Endorses.Bush.For.Reelection-679586.shtml) > [@](#): > > “A statement from al-Qaeda following the Madrid bombings…said the organization hoped George Bush would win reelection, ‘because he acts with force rather than wisdom or shrewdness, and it is his religious fanaticism that will rouse our (Islamic) nation, as has been shown. Being targeted by an enemy is what will wake us from our slumber.’ Quoted on the Arabic news Web site [www.elaph.com](http://www.elaph.com): ‘Bayaan lil qa’ida yuhhammal tawqi’ kataib abu hafss al massri,’ March 17, 2004.” ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2004, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-quaeda-supports-john-kerry/246986/14 "2004-05-26T02:33:27Z")
> [@](#): > > If I were a terrorist, I’d rather have John Kerry’s tiptoeing foreign policy than George Bush’s big stick, as clumsy as it may be. Yes, because Bush has done such a number on al Quaeda. Look at the way he focused all his energy on fighting al Qaeda, not letting himself be diverted against any other situations. And the way he took the initial sympathy around the world after 9-11 and built it into an international coalition to end terrorism. All this while presenting America as a showcase for tolerance and civil liberties so bright that Muslims all over the world have announced their blessings upon our way of life. Boy, I bet when Osama bin Laden wakes up every morning in his Leavenworth jail cell, his first thought is how unlucky he got when Bush was elected. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2004, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-quaeda-supports-john-kerry/246986/15 "2004-05-26T06:18:57Z")
THANKS, **Reeder**. So, it turns our the bumper sticker in the OP has it all wrong. Someone should inform the guy. He and al-Qaeda are backing the same candidate! :smack: 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Largo62](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/45deac/32.png) [@Largo62](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Largo62)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2004, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-quaeda-supports-john-kerry/246986/16 "2004-05-26T07:54:11Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > Actually, bumper stickers like the one in the OP are probably a marginal good since they are an effective marker for a car with a (quite possibly drunk) moron behind the wheel. This warns non-morons to keep an ample distance from said car and may cut down on accidents. They also mark cars that need a potato plug in the tailpipe. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2004, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-quaeda-supports-john-kerry/246986/17 "2004-05-26T08:17:16Z")
> [@Little Nemo](#): > > Look at the way he focused all his energy on fighting al Qaeda, not letting himself be diverted against any other situations. And the way he took the initial sympathy around the world after 9-11 and built it into an international coalition to end terrorism. All this while presenting America as a showcase for tolerance and civil liberties so bright that Muslims all over the world have announced their blessings upon our way of life. Boy, I bet when Osama bin Laden wakes up every morning in his Leavenworth jail cell, his first thought is how unlucky he got when Bush was elected. Here’s a look into what could have been. Fucking Bush fucks shit goddamnit fuck :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Albert\_Rose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de053/32.png) [@Albert\_Rose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Albert_Rose)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2004, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-quaeda-supports-john-kerry/246986/18 "2004-05-26T09:55:06Z")
> [@Knorf](#): > > Didn’t something from al-Qaida a bit ago (around the time of the Madrid bombings) suggest that they in fact support Bush’s re-election, that they believe his staying in power would aid their cause? Can someone refresh my memory here? They might be lying about that. ---
**Author:** ![Asylum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/53a042/32.png) [@Asylum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asylum)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2004, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-quaeda-supports-john-kerry/246986/19 "2004-05-26T09:56:50Z")
Y’know, I’m of the firm opinion that bumpersticker politics is one of the most pointless practices ever. Even if it’s as simple as something as “Vote Kerry, 2004”, what’s the point? To show your support? Well, the driver behind you in traffic now knows that you support Kerry and they have no idea who you are. Nice job. Quick poll: has anyone ever based their vote on a bumpersticker? Even more annoying are the ones that make jabs like the one in the OP: “Don’t like abortions? Don’t have one!”, or “Impeach Clinton, and her husband!”. Yup, I’m sure you’re going to change people’s minds with those. Well, maybe you’re an asshole and you just like throwing out jabs at any random passerbys who disagree with your opinion, which of course just pisses them off and further convinces them that everyone on the other side of the debate is a rude shitbag and mental moron. Yup, that’ll bring about bipartisanship. Seriously, unless you’re swearing allegiance to Ford Motor Company or your favorite metal band don’t put a bumper sticker on your car (and even then don’t do it as you can affect the car’s resale value). Onto the OP. Yup, that bumpersticker is fucking retarded. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2004, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-quaeda-supports-john-kerry/246986/20 "2004-05-26T15:12:10Z")
> [@Asylum](#): > > Nice job. Quick poll: has anyone ever based their vote on a bumpersticker? Sure… “Cthulhu 2004 - Why Vote For The Lesser Evil?” -Joe [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-quaeda-supports-john-kerry/246986.md?page=2)