# It's official: The terrorists want Bush to lose **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [October 27, 2004, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-the-terrorists-want-bush-to-lose/271436 "2004-10-27T13:11:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2004, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-the-terrorists-want-bush-to-lose/271436/1 "2004-10-27T13:11:53Z")
> **[Terrorists hope to defeat Bush through Iraq violence](https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2004/oct/27/20041027-121030-7792r/)** > > BAGHDAD — Leaders and supporters of the anti-U.S. insurgency say their attacks in recent weeks have a clear objective: The greater the violence, the greater the chances that President Bush will be defeated on Tuesday and the Americans will go home. Interesting. ---
**Author:** ![SentientMeat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@SentientMeat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SentientMeat)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2004, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-the-terrorists-want-bush-to-lose/271436/2 "2004-10-27T13:18:52Z")
Interesting in a “Neoconservative pornography” kind of way? Should one’s enemy’s demands affect one’s strategy _one iota_? Think carefully before you answer, considering the following: Binladen engineered 9/11 becuase he wanted US troops off the Saudi peninsular. He succeeded. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2004, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-the-terrorists-want-bush-to-lose/271436/3 "2004-10-27T13:19:21Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > [Terrorists hope to defeat Bush through Iraq violence - Washington Times](http://www.washtimes.com/world/20041027-121030-7792r.htm) > > Interesting. No, no–that’s what the terrorists WANT you to think. Do you really believe they’re so stupid as to make this announcement, not realizing that a terrorist endorsement of Kerry ain’t likely to help his chances? It is highly foolish for anyone (and I’m not saying you’re doing this) to the statements of a lying mass-murderer or his supporters influence their choice in an election. Mohammad Amin Bashar just doesn’t have a lot of credibility with me. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2004, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-the-terrorists-want-bush-to-lose/271436/4 "2004-10-27T13:21:59Z")
Did you bother to read more than two lines of that article? > [@](#): > > Mowafaq Al-Tai, a London-educated architect and intellectual, said different types of resistance fighters have different views of the U.S. election. > The most pro-Kerry, he said, are the former Saddam Hussein loyalists… The most pro-Bush, he said, are the foreign extremists. “They prefer Bush, because he’s a provocative figure, and the more they can push people to the extreme, the better for their case.” > > Even within the resistance, not all agree that removing Mr. Bush from office would make a difference. > > “The nation of infidels is one, and Bush and Kerry are two faces of the same coin,” said Abu Obeida, nom de guerre of a leader of Fallujah’s al-Noor Jihadi regiment. ---
**Author:** ![Brutus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Brutus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brutus)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2004, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-the-terrorists-want-bush-to-lose/271436/5 "2004-10-27T13:26:18Z")
> [@SentientMeat](#): > > Binladen engineered 9/11 becuase he wanted US troops off the Saudi peninsular. He succeeded. Not that I suppose it matters much, but not only do we still have several hundred troops in Saudi Arabia proper (air controllers and whatnot), and we have scads of troops on the Arabian peninsula. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2004, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-the-terrorists-want-bush-to-lose/271436/6 "2004-10-27T13:27:35Z")
I’m just saying, here, mostly people who want to launch a debate need to provide an actual position, not just a one-word post with a link. You seem to just be using the linked article as a political advertisement of some sort. But I’ll act as though you want a debate anyway. From the linked article: > [@](#): > > The most pro-Kerry, he said, are the former Saddam Hussein loyalists — Ba’ath Party members and others who think Washington might scale back its ambitions for Iraq if Mr. Kerry wins, allowing them to re-enter civic life. > The most pro-Bush, he said, are the foreign extremists. “They prefer Bush, because he’s a provocative figure, and the more they can push people to the extreme, the better for their case.” So, which of these two groups do you contend should we let decide our election for us? Personally, I feel I should ignore what any of these people have to say on this subject and vote for the candidate I feel will best serve my interests. How about you? ---
**Author:** ![Rashak\_Mani](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ea666f/32.png) [@Rashak\_Mani](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rashak_Mani)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2004, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-the-terrorists-want-bush-to-lose/271436/7 "2004-10-27T13:29:11Z")
Did you read the article at all ? There were all kinds of views… not only against Bush. Actually a bit of everything… including a very correct assesment: > [@](#): > > “The nation of infidels is one, and Bush and Kerry are two faces of the same coin,” said Abu Obeida Some favor Bush and these I view as the most dangerous ones: > [@](#): > > The most pro-Bush, he said, are the foreign extremists. “They prefer Bush, because he’s a provocative figure, and the more they can push people to the extreme, the better for their case.” Do notice that the bottom half of the article they ask only normal people… not terrorists. ---
**Author:** ![PatriotX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@PatriotX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotX)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2004, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-the-terrorists-want-bush-to-lose/271436/8 "2004-10-27T13:42:26Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > [http://www.washtimes.com/world/20041027-121030-7792r.htm](http://www.washtimes.com/world/20041027-121030-7792r.htm) > > Interesting. You may want to re-read that. It seems that Iraqi nationalists prefer Kerry. The “foreign extemists”, who prob’ly fit the one of the definitions of ‘terrorist’ better “They prefer Bush, because he’s a provocative figure, and the more they can push people to the extreme, the better for their case.” ---
**Author:** ![SentientMeat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@SentientMeat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SentientMeat)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2004, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-the-terrorists-want-bush-to-lose/271436/9 "2004-10-27T13:47:41Z")
> [@](#): > > **Brutus** :we have scads of troops on the Arabian peninsula Of course, but [many thousands](http://www.globalsecurity.org/org/news/2003/030430-psab01.htm) have been redeployed elsewhere and most of the bases closed, in accordance with Binladen’s wishes. My point was that one’s enemy’s demands should be _irrelevant_. ---
**Author:** ![mack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2004, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-the-terrorists-want-bush-to-lose/271436/10 "2004-10-27T13:57:16Z")
Ivylass, FYI - the [foreign extremists](http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A5997-2004Mar18?language=printer) who want Bush to win are the Islamic radicals. You know - our enemy in the war on terror. > [@](#): > > U.S. military commanders across Iraq say that a combination of foreign and indigenous Islamic extremists have eclipsed loyalists of Saddam Hussein’s Baath Party as the dominant organizers and financiers of attacks on American and Iraqi security forces and civilians. > > The Islamic radicals have been deemed by the commanders to be largely responsible for not just a series of high-profile suicide car bombings that have killed more than 1,000 people, but also a spate of recent attacks on U.S. troops, foreign civilians and Iraqis working with American forces. In many cases, the commanders said, religious extremists have begun to exercise leadership over cells of low-level Baathist fighters whose superiors have been captured or killed, by offering money and weapons to conduct mortar strikes, drive-by shootings and assassinations. ---
**Author:** ![Rufus\_Xavier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@Rufus\_Xavier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rufus_Xavier)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2004, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-the-terrorists-want-bush-to-lose/271436/11 "2004-10-27T14:24:40Z")
It’s official: The SDMB wants ivylass to post more threads with misleading titles. ---
**Author:** ![5\_time\_champ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/278dde/32.png) [@5\_time\_champ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5_time_champ)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2004, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-the-terrorists-want-bush-to-lose/271436/12 "2004-10-27T15:30:21Z")
Maybe a friendly mod could come along and change the title of this thread to more accurately describe the contents of the OP’s link-- **"Terrorists prefer Bush"** ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2004, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-the-terrorists-want-bush-to-lose/271436/13 "2004-10-27T15:36:16Z")
Yeah, but let’s be serious. How informed are the terrorists on the US election? And what about the terrorist polls? Most terrorists use cell phones, so they can’t be contacted easily. And, there are a LOT of first time terrorists this year, so we really don’t know what they want. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2004, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-the-terrorists-want-bush-to-lose/271436/14 "2004-10-27T15:41:50Z")
Isn’t the _Times_ owned by the Moonies? ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2004, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-the-terrorists-want-bush-to-lose/271436/15 "2004-10-27T15:45:09Z")
But then again everyone wants Bush to lose 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Pashnish\_Ewing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8797f3/32.png) [@Pashnish\_Ewing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pashnish_Ewing)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2004, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-the-terrorists-want-bush-to-lose/271436/16 "2004-10-27T15:45:54Z")
> [@Rufus Xavier](#): > > It’s official: The SDMB wants ivylass to post more threads with misleading titles. Interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2004, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-the-terrorists-want-bush-to-lose/271436/17 "2004-10-27T15:46:37Z")
> [@John Mace](#): > > Yeah, but let’s be serious. How informed are the terrorists on the US election? And what about the terrorist polls? Most terrorists use cell phones, so they can’t be contacted easily. And, there are a LOT of first time terrorists this year, so we really don’t know what they want. And don’t even get me started on the Undecided Terrorist factor! Daniel ---
**Author:** ![Illinois\_Boy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Illinois\_Boy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Illinois_Boy)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2004, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-the-terrorists-want-bush-to-lose/271436/18 "2004-10-27T15:58:03Z")
> [@John Mace](#): > > Yeah, but let’s be serious. How informed are the terrorists on the US election? And what about the terrorist polls? Most terrorists use cell phones, so they can’t be contacted easily. And, there are a LOT of first time terrorists this year, so we really don’t know what they want. That was very funny on a dreary Wednesday morning (It’s Wednesday, isn’t it?). Thank you. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2004, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-the-terrorists-want-bush-to-lose/271436/19 "2004-10-27T16:22:36Z")
So, which group of terrorists do we make happy? Seems like no matter what happens, half (thereabouts) of the world (and the country) will be pissed off. ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2004, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-the-terrorists-want-bush-to-lose/271436/20 "2004-10-27T16:28:48Z")
I’d rather piss of Putin/Russia and Iran/assholes than Britian and Canada and, well, most of the Democratic world. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-official-the-terrorists-want-bush-to-lose/271436.md?page=2)