al Qaeda's Watching

al Qaeda certainly has the media down pat. They know that whatever they say will be picked up and repeated without fail. Or criticism. Or a thorough analysis.

Al-Zawahri, wearing a white turban and gray robe and seated next to an automatic rifle, waved his finger for emphasis as he spoke in the two-minute excerpt aired by Al-Jazeera.

''I congratulate (the Islamic nation) for the victory of Islam in Iraq,'' he said.

Al-Zawahri apparently was referring to comments last month by Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, who said President Bush had authorized new troop cuts below the 138,000 level that prevailed for most of last year.

Rumsfeld did not reveal the exact size of the cut, but the Pentagon said the reductions would be about 7,000 troops, about the size of two combat brigades. The Pentagon has not announced a timetable for troop reductions, but indications are that the force could be cut significantly by the end of this year.

''You remember I told you more than a year ago that the American withdrawal from Iraq is only a matter of time, and here they are now ... negotiating with the mujahedeen,'' al-Zawahri said.

Zawahiri's view of time and space are warped - as the US is choosing the time and place to withdraw on its own, and not under the threat of al Qaeda, which has been unable to assert control over any territory since 9/11, nor can it claim a military victory anywhere.

However, they know that if they repeat that they're winning long enough, folks will begin believing the hype. And that's precisely what this is. Hype. And propaganda.

That the Times dutifully reports without fail.

And then there's the way in which these videos get to the media:

Al-Jazeera said the videotape was dated in December but it gave no more specifics. Network spokesman Ayman Gaballah said the videotape, about 20 minutes long, was acquired through ''a special source.'' He would not elaborate.

Considering that the US media was in a frenzy following the Murtha comments about withdrawing from Iraq swiftly, the successful conduct of the Iraqi elections, plus the comments by various Administration officials that stated that the US position was to begin drawing down military forces in Iraq as circumstances dictated, it is highly probable that Zawahiri was regurgitating what he saw on the US media and figures that if it might work for Congressional Democrats in advancing their agenda that it might work for al Qaeda's agenda.

UPDATE:
Others noticing the al Qaeda crowing about winning in Iraq: Power Line. John notes:

It's been obvious for some time that troop levels would soon be reduced; the question has been whether the withdrawal would be consequent upon success, as the Bush administration insists, or upon defeat, as most Democrats say. Zawahiri's latest propaganda effort is consistent with the views of Jack Murtha, Nancy Pelosi, John Kerry and other antiwar Democrats.