[lbo-talk] Al Q to McCain: Iran is our common foe

[Doug Henwood]

[I was just on Iranian TV - by phone, not camera - commenting on this  
morning's job report. While looking at the site, I came across this  
gem.]

<http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=50238&sectionid=3510203>

Qaeda to McCain: Iran is our common foe
Fri, 04 Apr 2008 18:49:40

Al-Qaeda's number two leader snubs Republican Senator John McCain for  
claiming that Iran is working with the terrorist organization.

During a new online Q&A session, Ayman al-Zawahiri said al-Qaeda  
wants to see the destruction of Iran - a Shia nation battling the  
terrorists.

"We hope that war 'saps' both Washington and Tehran," he said.

"The dispute between America and Iran is a genuine struggle, and the  
possibility of the US striking Iran is real," al-Zawahiri said.

"Whichever country that emerges victorious will find itself in an  
intensified and fierce battle [with al-Qaeda]," he continued.

Al-Zawahiri was referring to recent remarks by the presumptive  
Republican nominee, Senator John McCain, who has claimed that Iranian  
operatives are 'taking al-Qaeda into Iran, training them and sending  
them back' to Iraq.

Although McCain's campaign has attempted to whitewash the senator's  
remarks as a mishap, pundits have questioned McCain's awareness of  
current world affairs.