Dem Talking Points.

A little shot at the left first. The Dems can breathe easy, Zawahiri has delivered their talking points to them they can be ready for post-State of the Union.

On a more serious analysis Walid Phares notes:

As I argued on MSNBC in my first assessment, along with my colleague Ret Col Rick Francona (NBC analyst), the most important impact of the tape is going to be in which way the Western and Arab commentators will "explain" the tape MSNBC link. From a global and immediate analysis of the message the bottom line is about how to explain the War between the US-led coalition and the Jihadi-led Al Qaida axis. The Jihadi camp is increasingly concerned that out of the West and the Arab world, a new analysis is explaining that it is al Qaida which is not achieving its goals with the peoples it wants to enlist. [emphasis added] It is against this particular analysis of the War on Terror, that the "architects" of the tape are attempting to redress the political situation in their own midst.

Source: The Counterterrorism Blog (Walid Phares) - Zawahiri's message: "your -US- assessment is wrong, we're winning" Walid previously quotes an analyst highlighted on Al-Jazeera saying how it is time for the West to cry uncle.

What we have here is Zawahiri trying to pre-empt the President in his state of the union address. In fact as I kid above it sounds like a fair amount of the same things the left is saying. However, Walid's point is well taken. There was recently that strike against Zawahiri and Zawahiri has to show himself to be alive and well and of course who is to say they are defeated? No, of course not they will try to claim they are soundly kicking @$$ but it is quite curious to note how their former haven of Afghanistan is nothing at all like he claims it to be. Perhaps Iraq is a bit from being straightened out but we certainly have the initiative there. Old Zawahiri is trying to cast doubt on the President's upcoming speech.

The media war continues.