In a frame from a video provided by IntelCenter, posted on the Internet Thursday, April 13, 2006, al-Qaida's deputy leader Ayman al-Zawahri praises insurgents in Iraq. Al-Zawahri insulted Barack Obama in the terror group's first reaction to his election, calling him a demeaning racial term implying that the president-elect is a black American who does the bidding of whites. Al-Zawahri said in a message, which appeared on militant Web sites Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2008, that Obama is "the direct opposite of honorable black Americans" like Malcolm X, the 1960s African-American rights leader. (AP Photo/IntelCenter)

CAIRO, Egypt (AP) — Al-Qaida’s No. 2 slurred Barack Obama with a demeaning racial term for a black American who does the bidding of whites in a new Web message Wednesday intended to dent the president-elect’s popularity among Arabs and Muslims and claim he will not change U.S. policy.

Ayman al-Zawahri’s speech was al-Qaida’s first reaction to Obama’s election victory — and it suggested the terror network is worried the new American leader could undermine its rallying cry that the United States is an enemy oppressor.

Obama has been welcomed by many in the Middle East who hope he will end what they see as American aggression against Muslims and Arabs under President George W. Bush. Some believe his race and Muslim family connections could make him more understanding of the developing world’s concerns.

Al-Zawahri dug into U.S.