Fawaz A. Gerges

Evidence suggests that a small group of ultraconservative Salafis may have hijacked protests over an obscure, anti-Islamic film and orchestrated attacks on US embassies

No end in sight: Despite Western-backed pressure, Assad clings to power with help from Russia, China and Iran

Iraqi elections have not set off a democracy contagion. Sectarian divisions continue to haunt Iraqi politics

One of Osama's prominent Saudi mentors, preacher and scholar Salman al-Oadah has openly rebuked bin Laden for causing widespread mayhem and killing: "How many innocent children, elderly people, and women were killed in the name of Al Qaeda?"

The Middle East is boiling, and not just in Palestine, Lebanon and Iraq. What official Washington views as "clarifying moments" are deepening institutional crises shaking the foundations of Middle Eastern societies.

Wrong country, wrong war: American soldiers in Iraq fight an elusive enemy, as the terrorist threat spreads. It is as good as an occasion as any to examine the roots of an American blunder and its consequences..

The sad irony is that the American war in Iraq has proved to be counterproductive to the struggle against the global jihad movement and has alienated the floating middle of Muslim public opinion. It has given Al Qaeda central and its affiliates a new

Instead of inaccurately dismissing the Hezbollah as "terrorists" and relying solely on military muscle, Israel and the US need to back negotiations that are rooted in a nuanced understanding of the force they are determined to destroy.

To what do we owe this dash for media blitz by bin Laden, al-Zawahiri and al-Zarqawi? Al Qaeda barely survived the loss of its Afghan base; the loss of Iraq could prove to be more devastating. So the desperation.

Ayaman al-Zawahiri popped up on television again to prove he is alive. His movement may not be winning the "race for the hearts and minds" of Muslims, but it's time for a change of US strategy.