CAIRO -- The financial crisis sweeping through the United States may have temporarily shifted the focus away from the so-called war on terrorism, however, it remains a centerpiece of Washingtons foreign policy. A recent study conducted for the BBC revealed a stark truth about the Middle East: al-Qaidas popularity appears to be growing.

The Cold War between Syria and Saudi Arabia playing itself out in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli is taking the Lebanese crisis into unchartered territories where all the microcosms of inter-Arab animosity are vying for power in Lebanon.

More than seven years after the horrendous terrorist attacks on New York Citys World Trade Center and the Pentagon the "war on terror," as U.S. President George W. Bush likes to call it, still rages. And while Bush is due to leave the White House in about 100 days, the threats posed by al-Qaida and Osama bin Laden remain. In fact, a recent world poll conducted for the BBC found that people in 22 out of 23 countries believe U.S. efforts to weaken the terrorist organization have failed.

While Lebanese President Gen. Michel Suleiman was visiting Syrian President Bashar Assad, a terror attack hit Tripoli, Lebanons second-largest city, killing 18 people, including nine soldiers and injuring over 40. It is still unclear who was behind this bloody attack, but fingers are pointing at Fatah al-Islam, the al-Qaida linked group that fought the Lebanese army in 2007 in the Palestinian camp of Nahr al-Bared. In fact Fatah al-Islams leader, Shaker al-Absi, recently said he would target the military. But more than anything, it is the growing presence of al-Qaida in Lebanon that is worrying.

Since Sept. 11, 2001 the European–U.S. partnership in the counter terrorism field has been overall pretty good. Even countries vehemently opposed to the war in Iraq, such as France and Germany, have been cooperating with the U.S. In fact, John McLaughlin, former CIA Director, described the relationship between the CIA and its French counterparts as "one of the best in the world. What they are willing to contribute is extraordinary valuable." But if Europe is really our Ally, how come al-Qaida is NOT on the European Unions terrorist list?

GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba -- The alleged mastermind of the 9/11 attacks made his first public appearance since his 2003 capture on Thursday and told a Guantanamo Bay courtroom that he wants to be a martyr.

Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, one of the United States supposedly "best allies" in the war on terror, gave the usual recipe for ending terrorism: tackle poverty and despair of the third world countries and resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The common Western misconception that intellectual and political Islamism is by definition an impediment to modernization is fueling tensions between the Muslim world and the United States and Europe.