Word: iran
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...Qaeda is believed to comprise a couple of hundred desperate men, their core leaders hiding out in Pakistan's tribal wilds and under constant threat of attack by ever present U.S. drone aircraft, their place in Western nightmares and security determinations long since eclipsed by such longtime rivals as Iran, Hizballah, Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood. This year's official threat assessment by the U.S. Directorate of National Intelligence cited the global economic downturn as the primary security challenge facing the U.S. The report found "notable progress in Muslim public opinion turning against terrorist groups like al-Qaeda" and said...
...Sure, al-Qaeda continues to issue vituperative missives by video from its hideouts, many of them directed at the likes of Iran and Hamas. But Hamas spokesman Osama Hamdan seemed to sum up al-Qaeda's plight two years ago, when responding to a particularly rabid attack from bin Laden's No. 2. Ayman al-Zawahiri had accused Hamas of "joining the surrender train" by participating in elections and agreeing to form a unity government with Fatah. Hamas, sneered Hamdan in response, had no need of advice from a "fugitive in the Afghan mountains" and did not accept criticism from...
...Hizballah movement has challenged the legitimacy of the Lebanese government, accusing it of secretly trying to disarm the anti-Israeli "resistance." For its part, the ruling coalition has accused the Hizballah-led opposition of attempting a coup d'état at the behest of Iran and Syria. After Hizballah prevailed decisively in a brief armed confrontation in the streets of Beirut in the spring of 2008, the two sides agreed to settle matters at the polls. And when Hariri's coalition won a slim majority and offered to share power with its opponents in a national-unity government, most...
...separate country by European colonial powers.) And it has made some effort to stem the flow of militants across the Syrian border into Iraq. Still, Syria appears wary of giving away too much and is especially wary of U.S. demands that it give up its strategic alliances with Iran, Hizballah and Hamas. Syria's fears that breaking from its allies in search of a separate peace deal will cost it leverage needed to achieve its primary goals of recovering the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and reintegrating into the international community. An ongoing Lebanese political crisis is certainly a reminder...
...possibilities for diplomacy are not yet exhausted, but time is short. Tensions are also rising in the standoff over Iran's nuclear program, with Israel threatening military action against the Islamic Republic if it continues to defy Western demands. Should the regional confrontation escalate, there's little chance that Lebanon's squabbling politicians will avoid being sucked...