Fighting in Middle East: al Qaeda Becoming Stronger

This is what Bush's phony war on terror has brought us, a stronger al Qaeda. Because of the Iraq War the influence of Bin Laden is growing in the Middle East:

Lebanon's army battled al Qaeda-linked militants who threatened to open "gates of fire" after clashes which killed 21 people, 13 of them soldiers, on Sunday.

It was Lebanon's worst internal fighting since the end of the 1975-1990 civil war, and was triggered when security forces raided homes in Tripoli to arrest suspects from the Fatah al-Islam group accused of robbing a bank a day earlier.

Al Qaeda's increasing presense in Pakistan is particularly disturbing. They know that country is vital in spreading Jihadism throughout the world:

In one of the most troubling trends, U.S. officials said that Al Qaeda's command base in Pakistan is increasingly being funded by cash coming out of Iraq, where the terrorist network's operatives are raising substantial sums from donations to the anti-American insurgency as well as kidnappings of wealthy Iraqis and other criminal activity.

The influx of money has bolstered Al Qaeda's leadership ranks at a time when the core command is regrouping and reasserting influence over its far-flung network. The trend also signals a reversal in the traditional flow of Al Qaeda funds, with the network's leadership surviving to a large extent on money coming in from its most profitable franchise, rather than distributing funds from headquarters to distant cells.