The forthcoming presidential elections in the United States are possibly the most crucial of the last decades. As the presidency of the extremely popular Barack Obama is coming to its end, the presidential candidates are going to extremes. Whilst the Democratic Party is proposing its most “socialist” candidate in years, the Republican Party participates in a festival of xenophobia and bigotry with aggressive international policies outside the United States and dangerous immigration policies inside them. But what if the next U.S. president is a Republican? What would be the implications on the political situation in the Middle East and the Muslims within the U.S.?

Η ομιλία του Αμερικανού Πρόεδρου στο Πανεπιστήμιο του Καΐρου στις 4 Ιουνίου, επιχείρησε να δώσει μια νέα ώθηση στις σχέσεις Ισλάμ-Δύσης. Παράλληλα έθεσε ορισμένες σημαντικές παραμέτρους της νέας εξωτερικής πολιτικής των ΗΠΑ όσον αφορά την αντιμετώπιση του ισλαμικού εξτρεμισμού, τις προτεραιότητες των δυτικών στρατηγικών συμμαχιών και την αραβοϊσραηλινή διένεξη, τις οποίες επιχειρεί να αξιολογήσει η παρούσα ανάλυση.

"Terror and Consent" is an interesting book and is written in a narrative way which distinguishes it from any common essay on international affairs. It maintains clarity throughout its analysis and allows the average reader to look inside the depth of terror mechanisms.

"Al Qaeda is a political movement with a demonstrated military ability which has sought to bypass the state while co-opting its attributes and channeling its resources. It has, after concluding that the Arab state system is dying and incapable of defending the people's interests, claimed the right to defend Arab States against their external enemies and most of all the USA. Forging itself as a vanguard, it has separated two tactical fights: the domestic war against failed states, and the international war against the "far enemy".

"Whatever is begun in anger ends in shame". Akbar Ahmed, a Muslim Islamic scholar teaching in the American University, quotes the words of Benjamin Franklin in a thoughtful narration aimed to describe how the U.S. foreign policy and the War on Terror has led the West and Islam to the brink of collision.

"The greatest fear is fear itself". Ian Lustick, Professor of Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania, quotes the words of Franklin Roosevelt in an effort to prove that the United States has an alternative way to fight terrorism. The War on Terror has resulted in more damage than the actual attacks of September 2001. It has disoriented public opinion as well as foreign and domestic policymakers from the real threats. The US is currently hunting ghosts, allowing the enemy plenty of time to reorganize and become stronger out of the fear of weakness, which is the actual message terrorism itself implies.