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The article focuses on the higher number of Muslims in France who are working for the country's security than for the Islamic group Al Qaeda. Topics discussed include the violent attack at the office of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris, the status of Muslim politics and culture, and the negative impact of the emergence of Internet on the security of the Muslim community.

President Barack Obama pledged in his first TV interview—with the Arab satellite channel Al Arabiya—that America under his watch would “listen with respect and not dictate” to the world. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has further announced that this country will no longer just throw around its military might but will pursue a “smart power” approach by tempering the use of hard weaponry with the “soft power” of persuasion and cultural attraction. Or, as Madame Secretary's husband Bill has put it, America will now lead through the power of example instead of the example of power. The first exceedingly complex test of Obama's smart power strategy will be how to end George W. Bush's misguided “war on terror” in Afghanistan and Pakistan, keeping al-Qaida at bay without being swallowed by the quagmire of tribal politics. An array of experts from New Delhi to Paris offers their views in this section. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author reflects on what will happen if U.S. troops leave Iraq. He cites the statements of some politicians about the withdrawal of troops in Iraq, and cites instances which show the beneficial effect of anti-war initiatives. He suggests that political solution is the only way to prevent the illegal act of Al-Quaida.

The article features the views of Oliver Roy, writer and Islamic expert, who feels that the war on terror (WOT) is based on wrong assessment, using war as a strategy to occupy territories and not as a metaphor. WOT has increased the tensions, religious radicalism and Arab nationalism. The main purpose of democratization has failed in middle east. However, the mobilization of intelligence and the legal recourse to contain terror networks is effective and is working in the West.

The Great Arab Revolt of 2011 has moved swiftly from the peaceful overthrow of autocrats in the nation-states of Tunisia and Egypt to brutal repression in the tribal societies of Libya, Syria, Bahrain and Yemen. Meanwhile, the wired youth bulge of the Middle East that brought change is dissipating into an impotent diaspora while the organized interests of the old regimes and the once-suppressed Islamists charge ahead to power. This section examines the revolt, the reaction and the power struggles in its aftermath. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article comments on the War on Terrorism and the need to de-globalize it in 2006. It is argued that the wrong use of the metaphor of "war" when fighting the disparate causes of terror has led to Western armies being stuck in protracted conflicts where local issues such as civil wars, territory and nationalism are far more important than global anti-terrorism aims.