Mr Bush will continue to make the war on terror a key theme of his foreign policy, and could even find himself sucked into a conflict with Iran.

ECONOMIST: George Bush

The key to victory over insurgencies and terror movements is the removal of their ideological legitimacy.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: A model fatwa

Mr Musharraf, a key ally of the US President George Bush's "war on terror", stepped down last week after nine years in power to avoid being impeached.

BBC: Pakistan judges' deadline looms

As security minister, he was among key officials who oversaw the incursion of Kenyan forces into neighboring Somalia to battle the terror group, Al-Shabaab.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS

The al Qaeda brand has been the key to raising awareness, raising an army of recruits, raising money, and raising terror.

FORBES: The Al Qaeda Brand Died Last Week

There was no dispute the 56-year-old was a cousin of Said Rashid, a fellow senior JSO member and influential member of the government, who played a key role in Libya's anti-US terror policies during the 1980s.

BBC: Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi

The military's liquidation of Osama bin Laden a few days ago in a million-dollar, heavily secured compound close by a Pakistani military academy has brought home to many what had previously been understood by only a few: One of the nations officially deemed a key ally in the so-called "War on Terror" has been playing us for fools.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Double Games: It's not just Pakistan

The terrorists would be especially gratified if, as Mr. Zapatero suggests, their attack will have the effect of denying President Bush a key partner not only on Iraq, but in the war on terror more generally.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: A win for terror

The mosque standoff underscores the fragility of Pakistan's government, which is a key U.S. ally in the war on terror, but has been largely unable to control its own Islamic extremism.

NPR: Militants in Pakistan Mosque Said Ready to Die