Then, on August 22, a drone reportedly killed al Qaeda's top operational planner, Atiyah Abd al-Rahman, dealing another heavy blow to the organization.

CNN: CIA drone war in Pakistan in sharp decline

Its peaks once guarded Asturias from the forces of Abd al-Rahman and his descendants, powerful invaders from Damascus whose rule stopped short of this inaccessible and remote area.

BBC: A culinary pilgrimage along the Way of St James

Abd Rahman Rashed, editor of the Saudi-owned, London-based Arabic daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, expressed a different point of view.

CNN: Arab world scrutinizing events in Iran