President Bush declared in early October that the war in Iraq is a key front in the war with terrorist jihadists. But the president's critics insist that the war actually serves as a recruiting tool for jihadists. Since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks that made Osama bin Laden and the al Qaeda terrorist organization notorious - and celebrated - worldwide, jihadists have struck more than 107 times in more than a dozen countries - a figure that doesn't include hundreds of attacks on civilians and American soldiers in Iraq. The global terror offensive points to the existence of a unifying jihadist ideology. But much is unknown about the terrorists. Are their goals political or strictly religious? Do they operate under a unified command or through a loose network of organizations and cells? Meanwhile, evidence is mounting that al Qaeda remains strong enough to have played a role in the subway and bus bombings in London on July 7.

Peter Katel is a CQ Researcher contributing writer who previously reported on Haiti and Latin America for Time and Newsweek and covered the Southwest for newspapers in New Mexico. He has received several journalism awards, including the Bartolomé Mitre Award for drug coverage from the Inter-American Press Association and awards for investigative and interpretive reporting from the New Mexico Press Association. He holds an A.B. in university studies from the University of New Mexico.