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By William Tucker

In the last week both the Egyptian and Israeli governments have increased their respective military presence in the Sinai as reports of a strong al-Qaeda presence continue. Indeed, I wrote about this very issue back in June. But the issue isn’t just about tackling militancy in a sensitive geographic area; it is also about continuing cooperation between two neighbors that are concerned about regional trends. The Egyptians and Israelis are very concerned over the future of Libya and Syria with a well founded fear that these nations in chaos could easily become militant safe havens. At present, both nations want to do as much as they can to clear the Sinai of militancy before any threat can manifest along other borders. Fighting on multiple fronts is difficult and neither nation wants to do this while dealing with other political transitions. The Sinai will be an important area to watch in the near future.

Pakistan’s The News reported yesterday that alQaeda has named Saif al-Adel interim Emir until the Shura Majlis can meet to officially name the successor to Osama bin Laden. Bin Laden was killed in early May and the Shura council has been unable to meet in one location to discuss the future of the group.