U.S. military presences put Middle East on edge
Can the Nations avert the War of Armageddon?
WASHINGTON�Armageddon. The very mention of the word evokes images of soldiers armed to the teeth in a fierce battle where blood flows up to "the horse�s bridle." Today that word is on the minds, if not the tongues, of religious and political leaders as the United States dispatches one of its largest military build-ups in history to the Middle East preparing for a strike against Afghanistan and other "supporters of terrorism."  But is the concern of the scholars warranted. Could the response of Mr. Bush to the attacks to the World Trade Center and Pentagon draw the United States into that dreaded war?  

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War dominates Afghan politics
UNITED NATIONS�Afghanistan has faced civil war since 1973, when Prince Mohammed Daoud led a bloodless coup against his cousin, King Mohammed Zair Shah. They stopped fighting for 10 years to repel the Soviets, whose incursion ended on February 15, 1989. Fighting broke out again in 1993, which led to the September 27, 1996 takeover of the country by the Taliban, a religious movement that recruited many converts from refugee camps inside the country.

Who is Osama bin Laden?
Osama bin Laden, 44, was born into a wealthy Saudi Arabian international construction family. An engineer by training, he fought against Russia�s invasion of Afghanistan in the 1980s. America�s CIA supplied him with arms and cash during the 10-year Russian-Afghan war.