The opposition has been saying that the recent spate of bombings in Damascus and Aleppo could be pinned on President Assad who they say was trying to discredit their movement to oust him. Instead, the US government says that, at least in a couple of cases, Assad is right; al-Qaeda is behind the terror attacks. McClatchy: The international terrorist network's presence in Syria also raises the possibility that Islamic extremists will try to hijack the uprising, which would seriously complicate efforts by the United States and its European and Arab partners to force Assad's regime from power. On Friday, President Barack Obama repeated his call for Assad to step down, accusing his forces of "outrageous bloodshed." The U.S. intelligence reports indicate that the bombings came on the orders of Ayman al Zawahiri, the Egyptian extremist who assumed leadership of al Qaida's Pakistan-based central command after the May 2011 death of Osama bin Laden. They suggest that Zawahiri still...(Read Full Post)