Wednesday, November 9, virtually simultaneous suicide attacks on three prominent American-owned chain hotels killed more than 67 people and left more than 300 wounded. The Amman attacks mark the first time al-Qaeda terrorist leader Abu Musab Zarqawi has pulled off a major attack in Jordan.

The attacks provide sobering insight into the status of terrorist operations in the Middle East. Evidence suggests that Islamic jihadists are seeking to expand their sphere of operations beyond the borders of Iraq. If this trend persists, deadly attacks by Islamic extremists will likely increase across the entire region.

That the attack occurred within four months of the July 22 bombings in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, strengthens the argument that it represents an expansion of extremist ambitions.

As al-Qaeda looks to expand its operations throughout the Middle East, the terrorist group has some specific targets in its sights.

Topping al-Qaeda’s list will be the Middle Eastern nations that have a pro-American and pro-West foreign policy. Watch for America’s allies in the Middle East to come under attack. Many analysts agree that Jordan’s positive relationship with the United States was a primary reason it was targeted.

“Amman’s hotel bombings proved again that extremists like Abu Musab al-Zarqawi remain determined to expand their deadly threat beyond U.S. troops—to Arabs who oppose their world views” (Associated Press, November 10).

That AP article later quoted Mohammed Musfir, a political science professor at Qatar University: “What happened in Jordan might be repeated in Jordan and other countries, especially in those places considered by these movements as allies of the United States and Israel, and are seen to be compliant with what is going on in Iraq and the Palestinian territories.”

Islamic terrorists want more than just the removal of American influence from the Middle East; they want to re-align the foreign policies of every pro-American government in the region. They seek the establishment of radical Islamic governments throughout the region.

And, as the Amman attacks suggest, these extremists will go to violent lengths to fulfill their goal.

After the Amman attacks, Mark Ensalaco, director of International Studies at the University of Dayton, stated, “He’s punishing those countries until they come to a point where they would stop supporting the United States.”

Mr. Ensalaco also stated, “But there’s also al-Qaeda’s fundamental cause, which is to create strict Islamic states in Jordan and Egypt.” If al-Qaeda is successful in expanding its operations beyond Iraq, it will push America’s war on terrorism beyond its limit. Should al-Qaeda establish a stronger presence in other Middle Eastern nations, the U.S. would surely lack the will to expand military and surveillance operations to successfully combat that expanding threat.

Last month, the United States released a letter in which Ayman al-Zawahri, al-Qaeda’s number-two leader, discussed the expansion of the war in Iraq with Abu Musab Zarqaw, the leader of al-Qaeda’s operations in Iraq.

In the letter, al-Zawahri recommended expanding the war in Iraq into neighboring Muslim countries. Al-Zawahri wrote, “It has always been my belief that the victory of Islam will never take place until a Muslim state is established … in the heart of the Islamic world.” It is very likely that Wednesday’s bombings in Amman are only a sign of things to come.

In spite of the successes the U.S. has scored against terrorists around the world, these groups remain committed. Their will to attain their goals hasn’t waned one iota. Islamic terrorists are more driven and fervent than ever to eradicate Western influence from Muslim nations and to wipe out America and the West.

America’s decline and the terrorists’ sustained willpower, fervency and desire have become defining qualities in the war against terrorism.

Bible prophecy proves that terrorism will continue to strike fear in the West, particularly Britain and America. In the book of Leviticus, God says, “I will even appoint over you terror” as a result of your sin. Only God can save America and its allies from the terror of the terrorist bombs! Read our free booklet Repentance Toward God to learn more about this possibility.