Ten years after the attacks of September 11, 2001, the US is still at war with al-Qaeda. Yet with the recent killing of Osama bin Laden, what kind of threat does this network of terrorists really pose? Fawaz Gerges, a professor of Middle East Politics and International Relations at the London School of Economics, will discuss the current state of al-Qaeda, arguing that since the 9/11 attacks the movement has splintered into feuding factions, neutralizing itself more effectively than any amount of counter-terrorism operations ever could. He will also discuss the democratic revolutions that swept the Middle East in the Spring of 2011 and what they mean for al-Qaeda and its influence on the politics of the region.