Your questions on the war

Liza Wilson in London asks:

Does al-Qaeda actually have a meaning? Is it symbolic?

BBC News Online writes:

"Al-Qaeda" means "the base" in Arabic. Bin Laden used the word to describe the terrorist training camps he set up in Sudan and Afghanistan, as well as the groups associated with them - the "base" for achieving his aims.

It is thought to have established cells in many Arab states and throughout the western world

The network began in the late 1980s, towards the end of the Soviet-Afghan war, when thousands of volunteers from around the Middle East went to Afghanistan as mujahideen, warriors fighting a holy war to defend fellow Muslims.

Al-Qaeda is now an international network - and is thought to have established cells in many Arab states and throughout the western world.

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