Please check out my article The Arab Spring: Al Qaeda's Imminent Tryst or Impossible Dream? on Online Opinion.
I write about the opportunities that Al Qeada networks have been seeking in the chaos of the Middle East - whenever there is some form of social change, there are underlying opportunities. The Arab Spring is about people and their need for change and democracy but it is also about disruptive elements like the Al Qaeda seeking opportunities. I believe now both overt and covert Al Qaeda supporters could slowly make their way from jihadists to government officials, although this is always how terrorist groups and members dissociate - some die and some get into politics