Last Look: Pakistan

Amid promises from Pakistan that they will eliminate all militants and terrorists in the country, thousands of people have fled the violence-stricken Swat valley. Local residents in the region have been trapped between the warring government troops and the Taliban militants, but were given a few hours to leave this weekend. Thousands took this offer and fled the region in fear for their lives as the country descends into what some call a civil war. The army has claimed to have killed over 200 militants in the past 24 hours in what the PM has called "a fight for the survival of the country". Clashes were also reported in the neighboring regions of Dir and Buner. Pakistan plans on boosting the amount of troops in the region to 15,000 in order to defeat the estimated 5,000 militants. Fighting has already displaced 200,000 civilians, with an estimated 300,000 expected to flee over the next few days, putting the total refugee population at over half a million.

The big question with the turmoil in Pakistan is what will happen next? The military has been ordered to eliminate all militants, and in return they have promised to use all resources available to crush the internal threat from the Taliban. One possible outcome from a commitment of this level is a quick, decisive victory for Pakistan. However, the army's primary training is to deal with India's army, not counter-insurgency. This makes a quick victory unlikely. Another scenario is an inconclusive result, where the Taliban uses the armies tendency to use artillery and airstrikes to its advantage, maximizing civilian casualties and alienating the population from the government, which is not what Pakistan needs right now. The final and worst-case scenario would be for the militants to lash out against Pakistan's neighbor, India, like they did earlier this year in Mumbai. This would cause regional tensions and divert troops away from battling the militants to focusing more on the threat of retaliation from India. Hopefully a regional conflict can be avoided and the government can defeat the militants.

Obama's greatest challenges will come in South Asia, especially in dealing with the growing Taliban threat in the Afghan-Pakistan border. The Taliban are spreading and coming into direct conflict with the government troops, who are slowly trying to regain ground in the northwestern regions. Obama has made this region the focal point of his administration, much like the Bush administration put so much emphasis on Iraq. In a very critical region linking the Middle East to the rising Eastern Asian economies, terrorism and corruption is high. The battle for the soul of this region starts with general reform and hard action. Governments need to assert their authority in their own countries first and foremost, and neutralize the militant threat. The next phase of the war much take place in the civilian sectors. In an attempt to win the hearts and minds of the people, this region needs to take responsibility for its youth and reform the education system. Once the immediate threat of violence is dealt with, the people of this region need to buckle down for the long haul and try to undo decades of corruption, violence, and turmoil.

Last Look: Afghanistan

A deadly suicide blast in southern Afghanistan has killed at least 12 people. The attack took place in a crowded bazaar, which is why casualties were unusually high. According to some reports, the bomber was targeting a convoy of foreign troops. However, all 12 killed were civilians, while only 2 troops were lightly wounded. The Taliban still holds significant territory in the southern fringes of Afghanistan, which border with parts of Pakistan, and these types of attacks are becoming more frequent in the area. In response, the US is sending about 8,000 marines to the region to almost double the size of the mainly British garrison.

Meanwhile, US efforts against the militants were set back as Afghan President Hamid Karzai urged the cessation of all airstrikes, due to the large amount of unintentional civilian casualties which are becoming extremely unpopular. Karzai made the announcement on CNN as he visited Washington to meet with US President Obama and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari. Karzai went on to say that the recent attacks that killed over 100 civilians were completely the US's fault, and not the Taliban, as some in the military claimed. He also said that the airstrikes were not an effective way to battle terrorists, and that the strategy was not working. US officials, including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that the US would work hard to avoid such "loss of innocent life".

Irregardless, another airstrike made after these comments killed an unknown amount of people in western Afghanistan, in the province of Farah. The US claims that the Taliban ushered people into houses as they were being attacked, in order to maximize civilian casualties and dishearten the US-led coalition. While the US commits more troops to Afghanistan in order to put down the flare up of violence, neighboring Pakistan is slowly being dragged into a civil war...