One of the largest earthquakes in the region, with a magnitude of 7.0, has hit Haiti Tuesday, killing possibly thousands, leveling buildings and destroying infrastructure. Reports say thousands of people are living out on the streets in the dust-covered capital.

The quake has been declared "catastrophic" by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Thousands remain missing, including personnel at the United Nations headquarters.

Relief agencies from numerous countries have begun deploying aid, but the full scale of the disaster is still unknown.

Increasing the troop strength to 100,000 in Afghanistan, President Barack Obama has approved sending additional forces to support Operation Enduring Freedom.

"I have determined that it is in our vital national interest to send an additional 30,000 US troops to Afghanistan," said the President in his speech at West Point.

The President also announced the intention to withdraw American troops in 2011.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8389778.stm

Taliban miltants executed an eloping Afghan couple on Monday, April 13th. Governor Ghulam Dastageer Azad of Nimroz province condemned the murders as an "insult to Islam". Even after being unseated from power in 2001, the Taliban continues to implement strict Sharia Law in areas of Afghanistan where the government, local police, and international security forces do not have a strong presence.

World leaders assembled in Strasbourg shared their views on the importance of supporting the war in Afghanistan, expressing a commonly held fear that al-Qaeda would be very likely more able to launch a terrorist attack in Europe than in the United States because of geographic proximity.

In a move that is another example of the new U.S. administration's optimistic approach to international relations, President Barack Obama has published Nowruz greetings to the people of Iran. The video will no doubt be a source of heated discussions in some circles, as anti-Iranian sentiments are still strong after years of nuclear fearmongering and the lack of understanding of how a nation's leader does not always represent the general attitude of the people towards the U.S.

Not much after the attacks on Kabul,  a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device injured three civilian contractors at Bagram Airfield, North of Kabul. This attack, just like the last one in Kabul, is a clear indication of the increased risks insurgents are willing to take.

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=53322

I mentioned two weeks ago that Pakistan, in the wake of the Kabul terrorist attacks and with insurgent activities increasing, would have to start talking very seriously with the U.S. and with Afghanistan. Consequently, it was not entirely unexpected that the foreign ministers of Afghanistan and Pakistan met with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

John Barry and Evan Thomas express their view on how Afghanistan is starting to eerily look like Vietnam.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/182650/output/print

Fareed Zakaria points out that Coalition Forces have to work hard to prevent creating "accidental guerillas", in a conflict that seems to be going much less well than many think. However, he believes that the war in Afghanistan is not a "quagmire", and that elements of counterinsurgency warfare can be applied. As many others do, he recognizes the problems with the current Afghan government, and offers solutions to strengthen the credibility of the administration as well as to effectively deploy troops to the country.

Frederick W. Kagan discusses the dissimilarities between the Vietnam War and Afghanistan, offering points on how to avoid the 21st century conflict from taking turns in similar directions. He agrees that the counterinsurgency approach is feasible and that in order to succeed, Coalition Forces must be able to establish security of the population, but he also recognizes the often publicized problems with the trust in the Afghan government.