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.

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.

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.