November 10:
The jury still appears to be out on the thorny question of whether the U.S. and Pakistan should arm local Pakistani militias as part of efforts to combat the Taliban. According to the Washington Times, policymakers in Washington and analysts in the region are worried that providing local militias with weapons could have a negative trickle-down effect on the size and strength of the Taliban arsenal. Furthermore, since local militias are generally comprised of poorly trained farmers, there are concerns that they will prove no match for the vastly more experienced and well-armed insurgent forces, irrespective of arms supplies from the Coalition.
November 12:
In a further escalation of the simmering tensions on the Korean Peninsula, Pyongyang has demanded that Seoul halt all border crossings and sever any non-military phone lines or communication between the two nations. The DPRK's target appears to be the Red Cross office on its territory, which has maintained the only civilian communication link between the two countries since contacts between ordinary citizens were severed in 1953. Without this link, the North and South Korean populations are now completely isolated from one another, BBC news reports.
November 13:
It only took a week after the U.S. presidential election for North Korea to decide to rock the nuclear boat. The New York Times reports that Pyongyang has repealed its decision to allow international inspectors to obtain samples of water and waste from its Yongbyon nuclear facility. North Korea will now limit inspections solely to the review of documents and in-person interviews at the presumably-defunct plutonium plant. Additionally, inspectors will no longer able to gain admission to any other suspected nuclear sites in the DPRK - rendering the International Atomic Energy Agency incapable of verifying if it is truly ending its other suspected nuclear and proliferation activities.
November 16:
Although Asif Ali Zardari has gone on record as opposing raids by U.S. commandos within his country, the new Pakistani president appears to have turned a blind eye to other American counterterrorism activities, including air strikes by Predator aircraft on terrorist figures. The Washington Post reports senior Pakistani officials as confirming that, unlike the Musharraf administration, which "gave lip service but not effective support," Zardari "is delivering but not taking the credit." However, this unspoken agreement has not been uncontroversial. Zardari's decision to facilitate U.S. direct action has met opposition from Pakistani locals angered by unintended civilian casualties, and by government officials who favor a more robust role for their own country's army in the counterterrorism fight.
November 20:
The Economist reports that Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapksa and his generals have declared a "turning point" in their country's protracted war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, or Tamil Tigers. Colombo's optimism comes from the army's recent seizure of the town of Pooneryn - a location that has not been controlled by the Sri Lankan government for over a decade and a half. Pooneryn has significant military value; it serves as a key point on an important supply and trade route to the country's north, and facilitates the solidification of control over Sri Lanka's western coast. Colombo's victory is not absolute, however; the town of Kilinochchi, which serves as the Tigers' administrative headquarters, has so far remained unconquered.
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