[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/11/09/art.amanpour.writer.jpg caption="Sr. Writer Tom Evans"]
Tonight on AMANPOUR., we focus on one of the most intractable wars of our time, the struggle between Palestinians and Israelis over land, the Holy Land. The past 60 years have seen violence and uprising in the Middle East, interrupted only briefly by moments of hope. U.S. President Obama began his administration by appointing a high profile envoy and promising to break the log jam, but ten months later it's still deadlocked and the peace process is stuck in the sand and there’s a danger extremists on both sides will fill the diplomatic vacuum. We will be looking at this dilemma with two unusual voices, Aaron David Miller, a former U.S. diplomat who served six U.S. Secretaries of State. And Amira Hass, of the Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz, whose title is “correspondent in the occupied lands.” There are other stories in the news today. So as always, I am offering some perspectives on some stories that resonate way beyond the headlines.
Tom Evans
Sr. Writer, AMANPOUR.
AFGHANISTAN REINFORCEMENTS – How deep are the divisions in the Obama Administration?
– Pres. Obama, on visit to Tokyo, promises transparent decision soon on Afghan troop reinforcements
– Promise comes amid reports of deep divisions among officials about whether to send extra troops to Afghanistan and if so, how many
– UK Prime Minister Brown, who’s offered an extra 500 troops, said NATO nations other than U.S. might send 5,000 reinforcements
– Germany today said it will send 100 extra troops to northern Afghanistan, an area where fighting is far less intense than areas where U.S. and U.K. troops are fighting
QUESTION: How come European members of NATO, with so many men under arms, cannot deploy tens of thousands of extra troops to Afghanistan: is it a question of political will, outdated military structures, or both?
PAKISTAN – How successful is the Pakistani military offensive into South Waziristan?
– pair of bombings in Afghanistan kill at least 17 people, 10 of them in massive blast outside intelligence headquarters in the city of Peshawar
– Seven intelligence officials were among the dead. Dozens were wounded
– Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency was once believed to be closely allied with the Taliban and had links with Al Qaeda
– Today’s bombings come as Pakistani army claims to be making good progress in its offensive against Taliban in its stronghold of South Waziristan
QUESTION: What more can the United States do to help Pakistan in its offensive against the Taliban?
9/11 DETAINEES – Will civilian trial for detainees linked to 9/11 attacks be successful?
– U.S. to announce today that 5 Guantanamo Bay detainees, among them alleged mastermind of 9/11 Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, will be tried in New York in a civilian court
– Their trial will be held in lower Manhattan, near the site of the World Trade Center towers that were destroyed in 2001
– Decision represents a clear break from using military commissions to try detainees
– Obama Administration trying to close Guantanamo Bay military prison, which still has 215 detainees, amid hostile public reaction to transfer of prisoners to facilities in the U.S.
QUESTION: Will the announcement of a civilian trial for 9/11 detainees help or hinder the Obama Administration’s promise to close down the Guantanamo Bay military prison by January 22 next year?