[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/11/09/art.amanpour.writer.jpg caption="Sr. Writer Tom Evans"]
On AMANPOUR. today, we again focus on Haiti. Christiane talks to Ambassador James Dobbins, U.S. envoy to Haiti in the Clinton administration. He is urging the international community not to rebuild Haiti’s institutions, “on the old inefficient and corrupt foundations,” but to reform them so they are accountable to the needs of the Haitian people. And we continue our look at President Obama, one year on.
Is the intelligence community better equipped now to track and prevent future terrorist attacks than it was before 9/11? And how do we assess the true threat of al Qaeda when its members seem to regroup wherever a hospitable environment presents itself? Haiti and the war against al Qaeda and the Taliban are among the stories in the news today. Here are some perspectives on the latest headlines.
Tom Evans
Sr. Writer, AMANPOUR.
HAITI – Are there enough medical supplies in Haiti to help the tens of thousands who have been injured, especially those with crush injuries?
– Hopes fading of finding any more survivors. Some rescue teams pulling out of Haiti as international effort focuses more on looking after the homeless, hungry, and injured
– Medecins Sans Frontieres saying there are 10 to 12 day backlogs of injured Haitians at some of its locations, and some of the patients’ wounds are getting infected
– European Commission says 2 million Haitians are homeless, with 250,000 people in need of urgent assistance
QUESTION: Is the world mobilizing the right people and equipment quickly enough to help the many Haitians who are injured and have lost their homes?
AL QAEDA/TALIBAN – How close are relations between the U.S. and Pakistan?
– U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates is in Pakistan on an unannounced visit, his first to the country since President Obama took office, with the intention of forging closer relations with the Pakistani government and people
– Gates trying to convince Pakistanis that Taliban in Pakistan and Afghanistan, along with al Qaeda, are all part of the same problem and should be confronted simultaneously
– Pakistani Army though says it won’t launch any new offensives against militants for six to 12 months so it can have time to consolidate its existing gains
QUESTION: How much leverage does the U.S. have in Pakistan as it seeks to press Islamabad to step up its action against the Taliban and al Qaeda?
CHINA – How robust is China’s economy?
– China reports annual growth of 8.7% for the whole of 2009, more than the government initially expected, with a spurt of 10.7% growth in the final three months of the year
– Chinese economy now on track to exceed size of Japanese economy later this year, which would make it the world’s second largest economy after the U.S.
– Some economists say the current growth rate is unsustainable, because of growing asset bubbles in China and the risk of inflation, both of which could sharply curtail the country’s growth rate if not addressed
QUESTION: Will China become the world’s biggest economy – larger than even the U.S. – by 2030 as many analysts have predicted? Or will it suffer an economic slump like Japan which in the 1980’s was viewed as the world’s emerging economic giant?