[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/11/17/feedback.jpg caption="Christiane – all ears for the feedback."]

Ideas of development in Iraq and Afghanistan continued to cause waves among most viewers.  Most felt the terrorism and violence in the Middle East was part of a “big terrorism plot all around the world.”  Others thought that opening dialogue among decision makers could make a big difference in the end-result.  Overall, viewers stated their ideas based on their cultural beliefs but with one goal in mind, peace.

Below, you will see some opinions from viewers like yourself.

CNN MAILBOX

Hello Christiane

If the Afghans were able to repel the Soviets what makes America think they can do better?  Is there a strategy and is it working?

LADaniel

Paul Dexter A. Capiral

Two problems of the world today. Global Warming and Terror Attacks. Hope the world survive... Peace!!!

Bill McNichols

where is the one prominent muslim imam or leader who will decree that terrorism is sinful & forbidden?

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[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, two people with legendary careers in newspapers and publishing share their stories with Christiane. Sir Harold Evans was the editor of the UK’s prestigious Sunday Times and The Times, revolutionizing British journalism by bringing to light many of the most important stories of our time. Tina Brown achieved fame as the first female editor of the New Yorker and Editor-in-Chief of Vanity Fair. Now she is making her mark on the web with Daily Beast. In their FIRST joint interview ever, the powerhouse couple sit down to talk about their life together and the future of the craft they helped shape. We are also paying attention to some other important stories. Here are some perspectives on some headlines in the news right now.

Tom Evans
Sr. Writer, AMANPOUR.

PAKISTAN – Will instability in Pakistan hinder the fight against terrorism?

– new bomb blast, in northwest Pakistan, kills 12 people outside a police compound in the city of Timargarah

– bombing the latest in a series of recent attacks in Pakistan that have killed hundreds of people

– new suspected U.S. drone strike in North Waziristan, Pakistan kills at least three people, day after two other attacks left 15 dead in the same area

– Pakistani Supreme Court strikes down an amnesty that had protected thousands of politicians and officials from corruption charges, raising possibility of new political and legal turmoil as opposition calls for ouster of President Asif Ali Zardari

QUESTION: Will legal and political challenges against government distract it from its offensive against the Taliban?

FULL POST

By: Tom Evans; Sr. Writer, AMANPOUR.

A top Sri Lankan diplomat Monday strongly rejected charges his government is abusing human rights of members of the country's minority Tamil community in refugee camps after the country's quarter-century-long civil war.

In an interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour, Palitha Kohona, the Sri Lankan Ambassador to the United Nations, insisted his government treated hundreds of thousands of refugees humanely after the war ended in May.

Human rights groups and Western governments, though, strongly criticized conditions in the camps, saying the conditions amounted to an illegal form of collective punishment.

"It's only six months after the war ended. In May, we had over 300,000 people pouring into camps, which were run by the government in order to feed the people, provide them with shelter, and to provide them with health care," Kohona said. "Now almost 60 percent or maybe even 70 percent have returned to their own homes. At the end of last week, there were only about 114,000 still remaining in the camps."

The 26-year-long civil war, one of Asia's longest-running insurgencies, ended with a crushing military victory by the government.

FULL POST

By Tom Evans; Sr. Writer, AMANPOUR.

The former U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, blames al Qaeda for Tuesday's coordinated bomb attacks in Iraq, saying al Qaeda is now targeting the Iraqi government.

The bombings - the latest in a series of attacks in Iraq - killed eight people.

Calling al Qaeda in Iraq a "very deadly adversary," Crocker said in an interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour that al Qaeda was working "to shake popular confidence in the (Iraqi) government, particularly as we move toward elections."

In Tuesday's attacks, insurgents exploded three car bombs close to heavily guarded sites in the Baghdad city center near the fortified "Green Zone" that houses Iraqi government buildings and the U.S. embassy. Four people were killed and 14 others were injured. In the volatile northern city of Mosul, four people were killed in three bombings.

"It's pretty clear to me that the architect is al Qaeda in Iraq," Crocker told Amanpour. FULL POST

By Beate Arnestad

Editor's note: Below is a compelling blog post that looks at the 26-year long civil war in Sri Lanka from the perspective of a filmmaker who met two young Tamil women planning to be suicide bombers. We do not know for sure what happened to the two women she interviewed, though there is a report both survived the war. We know even less about most of the suicide bombers' victims, many of them possibly innocent civilians from the Sinhalese majority in Sri Lanka. What we do know is that the war is finally over, after the loss of more than 70,000 lives and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people.

[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/12/14/srilankablog.jpg caption="Filmmaker Beate Arnestad with the mother of Darshika – a young woman who joined the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka."]

For a few years I lived in paradise: in a tropical environment on an island called Sri Lanka. Every morning I woke up in my four-post bed in Colombo –watching the dawn creeping in through my mosquito net and listening to the awakening sounds of all the tropical birds greeting a new day. I had moved to Sri Lanka from Norway because my husband had been posted there.

But paradise was not perfect. There were many slum areas and stray dogs eating garbage. There were countless beggars, dirty street children and pollution. There was also an unavoidable military presence.

There was a ceasefire in effect, but the city was not back to normal. Every major street was patrolled by heavily armed soldiers. "What do they fear?" I asked.

The reply was always the same: "The terrorists, the Black Tigers, these crazy suicide bombers."

I found there was very little written on the group except that they had begun operations in 1987, that about 30% were believed to be female, and that their most famous action was the murder of Rajiv Gandhi in 1991. Therefore, I decided to make a documentary film and find out more about this group.

I was told that my chances of success were poor, and that the Tamil rebels, the LTTE, lived in utmost secrecy in the jungle of the guerrilla-controlled areas in the north. Nobody from the outside world could get in touch with them, but somehow I managed.

I recall at one military checkpoint, an inspector told me, "Madam, I wouldn't advise you to leave the government controlled area. On the other side, there is no one to protect you."

"I will be fine," I said with a smile.

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[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/11/09/art.amanpour.writer.jpg caption="Sr. Writer Tom Evans"]

Today, AMANPOUR. turns to Sri Lanka - to examine how, after 27 years of civil war, the country can come together and reconcile the ethnic tensions that were at the heart of the conflict. A month before the presidential elections in Sri Lanka, is there the political will for unity and reconciliation? And what can the international community do to ensure that tens of thousands of refugees will be resettled and their villages rebuilt? That’s not the only story in the news today. Here are some perspectives on some other headlines.

Tom Evans
Sr. Writer, AMANPOUR.

THAILAND – What will happen after the seizure of an aircraft loaded with weapons from N. Korea?

– Thai court orders crew of aircraft to be held for 12 days while authorities conduct investigation into aircraft and its cargo, after it stopped in Thailand for a refueling stop

– Crew of five, four from Kazakhstan and one from Belarus, say they were en route to Sri Lanka, but Sri Lanka says no arms shipments from N. Korea were scheduled

– Thai authorities trying to determine if aircraft was destined for Asia or Middle East

– Aircraft seized reportedly after a tip from U.S. which is trying to enforce sanctions against Pyongyang

QUESTION: How effective are U.N. sanctions targeting North Korean arms shipments, a key revenue earner for the Hermit Kingdom?

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[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 are focusing on an interesting sidebar to the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. World famous artist and architect, Maya Lin, is launching what will become her last memorial – “What is Missing?”  It is multi-media work dedicated to raising awareness about endangered and extinct species. AMANPOUR speaks to her about why she is dedicating the rest of her life to documenting what she says will be the 6th mass extinction in the earth’s history – the first to be caused by the actions of a single species – humankind – if climate change continues. There are plenty of other interesting stories to tell you about today as well. Here are some perspectives on those.

Tom Evans; Sr. Writer, AMANPOUR.

IRAN – How close is the world to imposing new sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program?

–         U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates predicts “significant” new sanctions against Iran

–         Comment came one day after U.S., Britain, France warned Tehran it could face tougher measures

–         Western powers believe Iran trying to develop nuclear weapons, a charge it denies

–         Unclear though if Russia and China, both permanent members of U.N. Security Council, will support any additional sanctions against Iran

QUESTION: What will the West do if Tehran continues its nuclear defiance and Russia and China refuse to support any additional sanctions against Tehran?

FULL POST