[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/11/17/feedback.jpg caption="Christiane listens to your feedback."]

Christian’s look to Al Qaeda’s growing influence in Europe forced most viewers to contribute with bold opinions.  The tone of the commentary suggested self-reflection and implored a second look at the issues at hand.  Some described Al-Qaeda as an ideology that was getting stronger, while other preferred to see it as “fuel extremism, causing despair in the world.”  Please share your thoughts with us.

Below, you will see some opinions from viewers like yourself.  If you missed the show, or for more information on the full-length podcast @ http://cnn.com/amanpour

CNN MAILBOX

They just gave america a kicking in its largest military base on american soil (Fort Hood) and your 'experts' still think alqaeda is getting weaker.

This is a typical example of one of the biggest problems the west faces – the people its put incharge to counter alqaeda have no idea how alqaeda thinks/operates FULL POST

[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 focus on the Korean peninsula. South Korea is the last stop for President Obama as he wraps up his weeklong trip throughout Asia.   What to do about the growing national security threat posed by North Korea will surely be high on the list of topics for discussion in Seoul. AMANPOUR has the latest on what is going inside the closed state, including a report from a recent defector now trying to adjust to life as a refugee in South Korea. President Obama’s visit to Asia is just one of the stories making news today. Here are some perspectives on that and some other stories in the headlines.

Tom Evans
Sr. Writer, AMANPOUR.

U.S. AND CHINA – How much did Obama/Hu summit in Beijing achieve?

–         President Obama talks of positive, cooperative and comprehensive relationship between U.S. and China

–         Hu says he believes strong dialogue is important not only for U.S. and China, but whole world

–         Summit affirmed U.S. recognition of China as a major player on the world stage

–         But two leaders could not bridge divide on crucial issues such as trade, human rights, Tibet, and climate change

QUESTION: Is China an economic threat to the U.S. as 71 percent of Americans believe, according to a new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll?
FULL POST

[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/11/16/vlad.jpg caption="Amanpour Intern, Vladimir Duthiers"]

By Vladimir Duthiers, Amanpour Intern

Many in the media have focused on President Obama’s recent photo-op taken with Emperor Akihito of Japan. It shows Obama waist deep in Ojigi – the act of bending the waist and the head at a 15 degree angle as a social gesture. AKA – bowing. The White House says the President was simply following protocol but to many in the United States, his actions seem to clash with America’s egalitarian origins.

Speaking to John King on CNN’s State of the Union, conservative commentator William Bennet called Obama’s gesture “ugly”, saying, “We don't defer to emperors.”

Over the course of an eighteen year career in global finance, I had the opportunity to travel to Japan many times. During these visits, I was always struck by the fact that my American colleagues never bowed to our Japanese clients and business associates, even if they were bowing to us. As a long time student of the Japanese martial arts, I knew that in Japanese culture, bowing is simply a traditional way to show respect to another person before you start to try and bash their brains in with a well timed punch, roundhouse kick or, a bamboo sword called shinai. FULL POST

[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/11/16/christianetom.jpg caption caption="Sr. Writer for Amanpour, Tom Evans, works on scripts with Christiane"]

By Tom Evans, Sr. Writer AMANPOUR.

1: China today, say many analysts, is in a comparable position to U.S. at the beginning of the 20th century... an emerging power that the dominant global power of the time is trying to downplay. Then it was Great Britain vs. the United States. Now it is the United States vs. China.

2: China's rapid economic expansion continues to outpace growth in the United States, 8.9 percent in the last quarter versus 3.5 percent in the United States giving Beijing huge economic leverage.

3: China is on the brink of overtaking Japan as the world's second biggest economy and could overtake by some estimates (PricewaterhouseCoopers) the U.S. economy in overall size (though not GDP a head) by 2025 and be 130 percent bigger than the U.S. economy by 2050 FULL POST

Oscar the Grouch, sitting on the Amanpour set - part of the 40 year celebration of 'Sesame Street'‎

Meghan, Christiane’s Producer, taking a phone call from home:

“Mom, I met Helen Thomas, Sam Donaldson and Oscar the Grouch yesterday… so it was a big day for me.”

[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 look at U.S. President Obama’s first trip to China. What are we to make of U.S. policy toward China and what kind of leverage does the U.S. have on issues as crucial as climate change, trade, nuclear proliferation, and the global financial crisis? Is China the 800lb gorilla in the room that everyone is trying to ignore? Geo-strategic implications of China’s rise continue to astonish, particularly as it’s on brink of overtaking Japan as the world’s second biggest economy. We also look at China’s rising economic influence in Africa and South America and more. That’s not the only story making news today. Here are some perspectives on that and some other headlines.

– Tom Evans; Sr. Writer, AMANPOUR.

U.S. AND CHINA – interdependent partners or strategic rivals?

–         President Obama in China on his first official visit to the country amid tensions between Beijing and Washington on a host of issues

–         Both U.S. and China’s economies deeply intertwined. U.S. relies on China to buy U.S. Treasury bonds. China relies on U.S. to buy its manufactured goods

–         Some are calling for new global leadership by China and the U.S., a so-called “G2” to direct the world economy and address strategic issues such as North Korea and Iran

–         President Obama says U.S. is not trying to contain China and there are very few global challenges that can’t be solved if two countries work together

QUESTION: Is U.S. downplaying human rights concerns in Tibet and Xinjiang in order to strengthen the bilateral relationship between Beijing and Washington? FULL POST

Tell us what life is like in your part of the world. Each week we'll play a short film on our program that challenges how we understand the world. Use your video camera, webcam or cellphone:  submit your film here.

Christiane accepting a lifetime achievement award for her journalism from the Newswomen's Club of New York.

Last night, Christiane and Helen Thomas were honored with lifetime achievement awards for their journalism at the Newswomen's Club of New York. The Amanpour news team accompanied Christiane and took some snaps, click here to see the rest.

[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?
FULL POST