By Richard Downie

By Jennifer G. Cooke, Farha Tahir Jan 16, 2013

Less than 18 months into its life as an independent nation, South Sudan is facing a desperate struggle for survival. Because the terms of its separation from Sudan were not decided before independence, negotiations have dragged on over issues including borders, security arrangements, and the qualifications for citizenship, diverting attention from the urgent task of development. Most damagingly, the two nations have failed to cooperate on oil production, the mainstay of their economies.

By Patrick Pratt

On November 17, the people of Sierra Leone go to the polls in presidential, parliamentary, and local council elections. This will be the third presidential election since Sierra Leone’s decade-long civil war ended in 2002, and it will be an important benchmark for judging the extent of its post-conflict recovery. President Ernest Bai Koroma of the All People’s Congress (APC) is the favorite to win a second term in office, but his main opponent, Julius Maada Bio of the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP), is promising a strong showing.

By Haim Malka

On the afternoon of November 14, Israel launched a wide-scale military operation in the Gaza Strip. The operation started with a targeted missile strike killing Ahmed al-Jabari, the commander of Hamas’s military apparatus. It continued with aerial bombings of Hamas military targets, operatives, and installations, including rocket launching sites. In response, Hamas and other Gaza-based militant groups have fired hundreds of rockets into Israel, including several that reached the Tel Aviv area. The risk of further escalation is growing.

Nearly one year after the withdrawal of US forces, Iraq continues to grapple with violence stemming from deep ethnic and sectarian tensions, growing political hostility, ineffective governance, and corruption among its security forces. The instability caused by these conditions detracts from the US mission, increases Iran’s ability to influence events across the border, impedes progress in Iraq, and threatens to descend the country back into widespread civil strife.

On March 11, 2011, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck northeast Japan, followed by a powerful tsunami that in turn caused a nuclear disaster at the Fukushima power station. Hospitals and clinics were destroyed, and injured individuals had very limited access to health care services after these events. The nuclear disaster posed both immediate and future threats; there was great uncertainty about the risks associated with the nuclear fallout and the effects of the contamination of homes and towns in the Tohoku prefectures.

The subject is the transition of power in Afghanistan and I’ve been given seven minutes to summarize what needs to be done in a way that is intended to be controversial and stimulate discussion.

Let me begin by saying that even if you ignore Afghanistan’s neighbors, you cannot ignore the complexity of the challenges. Unless we take far more realistic and effective action than we have to date, there is a significant probability that Afghanistan will go from the center ring of America’s strategic circus in 2010 to an awkward cross between its freak show and its clown car by 2016.

The process of rebuilding Liberia’s health system, shattered by 14 years of devastating conflict, is entering a crucial and potentially destabilizing phase. The Liberian government and local NGOs are assuming a larger responsibility, but Liberia’s health system is beset with serious problems. The United States, Liberia’s most steadfast partner during this reconstruction effort, remains publicly committed to playing a leading role. As a statement of its commitment to Liberia and as part of an effort to move toward a more sustainable development model, the U.S.