As NATO’s member nations convene in Bucharest, Romania, to discuss the state of the alliance, Afghanistan will be at the top of the agenda. General Dan McNeil, commander of the alliance’s 43,250 soldiers in Afghanistan, has lobbied for another troop surge to help battle the rising insurgency in the country’s south. But lower-level commanders on the ground have something else to add to that wish list. Says one: “Frankly, defeating the Taliban is the least of our worries. They are not going to beat us. What is killing this country is corruption and drugs. That is not for NATO but for the Afghan government to deal with.” Some 8,000 more troops, which would constitute the two brigades that McNeil wants, may help secure volatile areas and clear the way for development — key steps toward winning the hearts and minds so dear to counter-insurgency strategists. But if Afghans have no faith in their government to provide equal justice and uniform law, NATO’s efforts will be of little worth. Aryn Baker (’01) reports for TIME.

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Scene one is Beijing, just after China’s annual Spring Festival in February. The China Investment Corp. (CIC) has just moved its offices from the city’s west side financial district to the stylish Baoli Building on the near east side. But what hasn’t changed is that, as before, officials from the world’s top fund management companies, investment banks and private equity firms are pouring into CIC’s offices every day. This is a must-see stop for foreign financiers visiting China. Visiting Scholars Li Qing and Ling Huawei report in China’s Caijing magazine.

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This year, five senior leaders of the Khmer Rouge regime are awaiting trial on charges of crimes against humanity. The trials of the former Khmer Rouge leaders has sparked renewed interest in one of the darkest chapters of Cambodia’s history. Backpack journalists Anna Sussman (’05) and Jonathan Jones (’05) report from Cambodia for Current TV on what ordinary Cambodians think about the trials and the Khmer Rouge era.

The United Nation’s mediation efforts in Burma have become snared in a trap. The special envoy to Burma, Ibrahim Gambari, is now caught between an unsuccessful mediation and his reluctance to admit failure.

Frustration abounds. Gambari appears to have become the target of mounting disappointments. Most Burmese opposition groups would say he deserves it.

During his briefing on Burma with the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on March 18, Gambari seemed anxious to prove how important his role as special envoy really was. Though he admitted his efforts had yielded “no immediate tangible outcome,” he insisted the efforts of the UN good offices were “relevant” to both sides—the opposition led by Aung San Suu Kyi and the military regime. Min Zin (VS ‘01), comments in the Thailand-based English language news magazine The Irrawaddy.

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MAE SOT, Thailand (CNN) — A Myanmar rebel leader killed in February said that his group is fighting for the preservation of the ethnic Karen minority, and for greater freedom throughout the southeast Asian nation.

Pa Doh Mahn Sha, the secretary-general of the Karen National Union (KNU), spoke in an interview three weeks before his death. He talked about his group’s battle against Myanmar’s military government.

“Our struggle is to protect ourselves from the military regime,” he said. “They always attack our villages, burn down our villages, burn our food supplies. We want to stop fighting but we have no choice.” Anna Sussman (’05) reports for CNN.

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