The temperature of United States-China relations has plunged in the few months since President Barack Obama visited Beijing, with a string of disagreements leading to icy exchanges. While China's efforts to bring North Korea closer to nuclear disarmament talks bring hope that cooperation with Washington can only get better, Beijing's inability to communicate with the world remains a massive stumbling block. - Francesco Sisci (Feb 9, '10)

The growing realization within India's policymaking elite that instability in Pakistan is detrimental to India's security and economy has led to optimism in Delhi over renewed India-Pakistan dialogue. However, the countries' conflicting approaches to Afghanistan, a continued atmosphere of mistrust and the precarious state of Pakistan's leadership mean that reconciliation is less likely than renewed conflict. - Chietigj Bajpaee (Feb 9, '10)

The United States has nudged Pakistan and India closer, bending over backwards to reassure each of their strategic importance. But Pakistan stands to lose popular support if it concedes to Indian demands without gaining concessions, while its greatest fear remains militants infiltrating its larger cities and unleashing the type of havoc witnessed recently in Karachi. - Zahid U Kramet (Feb 9, '10)

The escalating drone war of the United States in the Pakistani tribal borderlands has ominous parallels with Richard Nixon's secret bombing in Cambodia 40 years ago to destroy a "Bamboo Pentagon", where North Vietnamese communists were supposedly orchestrating raids deep into South Vietnam. Could the US be repeating the same mistakes that brought the Khmer Rouge to power? - Pratap Chatterjee (Feb 9, '10)

The window for diplomacy with Iran is all but shut thanks to Tehran's latest flip-flop on its nuclear program, making sanctions seemingly inevitable. Western powers are growing weary of what is seen as Iran's mind games and intransigence. China, though, will not be rushed into doing anything rash. - Mohammed A Salih (Feb 9, '10)