Under intense U.S. pressure to drive deeper into the jihadist havens of North and South Waziristan, Pakistan is trying to clear the area its own way. The country's military chiefs dread the losses their troops would suffer against entrenched militants in the tribal badlands, but something has to be done, if only to stop the erosion of public support for the government. While American drone attacks have been effective in killing dozens of militants, many Pakistanis deeply resent the strikes as an affront to Pakistani sovereignty, and they despise their government for allowing them.

Under intense U.S. pressure to drive deeper into the jihadist havens of North and South Waziristan, Pakistan is trying to clear the area its own way. The country's military chiefs dread the losses their troops would suffer against entrenched militants in the tribal badlands, but something has to be done, if only to stop the erosion of public support for the government. While American drone attacks have been effective in killing dozens of militants, many Pakistanis deeply resent the strikes as an affront to Pakistani sovereignty, and they despise their government for allowing them.

Even by the standards of Mexico's drug war, June has been bad. In a single 24-hour span, 85 people were killed, the worst one-day toll in more than a year and a half. In just a week, more than 120 turned up dead. In the northwestern state of Sinaloa—where one victim recently had his face peeled off and stitched to a soccer ball—prisoners at the Mazatlán jail unleashed an attack that left 29 dead. In President Felipe Calderón's home state, Michoacán, suspected members of La Familia gang ambushed federal officers with a machine gun. Twelve more dead, 13 wounded.

Even by the standards of Mexico's drug war, June has been bad. In a single 24-hour span, 85 people were killed, the worst one-day toll in more than a year and a half. In just a week, more than 120 turned up dead. In the northwestern state of Sinaloa—where one victim recently had his face peeled off and stitched to a soccer ball—prisoners at the Mazatlán jail unleashed an attack that left 29 dead. In President Felipe Calderón's home state, Michoacán, suspected members of La Familia gang ambushed federal officers with a machine gun. Twelve more dead, 13 wounded.

A sense of finality accompanied the June 15 release of Britain's 10-volume, 5,000-page final report on the events of Jan. 30, 1972. On that day, remembered ever since in Northern Ireland as Bloody Sunday, British paratroopers shot and killed 13 unarmed Catholic civil-rights protesters on the streets of Londonderry. The episode deepened the Troubles, which eventually left more than 3,000 dead. But in a speech that once would have been unthinkable, Prime Minister David Cameron has now said he is "deeply sorry" for the Army's "unjustified and unjustifiable" actions.

A sense of finality accompanied the June 15 release of Britain's 10-volume, 5,000-page final report on the events of Jan. 30, 1972. On that day, remembered ever since in Northern Ireland as Bloody Sunday, British paratroopers shot and killed 13 unarmed Catholic civil-rights protesters on the streets of Londonderry. The episode deepened the Troubles, which eventually left more than 3,000 dead. But in a speech that once would have been unthinkable, Prime Minister David Cameron has now said he is "deeply sorry" for the Army's "unjustified and unjustifiable" actions.

News from China—good or bad—assumes epic proportions in the public consciousness. But don't lose perspective. Take the dramatic stories of recent labor strife: strikes at a Honda components plant and worker suicides at Foxconn have been followed by double-digit pay increases and speculation that wages may rise exponentially in China, threatening the country's—and the world's—prosperity.

News from China—good or bad—assumes epic proportions in the public consciousness. But don't lose perspective. Take the dramatic stories of recent labor strife: strikes at a Honda components plant and worker suicides at Foxconn have been followed by double-digit pay increases and speculation that wages may rise exponentially in China, threatening the country's—and the world's—prosperity.

You don't know what downtime is until you've seen Brazil during the World Cup. Banks close for the games. If the national team makes the playoff round, many schools suspend classes (kindergarten included). And good luck finding an open church on game day. Even the warring drug traffickers on Rio's hillsides will likely call a truce when the ball is rolling—though stray celebratory gunfire can be a hazard if Brazil scores.

You don't know what downtime is until you've seen Brazil during the World Cup. Banks close for the games. If the national team makes the playoff round, many schools suspend classes (kindergarten included). And good luck finding an open church on game day. Even the warring drug traffickers on Rio's hillsides will likely call a truce when the ball is rolling—though stray celebratory gunfire can be a hazard if Brazil scores.

What has come over Vladimir Putin? Not so long ago the Russian leader was raging against the United States for trying to become "the one single master" of the world, blasting NATO for "creeping up to Russia's borders," and commissioning a rewrite of his country's history textbooks to glorify the murderous dictatorship of Joseph Stalin. But lately the prime minister is sounding downright temperate. Instead of excoriating the West, he's pushing U.S. business deals and drawing up a new partnership with the European Union on trade and visa-free travel. In April he publicly denounced the brutality of Stalin's "totalitarian regime." And initially, instead of flexing Russia's regional muscle by sending troops to quell ethnic violence in neighboring Kyrgyzstan, he pushed for a regionwide aid effort.

What has come over Vladimir Putin? Not so long ago the Russian leader was raging against the United States for trying to become "the one single master" of the world, blasting NATO for "creeping up to Russia's borders," and commissioning a rewrite of his country's history textbooks to glorify the murderous dictatorship of Joseph Stalin. But lately the prime minister is sounding downright temperate. Instead of excoriating the West, he's pushing U.S. business deals and drawing up a new partnership with the European Union on trade and visa-free travel. In April he publicly denounced the brutality of Stalin's "totalitarian regime." And initially, instead of flexing Russia's regional muscle by sending troops to quell ethnic violence in neighboring Kyrgyzstan, he pushed for a regionwide aid effort.

The regime in Iran isn't about to fall.

The regime in Iran isn't about to fall.

White-collar workers are china's newest underclass.

White-collar workers are china's newest underclass.

Since the terror attacks of 2001, no Western reporter has crossed into the tribal areas that line the Pakistan-Afghanistan divide. I thought I could be the one. Now in my 60s, I had spent my adult life working and traveling in the region, catching my first glimpse from the front seat of an old Volkswagen on a cross-country trip through the borderlands in the 1970s. After the Soviets invaded Afghanistan, I hiked into the mountains and lived with the mujahedin as they fought for their independence. I wrote a book about my experiences and, after 9/11, I returned several times on assignment for CBS News.

Since the terror attacks of 2001, no Western reporter has crossed into the tribal areas that line the Pakistan-Afghanistan divide. I thought I could be the one. Now in my 60s, I had spent my adult life working and traveling in the region, catching my first glimpse from the front seat of an old Volkswagen on a cross-country trip through the borderlands in the 1970s. After the Soviets invaded Afghanistan, I hiked into the mountains and lived with the mujahedin as they fought for their independence. I wrote a book about my experiences and, after 9/11, I returned several times on assignment for CBS News.

Nine years after 9/11, we still don't know how to deal with radical Islam.

Nine years after 9/11, we still don't know how to deal with radical Islam.