We also examine what has changed in the Middle East in the seven years since the Iraq invasion.

Daljit Dhaliwal interviews Gideon Rose, managing editor of Foreign Affairs magazine, and Rashid Khalidi, Edward Said Professor of Modern Arab Studies at Columbia University.

In our weekly roundtable, we also look at the big offensive against the Taliban in southern Afghanistan and what’s likely to be achieved.

Joining Daljit Dhaliwal are Gideon Rose, managing editor of Foreign Affairs magazine, and Susan Chira, foreign editor of The New York Times.

We also focus on Iran and what that regime is trying to achieve by moving to a higher level of uranium enrichment, which has prompted warnings of new sanctions from the West.

Carla Robbins, deputy editorial page editor of the The New York Times, and Garrick Utley, president of the Levin Institute of the State University of New York, join Daljit Dhaliwal to discuss these issues.

And today a UN official said its mission chief had met with Taliban representatives earlier this month in a diplomatic overture.

In our weekly roundtable, James Rubin, an adjunct professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and a former assistant secretary of state in the Clinton administration, and Gideon Rose of Foreign Affairs magazine, join Daljit Dhaliwal to discuss the pitfalls and possibilities of negotiating with the Taliban.

David Chater of Al Jazeera English reports on talk held in Maldives between Taliban commanders and Afghan government officials.

Carol Giacomo, a member of The New York Times‘ editorial board, and David Andelman, editor of the World Policy Journal and former foreign correspondent for The New York Times and CBS News, join Martin Savidge for our weekly roundtable.

For more on the Obama and the World series click here.

We look not just at the present struggle but also at the future of the beleaguered country that has experienced so much hardship for so long.

Daljit Dhaliwal discusses the events in Haiti with Nicholas Kristof, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist at the New York Times and Garrick Utley, president of the Levin Institute at the State University of New York and former NBC News foreign correspondent.

For more Worldfocus coverage of Haiti, visit our extended coverage page: Haiti’s Poor.

James Rubin, an adjunct professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, and a former assistant secretary of state in the Clinton administration, and Garrick Utley, president of the Levin Institute of the State University of New York and a former NBC News foreign correspondent and anchor, join Daljit Dhaliwal to discuss Yemen and the fight against terrorism.

Meanwhile, protesters took to the streets once again after the death of reformist cleric Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri.

Carol Giacomo, a member of The New York Times editorial board, and Irshad Manji, a professor at New York University and the author of “The Trouble With Islam Today,” join Daljit Dhaliwal to discuss the mounting pressures on Iran, both internal and external.

For more, view our Voices of Iran extended coverage page and listen to our online radio show on Baha’i faith and modern Iran.

In recent weeks, Taliban militants have stepped up their attacks on Pakistani security forces.

Ian Bremmer, president of the Eurasia Group, and David Andelman, editor of the World Policy Journal, join Daljit Dhaliwal to discuss whether Pakistan’s once-close relationship with America appears to be deteriorating.

They discuss the the continuing security problems in Iraq, where more than 100 people were killed this week.

Then, they turn to President Barack Obama’s acceptance of the Nobel Peace Prize and the prospects of a climate agreement in Copenhagen, Denmark.

They discuss Hamid Karzai’s second term, international calls to clean up corruption and the worsening security situation.

They also look at the fallout from a landmark case in Italy involving the alleged CIA abduction and so-called rendition of a Muslim cleric. An Italian judge convicted and sentenced 23 CIA agents, in their absence, of abducting the  cleric in Italy and taking him to Egypt where he says he was tortured.

They discuss the debate over next steps in the war in Afghanistan, as U.S. President Barack Obama considers sending tens of thousands of additional troops, a move that some in his administration oppose. They also explore developments in regards to Iran’s nuclear program.

They look at President Barack Obama’s reversal on a missile defense plan for Europe, the battle against Islamic militants and this week’s United Nations report on the war in Gaza — including charges that conduct by Israel and the Palestinian militants amounted to war crimes.