All Blog Posts from World Watch

Jere Van Dyk, an expert on terrorism who has spent months in the villages along the Afghan-Pakistan border researching al Qaeda and the Taliban, says video of a kidnapped U.S. soldier gives reason for hope.

Van Dyk says there are signals being sent by Pfc. Bowe Bergdahl's captors in Afghanistan in the 28 minute video, which was released on various Web sites over the weekend — signals which give him reason to "hope" the 23-year-old may well survive his ordeal.

CBS Early Show co-anchor Maggie Rodriguez asked Van Dyk about the general appearance of the captive Army private, who appears in the video in a non-descript but clean Afghan robe, well-fed and generally unharmed.

"They're sending a message to the United States and its allies, and equally they're sending a message to the Afghan public: We can treat soldiers — we can treat prisoners better than the Americans are treating us," said Van Dyk, citing myriad reports of prisoner abuse in U.S.-run prisons for terror suspects in Afghanistan and Iraq.

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At least two Afghan villages have been blanketed with leaflets warning that if an American soldier kidnapped by the Taliban two weeks ago isn't freed, "you will be targeted."

Villagers near the border of two volatile provinces, Ghazni and Paktika, tell CBS News' Sami Yousafzai that aircraft dropped the leaflets during the past several days.

Military spokeswoman Capt. Elizabeth Mathias confirmed that the leaflets had been produced at Bagram Air Base, the primary U.S. installation in Afghanistan, and distributed in the region, however she said they were distributed by hand, not aircraft.

The papers show on one side an image of a soldier with his head bowed so that his face is not visible. A message in the local Pashtun language over the image says, "If you do not free the American soldier, then…"

On the other side, an image shows Western troops breaking into a house. The rest of the message is printed across the photo: "…you will be targeted".

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Tension gripped the Philippines Tuesday as a deadline set by al Qaeda-linked militants to behead one of three Red Cross workers passed. Military sources confirm all three are still alive and that the Abu Sayyaf group is being flexible.

Officials declared a state of emergency on the Philippine island of Sulu, where the militants are holed up, just minutes after the 2 p.m. deadline passed.

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Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano says Mexico is “not at this point” in danger of becoming a failed narco-state. But she says the ongoing drug cartel related violence is a threat to both Mexico and the United States.

Napolitano will be traveling to Mexico City April 1-3 to meet with her security counterparts and attend a conference on arms trafficking. Attorney General Eric Holder will also be there.

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