After 49 years as the leader of Communist Cuba, Fidel Castro has stepped down. In Pakistan, the party of America's ally, President Pervez Musharraf, has been drubbed at the polls. Will Castro's brother, Raul, continue Cuba's current regime or will a younger generation embrace democracy as the US demands? Will Musharraf be impeached by a parliament now dominated by opposition parties? Will Islamic extremists have more influence or less? We look at how US interests will be affected both in South Asia and on the Caribbean island 90 miles from American shores.
Cuban President Fidel Castro (L) and his younger brother Raul, Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, chat on December 23, 2003 in Havana, during the last meeting of the Cuban Parliament. Photo: Adalberto Roque/AFP/Getty Images