Here in the United States, it's easy to forget that there is a whole world of suffering outside of the Middle East. Reuters AlertNet offers coverage of areas of crises worldwide.

But as the old saying goes, "a picture is worth a thousand words". And the case of Vanity Fair's photo essay, those words have to include "devastation", "horrific" and "heartbreaking". If only we put half as much energy and resources into quelling this crime against humanity as we have "looking" for mythical WMDs in Iraq.