Dr. Cameron Munter '76 was nominated by President Barack Obama to become the new U.S. ambassador to Pakistan.

It is estimated that over one-fifth of Pakistan went under water during the July 2010 floods. While the floods left only an estimated 1500 dead, they left over 21 million individuals without homes, as a result of what United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called, “slow moving tsunami”.  The destruction of essential infrastructure created a dangerous atmosphere, where survivors now face potentially endemic diseases.  UNICEF estimates that over 3.5 million children run the risk of contracting a waterborne disease as an aftermath of the flood.

The recent severe flooding in Pakistan that sent the country into a state of emergency has further destabilized peace talks with India. Wednesday night, a forum held by the Cornell International Affairs Review discussed these issues and how the two countries might start to move forward.

In an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll conducted at the end of September, only 11 percent of those polled believed that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan should be the number one priority of the federal government.  These numbers have changed little since then.  However, a terrorist attack in the United States or a dramatic turn of events in Operation Enduring Freedom could quickly propel the Afghan War to the forefront of Americans’ minds.

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan's president said Monday his intelligence agencies believe Osama bin Laden may be dead, but he added there is no proof. Other Pakistani officials and a U.S. counterterrorism official said they thought the al-Qaida chief is alive.

U.S. officials said bin Laden is most likely hiding in the mountains along Pakistan's border with Afghanistan, in particular the lawless tribal regions.

"We continue to believe that bin Laden is alive," said the U.S. official, who declined to be named because he was not authorized to discuss the matter on the record.

Reports of bin Laden's death or of near-captures have punctuated his years on the run since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, only to be seemingly debunked by periodic audio and video recordings.

Much has been made of Iran’s nuclear program and the perceived threat it poses, but the general public is only slowly beginning to understand that danger posed by already nuclear-armed and occasional US ally, Pakistan. The danger is not posed by the Pakistani government, but instead originates in the prospect of state collapse. The prospect of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal falling into the hands of terrorists is enough to send chills up any policymaker’s spine.

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistani officials reached a peace deal with a Taliban-linked group Sunday that could lead to the enforcement of Islamic law in a part of the country that is supposed to be fully under government control.

Militants in the Swat Valley responded by declaring a 10-day cease-fire as a goodwill gesture.

The agreement is expected to be formally announced Monday.

Several past deals with militants have failed, but Pakistan says force alone cannot defeat al-Qaida and Taliban fighters wreaking havoc in its northwest and attacking U.S. troops in neighboring Afghanistan.

The United States has said the deals merely give insurgents time to regroup.

The centrality of Pakistan was first revealed to me two summers ago. I was visiting Cornell friends in Islamabad and Lahore. During a dinner conversation I had with the Turkish ambassador — a diplomat who impressed me by his particularly refined vision of the global dynamics — the topic of Pakistan’s role in the world came up. The ambassador emphasized the strategic role of Pakistan, which sits at the juncture of the broader Middle-East and South Asia.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) — A massive truck bomb devastated the heavily guarded Marriott Hotel in Pakistan's capital Saturday, killing at least 40 people and wounding at least 100. Officials feared there were dozens more dead inside the burning building.

The Marriott has been a favorite place for foreigners as well as Pakistani politicians and business people to stay and socialize in Islamabad despite repeated militant attacks.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast, but Pakistan has faced a wave of militant violence in recent weeks following army-led offensives against insurgents in its border regions.

The capital has not been spared, though Saturday's blast appeared to be one of the largest ever terrorist attacks in the country.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghan President Hamid Karzai has issued a warning to militants in Pakistan, saying he will send Afghan troops across the border to combat Taliban insurgents.

Karzai says Afghanistan has the right to self defense, and that when militants cross over from Pakistan and kill Afghans, Afghan forces have "the right to do the same."

Speaking at a Sunday news conference, Karzai warned Pakistan-based Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud that Afghan forces "will go after him now and hit him in his house."

He gave the same warning to Taliban leader Mullah Omar.

Karzai has long pleaded for Pakistan and international forces to confront militants in Pakistan, but has never before said he would send Afghan troops across the border.