The official says the alliance has helped secure passage of Taliban commanders to Kabul for high-level contacts with the government.  The official said it would be very difficult for Taliban leaders to travel safely to Kabul without NATO’s consent.

The NATO official,  who spoke in Brussels on the condition of anonymity, said the contacts mark a preliminary step toward reconciliation talks.

Meanwhile, the Taliban on Wednesday denied reports that its leaders were talking to the Afghan government about ending the insurgency.

Earlier this week, President Hamid Karzai said his government had been holding unofficial talks with the Taliban.

U.S. special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke, said the United States is not involved in the talks, but supports reconciliation efforts on condition that insurgents respect the Afghan constitution, renounce al-Qaida and lay down their weapons.

Six NATO service members were killed in Afghanistan Wednesday, in what already has been the deadliest year for coalition forces since the war began nine years ago.

The alliance says five troops were killed by roadside bombings in the south, and the sixth was killed by insurgents in eastern Afghanistan.

NATO commanders have warned of an increase in violence as Afghan and coalition forces go on the offensive against insurgents.  More than 30 NATO service members have been killed this month.

In Brussels Wednesday, the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, General David Petraeus, spoke with NATO ministers about a plan to transfer security responsibilities to Afghan forces starting next year.

After the briefing, NATO’s civilian representative in Afghanistan, Mark Sedwill, told reporters that while the plan calls for completing the transition by 2014, it ultimately will depend on conditions on the ground.  Sedwill added that some allied troops likely will still remain in Afghanistan beyond 2014.

Separately, the U.N. Security Council renewed the mandate for NATO forces in Afghanistan for one more year, until October 13, 2011.  

The council also expressed concern about Taliban and al-Qaida violence and the increased number of civilian casualties.

In other violence Wednesday, Afghan and coalition forces say they killed a Haqqani network leader, Ansari Khan, in Khost province.

Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

The Washington Post and The New York Times both published excerpts Wednesday of an upcoming book by Bob Woodward, an associate editor at the Post, who interviewed President Obama and his advisors on the war strategy.

The accounts say Mr. Obama was pushing for an “exit” and no long-term “nation-building” in Afghanistan, while top military commanders only offered options of sending in more U.S. troops to fight the Taliban insurgency.

The president eventually agreed to send an additional 30,000 troops to the country, but announced a deadline for U.S. forces to begin withdrawing in July of 2011.

The U.S. special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke, was quoted as saying the new strategy will not work.

Excerpts from the book also highlight deep personal rifts between administration officials.

An unnamed senior administration official downplayed the division Wednesday, saying President Obama comes across in the war review as a leader who is analytical, strategic and decisive.

The Washington Post says the book also discloses that the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency has a 3,000-man paramilitary army made up of mostly Afghans.  The elite force is said to conduct sensitive, covert operations into Pakistan against al-Qaida and Taliban havens.

Another excerpt says U.S. intelligence reports show Afghan President Hamid Karzai has been diagnosed with manic depression.

Obama’s Wars is set to be released on Monday.

Woodward is best known for his work, along with journalist Carl Bernstein, uncovering the Watergate scandal that ultimately led to the resignation of former president Richard Nixon.

The U.N. General Assembly’s annual debate gets under way on September 23.  Leaders and representatives from all 192 member states are expected to address the gathering. In a long-established tradition, Brazil’s president will open the debate, followed by the U.S. president as the leader of the host nation.

This year’s debate will be preceded by a three-day summit on the Millennium Development Goals. Some 140 presidents and prime ministers are expected to attend.

The goals are meant to reduce extreme poverty, hunger and disease by 2015. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has warned that with the target date just five years off, many countries are in danger of not meeting the goals, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa.  But he said recently that with the right strategies countries can close those gaps.

“But if we have the right mix of political priority and resources, together, combined, then we can achieve it,” said Secretary-General Ban.  “And if the developing countries have more focused priority policies and enhancing good governance and investing even limited resources toward the areas like education and job creation, maternal and children’s health, and with international assistance, this can be achievable.”

Maternal health and reducing child mortality are particular concerns. Action plans for implementing all of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are expected to be adopted at the summit. Mr. Ban said a simple yet crucial message runs through the document.

“The goals can be achieved. The MDGs are difficult and ambitious, but doable,” added Mr. Ban.

Apart from the speeches, the annual meeting in New York gives leaders the opportunity to meet one-on-one and in small groups, where much of the substance happens.

Political instability and violence in Somalia and other parts of Africa, the recent devastating floods in Pakistan, and the fight against international terrorism are just a few of the  topics world leaders are expected to discuss.

Protesters filed into the streets of the main city of Srinagar following prayers for the Muslim festival of Eid-al-Fitr Saturday, many waving green flags and chanting, “Go India, go back,” and, “We want freedom.”

Following the violence, police tried to disperse the crowds by opening fire with live ammunition and tear gas.  No casualties have been confirmed.

For the past three months, Kashmir has been gripped by nearly daily protests against Indian rule.  At least 69 demonstrators have been killed in the unrest, many after security forces opened fire on stone-throwing crowds.  

Officials in Kashmir blamed separatist leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq for inciting the violence when he called for Kashmiris to join the protests during prayers marking the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

Earlier on Saturday, officials released fellow separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani.

Indian police arrested Geelani earlier this week after he threatened to intensify protests against Indian rule.

Various Muslim separatist groups in Kashmir have been waging a decades-long struggle for independence from India or a merger with Muslim-majority Pakistan.

Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

Officials say the attacker drove his vehicle into the police station Monday in Laki Marwat in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Police say the police station and at least one nearby building were damaged in the blast.

Some information for this report was provided by AP and AFP.

Officials say the attacker drove his vehicle into the police station Monday in Laki Marwat in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Police say the police station and at least one nearby building were damaged in the blast.

Some information for this report was provided by AP and AFP.

Officials say the attacker drove his vehicle into the police station Monday in Laki Marwat in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Police say the police station and at least one nearby building were damaged in the blast.

Some information for this report was provided by AP and AFP.

The problem is vast. The United Nations says more than 3 million people have yet to receive desperately needed food. The Pakistani government says nearly a million have received no help of any kind.

Not far from the city of Multan northeast of Islamabad, Abdul Rehman and his family now live under a tree on a floodwater created island where his house once stood. He says the government is not supporting them. He says some people are getting food from some social organizations, but the government is providing nothing. Others in the area say the government is providing some aid, but only to those who support the administration.

Malik Ahmed Hunajara, the local representative to the provincial assembly, says that is not the case. “There is a huge population that is affected and the government cannot give to everybody,” said Hunajara.

In other areas of the country, although local and international aid organizations try to meet the needs of the people, Islamist groups, some said to have ties with extremists are stepping in to fill the void.

Hijrat Khan is a relief official for Falah-e Insaniat, which is believed to be a front for Laskar- e-Taiba, an organization that has been banned by the Pakistani government says “We have to provide food for people in far areas where no one is going.”

Khan says his group has provided cooked meals to one and a half million flood victims, treated more than 300 thousand patients and has given rations to 85,000 families.

Another Falah-e-Insaniat member, Mohammed Ziad, says people are losing trust in the government, which he says doesn’t know anything about people at a grassroots level and has no road map to know how to approach the people.

The United Nations says part of the problem is simply the scale of the crisis. A spokesperson says the floods left some 8 million people dependent on aid, and that number keeps growing as more areas are affected.

She adds, “This seems to be a never ending disaster.”

Authorities issued the warning Thursday after the Indus River breached an embankment in Sindh province.  Officials say the residents of Sujawal, Mir Pur Batoro and Daro are at risk.  Authorities in the Thatta district are working to shore up other levees and the military has been called in to help with evacuations.

While floodwaters have receded in some parts of Pakistan, officials say high tides in the Arabian Sea have heightened the risk of new flooding in Sindh. Monsoon rains triggered the floods that began almost one month ago, killing an estimated 1,600 people and affecting up to 20 million others.

Pakistani and U.S. officials have warned that Islamist militants may try to exploit the disaster.  On Thursday, an unnamed U.S. official told news agencies that the Pakistani Taliban may target foreign aid workers engaged in relief efforts. United Nations humanitarian spokesman Maurizio Giuliano called any such possible attacks inhumane.

Charities linked to Pakistan-based militant groups also have been providing assistance to flood victims.

Officials say the new evacuations on Thursday may worsen conditions in some already overcrowded relief camps, where clean water and food are said to be in short supply.

The U.N. says 800,000 people are still cut off by the floods and can only receive aid by air.

Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

Three weeks after massive flooding started in Pakistan, those affected say aid is reaching them slowly, if at all.

Authorities are quick to point out that the scope of the disaster is something Pakistan has never faced.  In fact, it is the area’s worst flooding in more than 80 years.

The government estimates that about 20 million people are affected, while the United Nations says eight million are in need of urgent aid.

Watch Raw Video of Pakistan’s Flooding:

Azra Bibi told the Associated Press she lost everything after flooding hit her village in Punjab province. “We are sitting here without food and clothing.  We are starving.  We lost our livestock, crops and belongings.  There is nothing left,” said Bibi, through a translator.

In the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Hameeda Bibi shares her misery, as she recounted to AP.

“Our homes have been destroyed.  Now we don’t have them.  We are now in open air,” she said.  We are not getting food.  We are dying from hunger.  What do we eat?  Stones?”

Waziran Khatoon now lives at a makeshift relief camp in Sindh province with her large family.  Her story, told to the Associated Press, illustrates what humanitarian officials fear as the second wave of the disaster, that vulnerable groups will fall prey to health problems.

“We faced big problems when the flood water reached our village and ruined everything and left nothing,” said Khatoon, through a translator.  “Then, I gave birth to this baby, and now I am worried how I will take care of this baby and my other small children, how my future life will be.”

The floods originated in northwestern Pakistan, washing away infrastructure in the difficult to reach mountainous areas, and have since carved out a large path of destruction around the country’s Indus River, cutting through Pakistan’s central breadbasket and southern lowlands.  

Analysts expect the realization of the scope of Pakistan’s flooding to take some time, as monsoon rains continue to damage infrastructure and drench swamped villages and important cash crops, such as wheat and cotton.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon traveled to Pakistan to witness the devastation caused by historic flooding during the past three weeks.  Speaking to reporters after visiting the hardest-hit regions, the United Nations chief said his trip was meant to share his sympathy and U.N solidarity with both the government and the Pakistani people.

“I will never forget the destruction and sufferings I have witnessed today.  In the past, I have visited scenes of many natural disasters around the world, but nothing like this.  The scale of this disaster is so large – so many people, in so many place, in so much need,” he said.

Mr. Ban said the flooding has possibly affected 20 million people and has ravaged one-fifth of the country. “Thousands of towns and villages have simply been washed away.  Roads, bridges, buildings, crops, millions of livelihoods have been lost.  People are marooned on tiny islands with the floodwaters all around them.  They are drinking dirty water.  This disaster is far from over.  The rains are still falling and could continue for weeks.  Dams are at severe risk of rupture,” he said.

He says U.N. agencies and aid groups are moving as fast as they can to help Pakistan deliver desperately needed assistance to flood victims, including food, emergency shelter, and clean water.  The U.N. leader urged the global community to speed up its assistance to Pakistan in order to speed up and bolster humanitarian operations. “These unprecedented floods demand unprecedented assistance.  The flood waves must be matched with waves of global support,” he said.

The United Nations has appealed for nearly $460 million to meet the flood victims’ most immediate needs in the next 90 days.  But U.N. officials say foreign aid has been slow to come, with only 20 percent of the initial appeal arriving so far.

The United States has already provided more than $76 million in aid and has sent helicopters to help Pakistan with relief efforts.

While in Pakistan, Mr. Ban allocated another $10 million for flood victims, bringing the total that the United Nations has committed so far to $27 million.  He said that he would report back to the U.N. General Assembly, which is meeting on Thursday to discuss Pakistan’s needs. “We will try to mobilize all necessary assistance.  And remember that the whole world is behind the people of Pakistan in this time of trial,” he said.

U.N. agencies and aid groups say that at least six million flood victims are now dependent on humanitarian assistance to survive. Pakistani officials have put a revised death toll from the floods to around 1,400.

But U.N. officials have warned of a second wave of death from disease among the sick and hungry victims if help does not arrive in time. They have already confirmed cases of water-borne diseases in the disaster zone.

In a recessed field at the site, patches of dirty water lie among rows of open tents stenciled with green Pakistani government lettering and emblems.

Ghulan Rasool lives at the camp with his four children, after losing everything he owns in the flooding.

He says children are dying from hunger.  There is no medicine.  He says all of his children are sick and they have not received any food or water.  He says they need everything, but they have not received anything.

Sean Maroney narrates a slide show of photos he took at the camp.

Mohammed was luckier.  He tells VOA that he recently was able to send his two children to live with a friend’s family.  After living in the camp for just a few days, he says they had begun suffering from high fevers.

He complains that trucks with supplies come infrequently, and when they do, officials just throw out the goods into the crowd.

“As they are taking the drinking or edible things here, the people just assemble.  There is not a proper planning just to distribute all the things to all the affectees,” he complained.

Shaukat lives at the camp with his four children.  He says they are treated like dogs with the way workers pass out food.

Camp officials say they have plenty of supplies to take care of the influx of people fleeing from the floods.  They say the problem is that many people are coming to the camp who do not need the assistance.

The camp’s chief coordinator Noor Shad oversees aid for nearly 2,000 individuals.

“We have everything, from water, non-food items [and] food items.  We have everything,” he said.

Shad says representatives with the International Rescue Committee are registering people, and Oxfam is on site to help with medical treatment.  But he says too many people are sneaking into the camp to receive free handouts.

“We are not able to provide them.  From those people who are not victims,” said Shad.

The floods have destroyed hundreds of thousands of homes and washed away roads, bridges, crops and livestock.

As weather forecasters predict more rain in the days to come, U.N. officials say the scale of the disaster could be worse than January’s earthquake in Haiti, the 2004 tsunami and the 2005 earthquake in Pakistan combined.

Maurizio Giuliano, a spokesman for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said Monday if the Pakistan government’s calculations are correct, the scale of the disaster could be worse than Haiti’s January earthquake, the 2004 tsunami, and the 2005 Pakistan earthquake combined.

New downpours

Relief workers in Pakistan say continued heavy rains have worsened the situation in the country where raging floodwaters have killed more than 1,600 people and affected 15 million.

The floods have destroyed hundreds of thousands of homes and washed away roads, bridges, crops and livestock.  

New downpours have hampered relief efforts in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and spread the floods to the agriculture heartland of Punjab and further south along the Indus River into Sindh province.

In the northern area of Gilgit-Baltistan Sunday, at least 28 people were killed in landslides, but officials said up to 40 people were feared dead.

Relief efforts

Pakistan’s army is leading the relief efforts, but bad weather is hampering helicopter flights carrying emergency aid to victims still trapped in remote areas.

The United Nations says Pakistan will need billions of dollars to recover from its worst floods in history.

U.N. official Guiliano told VOA that shelter for the millions of victims is the biggest and most urgent concern.

Prime minister’s visit

Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani visited the flood-hit areas of Sindh province Sunday and appealed for more international aid.

He said the crisis has spiraled beyond the government’s capacity, adding the country has been set back many years because of the devastation.

The office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said its workers were reporting shortages of food, medicine and clean water.  The NATO alliance pledged to help transport aid to the region.

The World Health Organization warned that without access to safe water, Pakistanis are at high risk of contracting water-borne diseases such as diarrhea and cholera.

Some information for this report was provided by AP and AFP.

VOA’s Sean Maroney visited a flood relief camp in Nowshera, Pakistan and has this report:

Authorities are working to evacuate thousands of residents from Punjab, where water flowed into villages, destroying homes and farmland, and are also on alert in neighboring Sindh province.  Monsoon rains are expected to continue in the coming days.

Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani visited flood-hit areas in Punjab Wednesday and met with his Cabinet to discuss relief efforts.  At least 1,500 people have been killed in the floods.  Mr. Gilani said so far 100,000 people have been rescued.

Pakistani leaders face growing anger over what residents say is a slow government response.  Many have also questioned President Asif Ali Zardari’s decision to continue a trip to Europe.

The World Food Program said nearly 2 million people are in need of food assistance, as rising waters are destroying crops across the country.

In Washington, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Pakistan can count on long-term U.S. support.  She outlined U.S. aid that has already been sent and announced a program in which Americans can contribute to the relief effort.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Wednesday he is dispatching his special envoy, Jean-Maurice Ripert, to Pakistan to join the U.N. team already engaged in relief efforts.  

The International Red Cross said that in addition to other damage, floodwaters have destroyed much of the health infrastructure in the worst affected areas, leaving people especially vulnerable to water-borne diseases.

The United Nations, Britain and Canada also have committed millions of dollars in aid to Pakistan.

Islamist charities, some with suspected ties to militant groups, also have stepped in to provide aid to flood victims.  

Prime Minister Gilani announced Wednesday that Cabinet ministers will donate one month’s salary to flood victims.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.

Taking part in the meeting in the White House Situation Room, either in person or by video link, were some 22 civilian and military officials, including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Vice President Joe Biden and CIA Director Leon Panetta.

President Obama’s national security adviser, General James Jones, was there.  Participating from afar were the new U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, General David Petraeus, and the U.S. ambassadors to Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The AF-PAK meeting, as it is called, came near the end of a difficult week in which President Obama and others in his administration assessed potential damage from the disclosure of tens of thousands of secret war documents by the WikiLeaks web site.

Press secretary Robert Gibbs indicated to reporters at the White House news briefing that the president and his advisers did not allow the leaks issue to dominate the meeting.

“The WikiLeaks [matter] was not something that took up any real measurable amount of time in today’s meeting,” said Robert Gibbs. “I think each of the principles, including the president has commented on the operational security risks that 90,000 plus secret documents, classified documents, being put on the Internet poses to our troops, poses to those who are cooperating with our efforts to make Afghanistan and Pakistan more secure.”

Defense Secretary Gates told reporters at the Pentagon that the FBI will assist in the criminal investigation of the leak.  The documents, he said, do not fundamentally call into question the efficacy of U.S. strategy or prospects for success, but could have potentially severe and dangerous effects for U.S. troops, allies and Afghan partners.

White House spokesman Gibbs said the regular Afghanistan-Pakistan session discussed the recent strategic dialogue Secretary of State Clinton held in Pakistan, and U.S. efforts to support Pakistani military actions against violent extremists in Pakistan.

The meeting also focused on what the Obama administration calls the success of the recent Kabul conference and steps to strengthen governance and pursue the re-integration of Taliban forces.

Admiral Mullen says the flight gave him greater appreciation for the “degree of difficulty” Pakistani forces face as they battle insurgent groups and try to assert government control in areas where tribal leaders have reigned and insurgents have sometimes had free access.

Another U.S. military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the Pakistani forces have cleared about 4,000 square kilometers of insurgents, about half of the area where the militants operated as recently as 16 months ago.

But the officer says the scope of the military operation is not as important as the civilian follow-up, designed to convince the local people to help the government keep the insurgents out in the future.  And the officer says while Pakistan has done more than anyone could have expected, there are still more things the United States would like the Pakistani forces to do, including targeting insurgent groups that attack U.S. forces in Afghanistan and conduct international terrorism.

Admiral Mullen says he often discusses that with Pakistani officials, particularly the U.S. desire for a crackdown on the group Lashkar-e-Taiba, which is accused of carrying out the Mumbai attacks in India in 2008.

“I try to actually make the case, as I talk, that this is a growing threat,” he said. “It’s an organization that is becoming more lethal, proven so.  It’s not just operating where it used to be.  It’s expanding.  It’s in the West here [in Pakistan].  It’s in Afghanistan now.  It’s in other countries.  And I’ve seen this kind of expansion in other organizations, and I think we all have to be concerned about it.”

During a briefing with Pakistani and international reporters, Admiral Mullen stressed that the United States will not leave the region next July, when President Barack Obama has said he will begin to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan.  Admiral Mullen said that process that will take years, and the United States’ “strategic partnership” with the region “will endure.”

He also expressed support for Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s reintegration and reconciliation processes for insurgents and their leaders, saying that is how the conflict will truly end.  But the admiral said the Afghan government and its coalition supporters are far from being in a strong enough position to negotiate successfully with militant groups like the Haqqani Network. ” We need to be in a much stronger position to, in fact, get to a point where we reconcile with organizations like that,” he said.

Admiral Mullen said the final several thousand U.S. surge forces will be in Afghanistan soon, and he believes he will know much more by the end of the year about whether the strategy President Obama announced last December is creating that ‘stronger position.’   The admiral will travel to Afghanistan Sunday to personally assess the situation.

Admiral Mullen says the flight gave him greater appreciation for the “degree of difficulty” Pakistani forces face as they battle insurgent groups and try to assert government control in areas where tribal leaders have reigned and insurgents have sometimes had free access.

Another U.S. military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the Pakistani forces have cleared about 4,000 square kilometers of insurgents, about half of the area where the militants operated as recently as 16 months ago.

But the officer says the scope of the military operation is not as important as the civilian follow-up, designed to convince the local people to help the government keep the insurgents out in the future.  And the officer says while Pakistan has done more than anyone could have expected, there are still more things the United States would like the Pakistani forces to do, including targeting insurgent groups that attack U.S. forces in Afghanistan and conduct international terrorism.

Admiral Mullen says he often discusses that with Pakistani officials, particularly the U.S. desire for a crackdown on the group Lashkar-e-Taiba, which is accused of carrying out the Mumbai attacks in India in 2008.

“I try to actually make the case, as I talk, that this is a growing threat,” he said. “It’s an organization that is becoming more lethal, proven so.  It’s not just operating where it used to be.  It’s expanding.  It’s in the West here [in Pakistan].  It’s in Afghanistan now.  It’s in other countries.  And I’ve seen this kind of expansion in other organizations, and I think we all have to be concerned about it.”

During a briefing with Pakistani and international reporters, Admiral Mullen stressed that the United States will not leave the region next July, when President Barack Obama has said he will begin to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan.  Admiral Mullen said that process that will take years, and the United States’ “strategic partnership” with the region “will endure.”

He also expressed support for Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s reintegration and reconciliation processes for insurgents and their leaders, saying that is how the conflict will truly end.  But the admiral said the Afghan government and its coalition supporters are far from being in a strong enough position to negotiate successfully with militant groups like the Haqqani Network. ” We need to be in a much stronger position to, in fact, get to a point where we reconcile with organizations like that,” he said.

Admiral Mullen said the final several thousand U.S. surge forces will be in Afghanistan soon, and he believes he will know much more by the end of the year about whether the strategy President Obama announced last December is creating that ‘stronger position.’   The admiral will travel to Afghanistan Sunday to personally assess the situation.

Admiral Mullen says the flight gave him greater appreciation for the “degree of difficulty” Pakistani forces face as they battle insurgent groups and try to assert government control in areas where tribal leaders have reigned and insurgents have sometimes had free access.

Another U.S. military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the Pakistani forces have cleared about 4,000 square kilometers of insurgents, about half of the area where the militants operated as recently as 16 months ago.

But the officer says the scope of the military operation is not as important as the civilian follow-up, designed to convince the local people to help the government keep the insurgents out in the future.  And the officer says while Pakistan has done more than anyone could have expected, there are still more things the United States would like the Pakistani forces to do, including targeting insurgent groups that attack U.S. forces in Afghanistan and conduct international terrorism.

Admiral Mullen says he often discusses that with Pakistani officials, particularly the U.S. desire for a crackdown on the group Lashkar-e-Taiba, which is accused of carrying out the Mumbai attacks in India in 2008.

“I try to actually make the case, as I talk, that this is a growing threat,” he said. “It’s an organization that is becoming more lethal, proven so.  It’s not just operating where it used to be.  It’s expanding.  It’s in the West here [in Pakistan].  It’s in Afghanistan now.  It’s in other countries.  And I’ve seen this kind of expansion in other organizations, and I think we all have to be concerned about it.”

During a briefing with Pakistani and international reporters, Admiral Mullen stressed that the United States will not leave the region next July, when President Barack Obama has said he will begin to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan.  Admiral Mullen said that process that will take years, and the United States’ “strategic partnership” with the region “will endure.”

He also expressed support for Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s reintegration and reconciliation processes for insurgents and their leaders, saying that is how the conflict will truly end.  But the admiral said the Afghan government and its coalition supporters are far from being in a strong enough position to negotiate successfully with militant groups like the Haqqani Network. ” We need to be in a much stronger position to, in fact, get to a point where we reconcile with organizations like that,” he said.

Admiral Mullen said the final several thousand U.S. surge forces will be in Afghanistan soon, and he believes he will know much more by the end of the year about whether the strategy President Obama announced last December is creating that ‘stronger position.’   The admiral will travel to Afghanistan Sunday to personally assess the situation.

The string of new projects unveiled by Clinton during a joint press conference with Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Memood Qureshi are designed to help Pakistan meet its energy needs and boost power generation, health and agricultural development.  The programs are the first to be launched under U.S legislation passed last year tripling civilian aid for Pakistan to $7.5 billion during the next five years.

Secretary Clinton said the United States hopes the new aid will translate into real life improvements for families and communities, describing them as long-term investments in Pakistan’s future.

“We are committed to building a partnership with Pakistan that of course strengthens security and protects the people of Pakistan, but goes far beyond security,” Clinton said. “We want to help you drive economic growth and prosperity, strengthen your democratic government institutions and expand access to the tools of opportunity.”

Pakistan is playing a key role in the international fighting against Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan.  But public opinion in Pakistan still views U.S. motives with a considerable amount of suspicion.  The skepticism stems from the U.S decision to abandon support for Pakistan after Soviet forces withdrew from Afghanistan.

But Secretary Clinton says she can see positive change resulting from what she called deeper and broader bilateral engagements in recent years.

“We have moved beyond a standoff of our misunderstandings that were allowed to fester and not addressed… to a position where we are engaged in the most open dialogue that I think our two countries have ever had,” she said.

Foreign minister Qureshi also agreed that the enhanced U.S cooperation in various fields such as energy, power, health, agricultural and education sector is critical for changing the public perception in Pakistan.

“The opinion of the United States will change when the people of Pakistan see that their lives have changed,” said Mr. Qureshi.

Sunday, Clinton attended the signing of a landmark trade deal reached by Pakistan and Afghanistan, after years of negotiations.  The United States has been pushing Afghan and Pakistani leaders to improve bilateral relations it says will contribute to the fight against extremists.  

Secretary Clinton’s next stop as part of her Asia trip will be Kabul, where she will attend an international conference on Tuesday.

At the news conference in Islamabad, she reiterated that insurgents who wish to reconcile must lay down their arms, renounce partnership with al-Qaida and accept Afghanistan’s constitution.

“It seems to us that there will be some who are willing to meet those conditions and others who are not.  And we would strongly advise our friends in Afghanistan to deal with those who are committed to a peaceful future where their ideas can compete in the political arena through the ballot box, not through the force of arms.”

Taliban insurgents have stepped up attacks against Afghan and U.S-led coalition forces in recent months.  More than 50 foreign troops have died in July while the previous month was the deadliest for international forces since the war against Taliban and its allies began nine years ago.

His whereabouts at first were a mystery.  Iranian nuclear physicist Shahram Amiri disappeared in June of last year. Then the mystery got murkier, a series of Internet videos offering disjointed clues.

“I was kidnapped in the Holy City of Medina,” said a man claiming to be Amiri.

Did U.S. agents take him in Saudi Arabia, as someone claiming to be Amiri said?

“I managed to run away,” he said in a video.

Had he escaped from American intelligence as another posting hinted?

“I am in America and intend to continue my education in this country,” he said in another video.

Or was Amiri actually free and safe, pursuing studies in the U.S. as yet another revealed.

Iran says he was kidnapped by the U.S.  The U.S. says he defected to America.

And, in still another new twist, Amiri has turned up here – at the Iranian interests section of the Pakistani Embassy in Washington, where he is reportedly requesting repatriation. Pakistan has managed Iran’s interests in the U.S. since Washington severed diplomatic ties after the 1979 Islamic revolution.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says Amiri was scheduled to return to Iran on Monday, but was unable to make travel arrangements.

“Mr. Amiri has been in the United States of his own free will,” said  Hillary Clinton. “And he is free to go.”

Amiri had been working for Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, which the U.S. and other countries suspect is trying to develop nuclear weapons, a charge Iran denies. He reportedly had valuable information on nuclear development.

Alex Vatanka from the Middle East Institute doubts that.

“In terms of access to Iranians, particularly that generation of Iranians in their 30s, is very hard to get to, and this is, in many ways, a win for the U.S.,” said Alex Vatanka. “But if he didn’t have the kind of information they needed, what’s the point in keeping him?”

U.S. State Department Spokesman P.J. Crowley says Amiri met with authorities while in this country, but wouldn’t say if the Iranian gave up any secrets.

“I can’t answer that question,” said P.J. Crowley.

“But why can’t you answer that question,” asked a reporter.

“I happen not to know the answer,” said P.J. Crowley.

Some analysts think Amiri’s return could mean an exchange for Americans held in Iran.

“It will be interesting to see, perhaps in years and months to come, if what’s happening right now with Amiri has anything to do for instance, with the three [American] hikers who have been held in Iran for about a year now,” said Vatanka.

Vatanka says the truth behind the mystery lies in what happens to Amiri in the future. How will Iran treat him if he is a defector who changed his mind and returned home?