"A Victory For One Is A Victory For All"

From the New York Times, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates' perspective on what a "victory" in A-Stan means. Volatile indeed.

Speaking in New Delhi at a news conference after meetings with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of India and the country’s defense and external affairs ministers, Mr. Gates said that the interconnected extremist groups on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border were working to destabilize the entire region and that “a victory for one was a victory for all.”

“It’s dangerous to single out any one of these groups and say, ‘If we could beat that group that would solve the problem,’ because they are in effect a syndicate of terrorist operators,” Mr. Gates said. In short, he said, “the success of any one of these groups leads to new capabilities and a new reputation for all.”

How long can the U.S. play this game of "Whack-A-Mole" with terrorists cells around the globe? The U.N. and other nations (Yes, India. Heck, even China!) need to step up. Or, if they don't step up, don't help the enemy (Tsk..tsk...China)!

I love this picture...and by "love" I mean disgusted.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran, center, with Chinese workers
at a highway tunnel project northwest of Tehran in June 2009.