the bomb that went off outside the delhi high court on september 7 is a cruel reminder of how the world has not changed for india but it is also more than that the attack is another interlude in a shifting shadowy war that continually probes the threshold of pain a society can bear testing its reservoir of resolveafter 2611 described as indias 911 moment the countrys leaders impressed upon the world the us in particular that public reaction to another such outrage will severely test their restraint on military action incontrovertible evidence of the strike being masterminded from pakistan led to its civilian government and army coming under global pressure to check terrorists a wikileaks cable revealed that prime minister manmohan singh told the us that another mumbai must not happenthe calm was fitful attacks like punes german bakery blast february 13 2010 was followed by the one in mumbai july 13 2011 and delhi in its high court college kids train commuters merchants and litigants fell to the deadly strikes but the attackers cannily did not breach the 2611 benchmarkincreasing sophistication in terror methods and tactics made it harder to zero in on the culprits and india is neither able to point across the border nor zero in on local agents of mayhem a new chapter in the war on terror is unfolding with the enemy again moving the goalpostsin the decade since the twin towers fell expectations that indias case on terrorism will finally be heard have seen more twists than a robert ludlum plot as grief shrouded the us the atal bihari vajpayee government sensed an opportunity and its unstinted cooperation earned india the friendship of george bush whose two terms changed bilateral relations foreverall of a sudden the wests lectures on selfdetermination in kashmir began drying up the problem said western experts of varied plumage is that the taliban and al qaida are a global menace so are their associates like lashkar and the epicentre of the threat is pakistan bingothe shift in the us tilt in south asia began during bill clintons presidency when he read out the riot act to nawaz sharif over kargil it gained irreversible momentum under bush and fears of barack obama turning the clock back proved illfoundedthe strategic value of the partnership is evident in the crucial role the us played in nailing 2611 on pakistans door they also offered valuable cooperation in the david headley case the indiaus nuclear deal was an act of courage on the part of manmohan singh it got india out of the atomic doghouseamericas invasion of iraq and the rediscovery of pakistans geographical centrality to us interests in afghanistan tempered the indian party after wars that some estimate cost us nearly 4 trillion the super power is looking tired how will iraq turn if the us leaves it in 2012 and what happens in afghanistan if nato exits as planned in 2014 these are worrying questionsthe killing of osama bin