US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld Saturday called for transatlantic unity in the fight against terrorism.

Speaking at the Munich security conference Rumsfeld called for more international involvement in stabilizing Afghanistan and Iraq to counter the threats of terrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

"One nation cannot defeat the extremists alone. Neither can anyone nation successfully combat asymmetric threats of this new era," Rumsfeld said. Expressing confidence in the solidarity of the transatlantic relations, Rumsfeld said the Atlantic alliance "has navigated through some choppy seas over the years, but we have always been able to resolve the toughest issues."

While there have been transatlantic differences over US-led Iraq war, "such issues among longtime friends are not new," he said. "We share a common enemy, extremists have targeted all civilized societies across the globe," Rumsfeld said.

The two-day Munich conference on international security opened Friday and attracted almost 300 governmental, academic and military security experts from around the world including UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.

Source: Xinhua