US package for India on dealing with post-Mumbai situation

Sridhar Krishnaswami

Washington, Dec 20 (PTI) The US, which witnessed the
deadly 9/11 attacks seven years ago, is working through a
package for India on dealing with the situation arising out of
the "horrific" Mumbai strikes by way of information sharing,
collaboration and cooperation, a top Pentagon official said.

"We are working through the initial parts of a package...
we would offer to India to help them understand some of the
lessons ... that we very painfully learnt in the wake of our
11 September attacks, in information sharing, collaboration
and cooperation," Admiral Timothy Keating, Commander of the US
Pacific Command, told reporters here Friday.

"And I expressed our willingness to provide that to India
in my conversations with Indian leaders shortly," he said.

Praising India for its "measured response" in the
aftermath of the Mumbai attacks, Keating said that various
agencies of the US government were working closely to keep a
tab of developments in the region.

He said Washington was satisfied that India and Pakistan
have successfully avoided the danger of a military
confrontation.

"I think the most important thing is the very ...horrific
nature of the attacks, the very calm measured response
demonstrated by India thus far and our hopes that all
throughout our region in particular and all throughout the
world, folks will understand that the struggle against violent
extremes -- violent extremists continues to this day."

"Mumbai is just the latest place where the ... innocent
victims number in the hundreds. And it remains our foremost
objective in the Asia-Pacific Region to deter and prevent
those kinds of attacks," Keating said.

His remarks came in response to a question on his
assessment of relations between India and Pakistan in the
aftermath of the Mumbai attacks and whether the top Pentagon
official thought that the two nations have successfully
avoided confrontation.

"We're working closely with Central Command and with
Department of State, Office of the Secretary of Defence and
the intelligence agencies to make sure we are as fully
apprised, as fully aware of developments in that particular
part of the world as we can be, and I'm satisfied that we
are," he said.

"I have been in contact with our Ambassador in India,
with Indian military leaders, and am grateful for the very
measured response that India has demonstrated," Keating said.
PTI SK