WASHINGTON - PRESIDENT George W. Bush is sending Secretary of
State Condoleezza Rice to India this week as a 'further
demonstration' of US solidarity with New Delhi in the wake of
terror attacks in Mumbai, the White House announced on Sunday.
Dr Rice will arrive in New Delhi on Wednesday, on the heels of
an already scheduled trip to attend a Nato meeting in Brussels on
Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Dana Perino said.
'President Bush has asked Secretary Rice to travel to India this
week in the wake of the terror attacks that killed nearly 200
people, including six American citizens,' Ms Perino said in a
statement, increasing the official US death toll in the three-day
terror siege by one.
Dr Rice was to depart on Sunday night for London, and then
attend a Nato meeting on Tuesday in Brussels before traveling on to
India arriving in New Delhi on Wednesday, the statement said.
'Secretary Rice's visit to India is a further demonstration of
the United States' commitment to stand in solidarity with the
people of India as we all work together to hold these extremists
accountable,' it said.
In a telephone call earlier on Sunday, Mr Bush told Indian Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh that the United States was swinging behind
India's efforts to track down those responsible for the deadly
attacks.
'President Bush told the prime minister that he has directed the
State and Defense departments along with other federal agencies to
devote the necessary resources and personnel to this situation,'
White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said in a statement.
Mr Bush told Dr Singh 'we would all be working together, with
the international community, to go after these extremists,' Mr
Johndroe said.
Mr Bush also told the Indian leader that he believed 'out of
this tragedy can come an opportunity to hold these extremists
accountable and demonstrate the world's shared commitment to combat
terrorism'.
The Indian government has pointed the finger at 'elements in
Pakistan', and security sources say they believe most if not all
the highly-trained gunmen were Pakistani.
Security officials have said they believed the Pakistan-based
Lashkar-e-Taiba was behind the extremely well-planned assault,
which took thousands of Indian commandos, police and soldiers 60
hours to stop.
But Pakistan, a key US ally which has fought two wars with India
over Kashmir, moved quickly to deny any links with the attacks.
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari urged India not to
'over-react'. -- AFP