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The Washington Post,
20 January 2010
U.S. praises India`s calm response to Pakistan after Mumbai attacks
U.S. praises calm response to attacks
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said Tuesday that it was "statesmanlike" of India to refrain from retaliating against next-door neighbor Pakistan after the 2008 Mumbai attacks. But Gates said the United States was not directly involved in trying to broker peace between the two nuclear-armed rivals.
Gates arrived in New Delhi for two days of talks with Indian leaders, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and A.K. Antony, the defense minister. Last month, Gates warned that al-Qaeda was providing "targeting information" to a Pakistan-based terrorist group accused in the Mumbai attacks in hopes of triggering another conflict or war between India and Pakistan.
India and the United States have blamed the Mumbai attacks on Lashkar-i-Taiba, or Army of the Pious, a group dedicated to overthrowing Indian rule in the divided territory of Kashmir. Although Pakistan has charged seven men in the Mumbai plot, which killed 165 people, U.S. and Indian intelligence officials have said there is evidence the group is preparing more attacks in an attempt to inflame the region.
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