Clinton vows US support for India in terror fight

The fight against terror, India's concerns over nuclear-armed rival Pakistan and U.S. withdrawal plans for Afghanistan were expected to dominate talks between Clinton and Indian officials in New Delhi.

"We are allies in the fight against violent extremist networks. And homeland security is a high priority and a source of increasing partnership," Clinton said at the start of a meeting with S.M. Krishna, India's foreign minister.

The two countries have already signed agreements to cooperate in counterterrorism efforts, Clinton said.

"The events in Mumbai have driven home how important it is that we get results," she said.

The attacks in three busy Mumbai neighborhoods last week were the worst terror strike in the country since 10 Pakistan-based gunmen rampaged through Mumbai in 2008, killing 166 people. Police have yet to name suspects in the blasts.

Clinton did not mention Pakistan during her remarks, an apparent sign of the difficult balancing act the U.S. is trying to play between its two competing allies.

The U.S. is eager for fragile peace talks between India and Pakistan to pick up steam, in part to allow Pakistan to focus its forces on the chaotic Afghan border.

Once frosty relations between India and the United States have warmed considerably in recent years as Washington has looked to democratic India as stable ally in the turbulent South Asia region and its growing economy as a valuable market for U.S. goods.

President Barack Obama hosted Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at his first state dinner and visited India for three days last year, praising it as a new regional power.

Clinton, who arrived in New Delhi late Monday, was meeting throughout Tuesday with top officials, including Singh and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, as part of a new round of U.S.-India strategic dialogue established last year to deepen ties between the world's oldest and largest democracies.

The Obama administration is keen to allay Indian concerns of a resurgence in Islamic extremism following the planned withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan that began this month, officials traveling with Clinton said.

Clinton is expected to outline the drawdown strategy and stress that the United States will not support Afghan reconciliation with insurgents unless it is inclusive and protects the rights of minority groups, religions and women, the officials said.

The U.S. and India both have significant stakes in Pakistan. Indian officials accuse Pakistan of supporting extremists behind multiple terrorist attacks on its territory, while U.S. officials fear it is not fully committed to combatting radical plots, such as the failed 2010 Times Square bombing in New York.

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