Clinton says U.S., India 'allies' in terrorism fight

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Tuesday offered India continued U.S. support in its fight against militants as the two nations signed a preliminary agreement on cyber-terrorism less than a week after three bombs exploded in the city of Mumbai, killing 20 people.

But strains remain between the partners in an area some have characterized as a cornerstone of their relationship: a civilian nuclear agreement signed in 2008 aimed at easing India'sperennial energy shortages and opening markets for U.S. suppliers.

The bombings in Mumbai, formerly Bombay, occurred at three crowded markets during rush hour last week, the biggest attack on India's financial capital since a 2008 assault that killed 166.

"We are allies in the fight against violent extremist networks," Clinton told reporters during a day of meetings with India's key political leaders. "The events in Mumbai have driven home how important it is that we get results."

There's no evidence of Pakistani involvement in the latest Mumbai attack. Indian-Pakistani talks that were derailed after the 2008 siege, which India blamed on Pakistani-based militants, have since resumed and remain on track.

But Clinton told reporters Tuesday that Washington wouldn't tolerate any country providing "safe havens and free pass" to terrorists, and called on Pakistan to prosecute "transparently, fully and urgently" those responsible for planning the 2008 Mumbai attack.

Pakistan has filed charges against seven people, but the cases haven't advanced very far and India believes many of the real masterminds remain at large.

On the energy front, several hiccups have hit the promising Indo-U.S. civil nuclear agreement signed by then-President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Lucrative deals that U.S. companies such as Westinghouse Electric Co. anticipated have not materialized in part because Indian law leaves nuclear equipment manufacturers and suppliers, rather than just operators, potentially liable for billions of dollars in the event of an accident.

India started construction Monday on its 25th atomic power plant. Its civilian nuclear market is worth $150 billion.

A key 46-nation nuclear suppliers group in June tightened its rules against selling enrichment and processing technologies to countries that are not members of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. India has nuclear weapons and has not signed the agreement.

Some analysts said they saw plenty of common ground between the U.S. and India. "The problem is not intractable," said Chintamani Mahapatra, a professor and U.S. specialist at New Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University. "I think it's going to be resolved."

The nuclear disaster in Japan triggered by a deadlyearthquake and tsunami in March has also dulled, at least temporarily, public enthusiasm for moving ahead aggressively with nuclear power.

Clinton told reporters that the U.S. expected India to pass a supplementary bill this year bringing its nuclear liability rules in line with international norms, presumably a step toward more U.S. deals.

On Tuesday, India and the U.S. signed a memorandum of understanding on cyber-terrorism, paving the way for the two sides to share information, data and methodology and otherwise bolster cyber-security.

"This is very important in light of the American decision to draw down U.S. troops in Afghanistan," Mahapatra said. "The recent bomb blast in Mumbai, things like that are likely to become worse in the wake of the U.S. pullout. This agreement will be a great help to both India and the U.S."

Clinton is on a 12-day trip that started in Turkey and Greece. After wrapping up her visit to India on Thursday, she'll travel to Indonesia, Hong Kong and China.