Condoleezza Rice in New Delhi to showcase Indo -US solidarity against terrorism

New Delhi, Dec.3 : US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has arrived in New Delhi reportedly to ease tensions between India and Pakistan following last week's attacks in Mumbai.

Rice arrived this morning and is expected to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee,Home Minister P. Chidambaram and the National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan.

After her meeting with the Indian leadership, Rice will address a press conference at the Roosevelt House here at 3.25 pm.

Earlier , in Brussels Rice said that the primary goal of her visit to India is to "express solidarity" with the leadership there. "This was a horrible attack. It was, of course, also an attack that killed American citizens. And, it is therefore of very great concern to the United States," Rice said .

"It underscores the importance of getting to the bottom of what happened, both to bring those who perpetrated this terrible crime to justice and to try and prevent further attacks of this kind. And in that regard, I want to consult with the Indian government further about what we can do to help," she added.

Everyone, including Pakistan, needs to cooperate fully and transparently in the investigations of these audacious attacks ,Rice said.

"The real problem we have with terrorism is that terrorists can be right once and we have to be right 100 per cent all the time. And in that regard, I have not just sympathy, but empathy for what the Indian Government has gone through," Rice said, according to a transcript released by the State Department in Washington.

"And I know that the Indian Government is looking hard at how it might be more effective in counterterrorism responses, how it might use the information better. We've been through that in United States; it is a tough business, particularly for a democracy."Rice added .

Meanwhile, Indian Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon has met American officials to discuss issues related toMumbai terror attacks that claimed 200 lives, including foreigners.

Menon met Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte and Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs William Burns during his two-day visit to Washington.

"The meetings covered a range of bilateral issues, including counterterrorism co-operation, anti-piracy co-ordination, the India-US civil nuclear agreement, defence trade, space co-operation and economic and investment relations between the two countries," the Indian Embassy said in a press statement.

Menon's visit was planned ahead of the terror attacks on Mumbai last week but the trip took place as scheduled and terrorism was on top of the agenda during the discussions.

Menon received a call from the Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi who offered her condolences over the tragedy.

Menon also had a conversation with Senator John Kerry, the Chairman of the Sub Committee on Near East, Central and South Asia in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and met with several think-tanks and influential opinion-makers.

Earlier, Mike McConnell, US Director of National Intelligence, implicated the Lashkar-e-Taiba in the deadly attacks in Mumbai that killed 200 people.

Speaking at Harvard University, McConnell said on Tuesday that US intelligence is left with little doubt that the group responsible for the bloody attacks on Mumbai is the Lashkar-e- Taiba.

"The same group that we believe is responsible for Mumbai had a similar attack in 2006 on a train and killed a similar number of people," said McConnell. "Go back to 2001 and it was an attack on the Parliament," he added.

ANI