The Hindu : U.S. lauds India's commitment to fighting terror

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, May 02, 2003

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International

U.S. lauds India's commitment to fighting terror

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

WASHINGTON MAY 1. The United States has praised India's commitment to fighting terrorism globally in spite of it being a victim of terror.

"...It's important to appreciate that India continues to be victimised by terror and maintains a strong commitment to the global war on terrorism and to bilateral counter-terrorism cooperation," said Ambassador Cofer Black, Coordinator for Counter-Terrorism, presenting the State Department's 2002 Report on Patterns of Global Terrorism on Wednesday.

At the same time, he cautioned that fighting terrorism did not always mean employing military methods and called for maximum restraint in dealing with Pakistan. "... Fighting terrorism doesn't always mean using military means. If you look around the world, the U.S. fights terrorism in various ways, whether it's military or law enforcement or intelligence. There are other approaches to problems. Military action should certainly be the last," Mr. Black said.

"We have always expressed strong concerns about the potential for conflict between India and Pakistan. We believe that the encouragement of dialogue is most important. Conflicts are resolved through productive interaction.

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