Bush calls India’s leader to pledge solidarity

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President George W. Bush assured India’s leader on Sunday that the U.S. government will put its full weight behind the investigation into the attacks in Mumbai.

He told Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in a telephone call that “out of this tragedy can come an opportunity to hold these extremists accountable and demonstrate the world’s shared commitment to combat terrorism,” White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said in a statement.

More than 170 people were killed and about 240 injured in a coordinated shooting rampage at 10 sites in the Indian capital in a rampage that began Wednesday and ended Saturday.

Among the foreigners killed were six Americans. The dead also included Germans, Canadians, Israelis and nationals from Britain, Italy, Japan, China, Thailand, Australia and Singapore.

“The president told the prime minister that he stands in solidarity with him and the people of India and once again expressed our deepest condolences,” Johndroe said. “President Bush, noting that American citizens were also killed, said that we would all be working together, with the international community, to go after these extremists. President Bush told the prime minister that he has directed the state and defense departments along with other federal agencies to devote the necessary resources and personnel to this situation.”

India’s top security official resigned Sunday as the government struggled under growing accusations of security failures following the attacks. Singh called a rare meeting of leaders from the country’s main political parties to discuss the situation.

“In the face of this national threat and in the aftermath of this national tragedy, all of us from different political parties must rise above narrow political considerations and stand united,” he said.

Bush, who also spoke with Singh from the Camp David presidential retreat on Thanksgiving, has kept an active profile on the situation.

Speaking at the White House on Saturday, Bush also pledged full U.S. support for the investigation.

“The killers who struck this week are brutal and violent,” Bush said after returning from Camp David. “But terror will not have the