POST- MUMBAI ATTACK - US to offer anti-terror package Washington:

Objective is to deter such horrific attacks
The US, which witnessed the deadly 9/11 attacks seven years ago, is working through a package for India on dealing with the situation arising out of the "horrific" Mumbai strikes by way of information sharing, collaboration and cooperation, a top Pentagon official said.

"We are working through the initial parts of a package... we would offer to India to help them understand some of the lessons ... that we very painfully learnt in the wake of our 11 September attacks, in information sharing, collaboration and cooperation," Admiral Timothy Keating, Commander of the US Pacific Command, told reporters here on Friday. "And I expressed our willingness to provide that to India in my conversations with Indian leaders shortly," he said.

Praising India for its "measured response" in the aftermath of the Mumbai attacks, Keating said that various agen cies of the US government were working closely to keep a tab of developments in the region. He said Washington was satisfied that India and Pakistan have successfully avoided the danger of a military confrontation.

"I think the most important thing is the very ...horrific nature of the attacks, the very calm measured response demonstrated by India thus far and our hopes that all throughout our region in particular and all throughout the world, folks will understand that the struggle against violent extremes -- violent extremists continues to this day."

"Mumbai is just the latest place where the ... innocent victims number in the hundreds. And it remains our foremost objective in the Asia-Pacific Region to deter and prevent those kinds of attacks," Keating said. His remarks came in response to a question on his assessment of relations between India and Pakistan in the aftermath of the Mumbai attacks.