Indian Home Secretary G.K. Pillai said this week that the Indian government was "disappointed that the name of David Headley was not provided, if not pre-26/11 at least post 26/11. So that when he came subsequently in March 2009 to India at least at that time we could have nabbed him here."
India refers to the attacks that began on Nov. 26, 2008, as "26/11."
Headley, a former Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) informant, had been under U.S. surveillance for at least two years before his arrest in Chicago on Oct. 3, 2009.
ProPublica, citing unidentified federal officials, said Headley received terrorist training in Pakistan while he was working as a DEA informant.
Earlier in 2008, the U.S. warned India that an attack was being planned in Mumbai. Security was beefed up at potential targets in the port city but was relaxed when weeks passed without incident.
U.S. officials did not tell their Indian counterparts whether Headley was the source of that information, prompting speculation in New Delhi that they were trying to protect their source.
Mr. Rhodes said the information present with U.S. officials prior to the Mumbai attacks was "far more general and far less specific."
"If we had information that could have helped to prevent the attacks or pinpoint specific aspects of the attacks, we certainly would have shared that, too," Mr. Rhodes said. "The fact of the matter is that the information we had before 26/11 was not of that nature."
"There is a vast amount of information within the U.S. intelligence system, and the nature of the kind of information we received in this instance from Mr. Headleys ex-wives again was of a more general nature," Mr. Rhodes said.
"Let's get all of the facts completely together … and when that review is completed it is certainly something we will share with the Indians as well," he added.
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