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NEW DELHI, Sept 16 (AFP) - The horror of the terrorist attacks on the United States could hold a strategic silver lining for India, which has for years been clamouring for global action against the terrorists it sees on its own doorstep.

With the US warnings of retribution firmly focused -- at least for the moment -- on Osama bin Laden and the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, and with Pakistan struggling to respond to the crisis, India's support for a global war on terrorism has been loud and unequivocal.

India's position is not without its complications.

Rapidly warming ties with Washington and Israel have not totally erased decades of Cold War mistrust of US muscle flexing overseas or a long-standing sympathy with the Palestinian cause.

But the opportunity of concerted international action against the militant training camps inside Pakistan and Afghanistan that New Delhi alleges have fuelled the Muslim insurgency in Kashmir for more than a decade is clearly too good to be missed.

"India certainly feels that last week's events in the United States are a vindication of its argument that terrorism is a global problem," said Kalim Bahadur, a professor at New Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University.

"Now its campaign against terrorism looks sure to get a major shot in the arm, strengthening India's position regionally and in the international arena."

While India has no wish to see any US military action escalate into a regional conflict, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee has already made clear its willingness to ride out any negative fallout from anti-terrorist strikes, warning the country to prepare for "harsh measures in the coming months."

And Home Minister L.K. Advani on Saturday left little doubt as to where Delhi feels the hammer of retribution should fall.

In recent years, India has managed to build a healthy relationship with the United States, while watching with some satisfaction as the traditionally strong US ties with arch-rival Pakistan have been eroded.

Analysts here say that satisfaction has turned to private glee at the sight of Pakistan -- one of only three countries to recognise the Taliban -- under intense US pressure to offer concrete support to the growing alliance against terrorism.

But there have also been words of caution against India over-extending itself.

An editorial in the Times of India at the weekend said "a swift surgical operation" by the United States would be the most comfortable scenario for New Delhi.

"As far as possible, India should not get itself into the battle, leaving Pakistan, which has been covertly sponsoring the terrorist groups, with the moral -- and physical -- responsibility of offering whatever assistance is needed," the Times said.

Amitabh Mattoo, a professor at the school of international studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University, said India saw an opportunity to realise the "destruction of the social and political bases" of terrorism in its neighbourhood.

He also warned, however, that the path presenting itself was "fraught with dangers" in terms of possible regional instability and the impact on relations with those countries in the Arab world where anti-US sentiment runs deepest.

"But given the situation and India's very public anti-terrorist stance, there really is no choice," Mattoo said.

Bharat Karnad, a strategic analyst at the Centre for Policy Research, said India has much to gain in terms of a further strengthening of ties with the United States and a higher international profile as the country seeks "a leading role" in a global anti-terrorist alliance.

"The government has already offered operational help which could include re-fuelling facilities and other logistical support, besides intelligence sharing," Karnad said, noting US Secretary of State Colin Powell's expression of appreciation for India's "exceptionally strong" support.

On the domestic front, the Indian government is only too aware of the danger that any perceived "anti-Islamic" bias in the US response to the attacks in New York and Washington would risk alienating the country's own Muslim population -- the second largest in the world.

During an address to the nation on Friday, Vajpayee took pains to warn against any invocation of religious animosity in the fight against terrorism.

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