Pakistan: U.S. threatened to bomb us back to Stone Age

[voivod]

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan says the United States threatened to bomb his country back to the Stone Age after the 9/11 attacks if he did not help America's war on terror.

Musharraf says the threat was delivered by Richard Armitage, then the deputy secretary of state, to Musharraf's intelligence director, the Pakistani leader told CBS-TV's "60 Minutes."

"The intelligence director told me that (Armitage) said, 'Be prepared to be bombed. Be prepared to go back to the Stone Age,' " Musharraf said in the interview to be shown Sunday on the CBS television network.

It was insulting, Musharraf said. "I think it was a very rude remark," he told reporter Steve Kroft.

But, Musharraf said he reacted responsibly. "One has to think and take actions in the interests of the nation and that is what I did," he said.

The White House and State Department declined to comment on the conversation.

Armitage told CNN on Thursday that he never threatened to bomb Pakistan, wouldn't say such a thing and didn't have the authority to do it. Armitage said he did have a tough message for Pakistan, saying the Muslim nation was either "with us or against us," according to CNN. Armitage said he didn't know how his message was recounted so differently to Musharraf.

In a speech in January 2002, four months after the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, Musharraf gave a speech in which he clearly came down on the side of reform at home and opposition to Islamic fundamentalism.

Pakistan to this day is considered an ally of the United States in the struggle with militant groups. Sometimes, however, Pakistan appears reluctant to go after the Taliban, which controlled neighboring Afghanistan until 2001 and has intensified its insurgency in the southern part of the country in recent months.

Musharraf is scheduled to meet on Friday at the White House with President Bush and then see Bush again next week in a three-way meeting with President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan.

Musharraf told "60 Minutes" that Armitage's message was delivered with demands that he turn over Pakistan's border posts and bases for the U.S. military to use in the war against the Taliban in Afghanistan. Some demands were "ludicrous," such as a demand he suppress domestic expression of support for terrorism against the United States.

"If somebody is expressing views, we cannot curb the expression of views," Musharraf said.

[Axxman300]

Point one: He's lying about Armitage telling him we'd bomb them into the stoneage.

Point Two: Pakistan has only helped us when it's convenient for them.

Point Three: Pakistan isn't patrolling their side of the border which allows Taliban and AQ free travel back and fourth.

Point Four: Usama bin Laden lives about an hour outside Karrachi, Pakistan looks the other way. Why? [see point five]

Point Five: Pakistan's intelligence/secret police is riddled with Al Qaeda members AND sypathizers. We know this and they know we know this.

Point Six: Even after 9/11, Pakistan's head Nuclear scientist sold nuclear technology to Lybia. Lybia chicken out after we kicked the shit out of Iraq and handed it over to us.

Point Seven: Pakistan is not our friend and cannot be trusted out of our sight.

[Brett]

Good.

[vhrocker]

Hell if we did it would be an improvement.

[Ted Van Halen]

delete double post

[Ted Van Halen]

It ain't that far of a trip really & I've got some firecrackers left over from 4th of July. 4 or 5 should do the trick shouldn't it?


TED

[the_jake5150]

Okay, who gives a shit about Pakistan?

[graeme]

Okay, who gives a shit about Pakistan?

Nice world attitude you have there.

[KRAMER5150]

Hell if we did it would be an improvement.

amen!!!

[Bigdaddy_14]

bomb them back to the stone age? Thats not very far from where they are now...who cares

[cyberfiddl]

You'd be quicker to get the truth out of Pervez Musharraf than you would Steve Kroft.

[graeme]

Watched highlights of a white house press conference with bush and musharraf at the mikes and it was a very awkward moment when a reporter asked about this. bush tried to spin his way out and then musharraf made a joke about not talking about what he would put in his upcoming book until it was published.Looked very much like these comments may actually have been made after all.
The meeting is perhaps an attempt at a love-in to try to heal the wounds so to speak. that and a few extra dollars for the allies,
..........or perhaps bush will ask blair to ask the indian's to give him part of kashmir? (Never understood all that fighting over a sweater btw)

[graeme]

.... now, if they were fighting for ownership of the LedZep song.....

[the_jake5150]

bomb them back to the stone age? Thats not very far from where they are now...who cares

No you're wrong. They would have advanced technology after the bombing than they have now