CBC : U.S. threatened to bomb Pakistan unless it helped war on terror: Musharraf

U.S. threatened to bomb Pakistan unless it helped war on terror: Musharraf

CBC News | September 21, 2006

The U.S. threatened to bomb Pakistan "back to the Stone Age" after the Sept. 11 attacks if the country refused to help America with its war on terrorism, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf says. In an interview with CBS's 60 Minutes, the Pakistani leader said the threat came from then-deputy secretary of state Richard Armitage. Musharraf said it was delivered to Musharraf's intelligence director. "The intelligence director told me that [Armitage] said, 'Be prepared to be bombed. Be prepared to go back to the Stone Age,' " Musharraf said.

"I think it was a very rude remark."

But Musharraf said he reacted to the threat in a responsible way.

"One has to think and take actions in the interests of the nation, and that's what I did."

Pakistan was a strong supporter of Afghanistan's former Taliban regime, but switched sides after the Sept. 11 attacks. Musharraf also said the U.S. made some demands that were "ludicrous," including one to suppress vocal support in his country for terrorism in the U.S.

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

He said he was also irked that the U.S. wanted Pakistan to turn over border posts and bases for the U.S. military to use against the Taliban in Afghanistan.