Bush threatened to bomb Pakistan back to the stone age after 9/11

We need more of this tough talk backed up with action. Vote Dick Armitage for President!

Pakistan's Leader Says U.S. Threatened to Bomb His County After 9/11

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf said in a 60 Minutes interview set to air this Sunday (September 24th) that the U.S. threatened to bomb his country after the 9/11 attacks if he didn't help in America's campaign against the Taliban in neighboring Afghanistan. Musharraf said that then-deputy secretary of state Richard Armitage delivered the message to Pakistan's intelligence director, saying, "Be prepared to be bombed. Be prepared to go back to the Stone Age." Musharraf told 60 Minutes, "I think it was a very rude remark," but said he acted responsibly, explaining, "One has to think and take actions in the interests of the nation and that is what I did." U.S. government officials told both AP and Reuters they wouldn't comment.

Before 9/11, Pakistan was one of the few countries that maintained relations with the Taliban rulers in Afghanistan, but within days of the terrorist attacks on America, Musharraf cut those ties and cooperated with U.S. efforts to track and capture al-Qaida and Taliban forces that sought refuge in Pakistan. AP reports, however, that although Pakistan is still viewed as a close ally of the U.S. in the war on terrorism, it sometimes seems reluctant to go after the Taliban.

Musharraf also told 60 Minutes that there were demands made with Armitage's threat, including that Pakistan turn over its border posts and bases for the U.S. military to use in the fight against the Taliban. He called some of the demands, quote, "ludicrous," including one that he suppress domestic expression of support for terrorism against the U.S. Musharraf said, "If somebody is expressing views, we cannot curb the expression of views."