Bush 'Taken Aback' By Musharraf Claim

President Says He Knew Nothing About Reputed U.S. Threat Against Pakistan

(CBS/AP)  President Bush said Friday he was "taken aback" by Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's contention that the U.S. threatened to bomb Pakistan back to the Stone Age if it did not cooperate right after the Sept. 11 attacks.

Musharraf said in an interview to air Sunday on CBS' 60 Minutes that Richard Armitage, who was then deputy secretary of state at the time, told a Pakistani official that the United States would attack Pakistan if it didn't back the war on terror.

Musharraf wouldn't comment on his statement, saying he has a book coming out and that he's promised the publisher he wouldn't talk about it.

Mr. Bush accepted that answer and told reporters to "buy the book," CBS News White House correspondent Mark Knoller reports.

Musharraf's book will be published by Simon & Schuster, which is part of CBS Corp.

Appearing at a joint White House news conference, Mr. Bush praised Musharraf for being one of the first foreign leaders to come out after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to stand with the United States to "help root out an enemy."

Musharraf said a peace treaty between his government and tribes along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border is not meant to support the Taliban.

He said news reports had mischaracterized the deals. "The deal is not at all with the Taliban. This deal is against the Taliban. This deal is with the tribal elders," Musharraf said.

Said Mr. Bush: "I believe him."

He said that Musharraf had looked him in the eye and vowed that "the tribal deal is intended to reject the Talibanization of the people and that there won't be a Taliban and there won't be al Qaeda (in Pakistan)."

In the CBS interview, Musharraf told Steve Kroft that after the Sept. 11 attacks, Armitage told Pakistan's intelligence director that the United States would bomb his country if it didn't help fight terrorists.

"The intelligence director told me that (Armitage) said, 'Be prepared to go back to the Stone Age,'" Musharraf said.

Armitage has disputed the language attributed to him but did not deny the message was a strong one. The former senior U.S. official told Associated Press Radio on Friday: "There was no military threat, and I was not authorized to do so."

"It did not happen," Armitage said.

Asked about the report, Mr. Bush said, "The first I heard of this is when I read it in the newspaper. I guess I was taken aback by the harshness of the words."

[ronniehm]

... and yet you believe it. Perhaps you should stop believing the most unreasonable explanation of things.

[androb25]

I cant believe there are so many people that have been brainwshed by this president

[ronniehm]

""It just doesn't make sense that we'd spend all this money and put so much at risk without a good reason.""

Since you took it out of context, the "it" which just doesn't make sense is the left's claim that we'd spend all this money and put so much at risk without a good reason. Either you didn't understand the quote, or you're disagreeing with yourself.

[ronniehm]

So Bush told Armitage who told a translator who told an intelligence director who told Musharraf that we would bomb him back to the stone age. Yeah, I'm sure it's an exact quote.

[link2maxim]

Well, at last President Musharraf has started to confess some hard lines, so called truth against Bush. Either he is in polital game against his support for the anti-Jihadi policy as his Islamic trustiness is getting questioned days after days by local & international Muslim communities/critics or, he is prepared to go back to the Stone Age.

It would be very interesting to see next five years what more aggressions will come from US. No matter how much he (Musharraf) try, everybody understands Musharraf-Bush relation (friendly) can't be long-last when Pakistan is the one the biggest suspect to form/link these Muslim terrorist community.

[drgoodwin12]

To ShutupMurtha you are correct about the majority of people commenting here on both sides though.If you want solutions I will give you several first crack down on the Iraqi goverment and military who obviously some of which has ties to the insurgency,militias and terrorist.Second subpoena all the records of the Bush adminstration,why lets find out why this president 11 days into office called for a battle plan for Iraq and after 9/11 told Richard Clarke to find a way to balme it on Saddam(sources:"AGAINST ALL ENEMIES,THE COST OF LOYALTY) both written by republicans and never rebuked.Nor did the media pursue either book with many allegations with vigor.If true then let's impeach the president.Finally let us have some real campaign finance reform that would not allow corporations,lobbyist or so called non political entities(Moveon,swiftboat and various others) from contibuting. Then let us make sure that no person/party can spend more than the other on any election.On top of that let us make it where the news organizations,TV,print or internet cannot run a ad for any candiate without validating the contents.Now everyone wants out of Iraq but we do not want to see it fall apart. Stay the Course is a bad C&W song with no ideaology for solving the situation. Here is a course crack down on the Iraqi gov.,military and police and purge those with affilations to the militias,insurgents and terrorist.

[lesb35]

I've tried to find one intelligent reason the left can give for us going to Iraq and it's always the same old drum, oil,vendetta,stupidity,etc. None of them add up. It just doesn't make sense that we'd spend all this money and put so much at risk without a good reason. It's real people. wake up. We're there for a very important reason and that is the safety and security of the world. The third world is is actively trying to acquire WMD's.

[thgdriver]

stoceman11

My hat is off to you for trying to get President Bush elected again for four more years but he is limited to two terms in office, he is unable to run again in 2008. We can be sure the GOP will come up with someone to carry on his good work. Oh, by the way, all you folks who think you are so smart and President Bush is so stupid. How come he is President and you are not?
God Bless President Bush and the USA.

[ronniehm]

"OMG did anyone notice the brand new stupid George
W Bush, "Bushism" that Bush "was taken aback" by
it?" - Sandy

Let me guess. You think it should be "taken back."

[stoceman11]

I don't like war, "but" this is what everyone wanted him to do when they attacked us, and now we have a bunch of cry baby anti American jackasses saying our President shouldn't be doing what he has been. Bush is a hard nose President and that is what we need right now. If he is not elected again to finish the job that we wanted him to do , as any real American would, all we can hope for is someone that would carry on in his foot steps, if not, GOD helps us, mark my words, they will take our way of life and destory it.

[grazinggoat]

Merry Ramadan and Shana Tovah for all foes in life. Wish The CREATOR bring peace upon the population of the world.

[gentlearts]

Sandy5274, you ignorant sl**. It was Clinton who let Ben Laden get away. It's too bad we can't trade away all the people like you who are anti-American in place of those who gave their lives so you ingrates can spout off dopey stuff like that.

[gentlearts]

Sandy5274, you ignorant sl**. It was Clinton who let Ben Laden get away. It's too bad we can't trade away all the people like you who are anti-American in place of those who gave their lives so you ingrates can spout off dopey stuff like that.

[gentlearts]

I hope that's what Armitage did say. That's what I would say. What's the big deal about who said what to whom? The basic sentiment is what is important. You are either enabling the terrorists or helping the folks fighting against them.

[sandy5274]

OMG did anyone notice the brand new stupid George
W Bush, "Bushism" that Bush "was taken aback" by
it? Oh come on Liar in Chief George W Bush stop
trying to lie your way out here,as we all also
remember Richard Armitage was one of your personal
"Bush Bully Boys" Neo-Con Cheickenhawks you sent
out to beat your War Drums after 9-11 and who that
Bush then use next to beat the Iraq War & WMD War
Drums,after Bush screwed up and let Osama bin Laden escape at Tora Bora in Afghanistan and so
George W Bush can carry our his Personal Vendetta
Against Saddamn Hussein For As Bush Put It & In
His Own Words,"Trying To Kill My Daddy George H W
Bush"after no WMDs were found in Iraq!

[bellal-2009]

Information sharing between intelligence agencies.

[tomflint69]

Its worthless to discuss. We will never come to know about the truth.

[jbella5]

I think Armitage and Bush are lying about this.....Remember the "Your either with us or Against Us" threat that pervaded after 9/11.....

[meboard]

Can anyone out there come up with one problem the Bush Admin has taken on (and fixed!) that did not involve the military? P.S. Don't start off with No Child Left Behind.

[mac2499-2009]

Well ShutupMurtha you have a easy going manner when it comes to how this current administration has manage the country. I will say that if the U.S. ever decided to pull out of the U.N. it would be the worst think it could do. First of all because not to many countries would follow the U.S. As for the U.N. hampering the U.S. foreign policy the U.N. currently has not power due to the way the security council is set up. As well you must know that the U.S. has always supported dictators it feels are in its best interest and disregarded dictators that feel pose not threat ie Kaddafy, the goverment of Burma. With respect to foreign policy this administration was not involved or interested until after 9/11. I believe that the president even stated before he was elected in 2000 that the problems in the Mideast was a problem of those countries and not the U.S. As for Iran, I can not take the word their little midget leader at face value with regard to having no desire to acquire nukes but I do feel that they are quite a few years away from making any. The current U.S. policy I feel is the wrong one because we are going after the wrong country. The one we should be worrying about is Pakistan. They have a the nuke and they have a goverment that has is not well like by its people.