Musharraf: Bhutto Knew Of Risks

(CBS)  Pakistan's president, Pervez Musharraf, leads a country in crisis ten days after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. Pakistan is the only Islamic country with nuclear bombs, a place where the influence of the Taliban and al Qaeda is growing.

The Bush administration hopes Musharraf can save his country, but he's the man many Pakistanis blame for its crisis. Was he responsible for the assassination, as many Pakistanis believe? Did his government fail to provide adequate protection? Or did Benazir Bhutto take unnecessary risks?

Lara Logan asked these questions of President Musharraf on Saturday in Islamabad, his first interview since the Bhutto assassination.

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"I knew that she's under threat. She herself knew that. I told her personally," Musharraf says.

"So it was just a matter of time, do you think?" Logan asks.

"It's your luck," Musharraf replies. "There's no real protection against a suicide bomber really."

Benazir Bhutto's luck ran out on December 27th. She was leaving a campaign rally in her bid to become prime minister for the third time. Bhutto was waving and smiling from her vehicle as excited supporters swarmed around her.

Gunshots rang out. Then, moments later, a suicide bomber blew himself up. In less than two hours, the announcement came that Bhutto was dead.

"That came as an utter shock. It came as an utter shock," Musharraf remembers.

Asked what the first thing was that went through his mind when he heard the news, Musharraf tells Logan, "Well, I knew there was going to be a disturbance in the country and I immediately told the army commander and told everyone to alert everyone, and we must take immediate measures to control any kind of agitation, any kind of emotional outburst."

The moment word of Bhutto's death hit the streets, riots broke out; much of the rage was directed at President Musharraf, her main political rival.

"By the time of her assassination, how would you describe the nature of your relationship with her?" Logan asks.

"Up and down. It wasn't constant - I had asked her not to come before the election, and that we will arrange - then she could come after the election, which she agreed. She had agreed. But then she decided to come all of a sudden. Now that changed a little. It upset me a little," Musharraf says.

"Were you feeling that she was not sticking to her agreements with you, that she wasn't keeping her word?" Logan asks.

"Well, to an extent yes. She used to change the goalposts frequently, depending on the ups and downs here in the country," Musharraf replies.

"It sounds like she was annoying you," Logan remarks.

"On many occasions," Musharraf admits. "But on many other occasions she was positive."

"Did you like her?" Logan asks.

"I think in such a situation it's not your personal like and dislikes. It's more for the nation that I thought one has to interact with her," Musharraf says.

"When I hear words like that, you know, 'One has to interact with her for the sake of the nation,' sounds to me like you didn't like her very much," Logan remarks.

"No I wouldn't say I didn't like her - well, I like or dislike, I didn't have any kind of personal friendship with her," Musharraf says.

The president was upset with Bhutto last October, when, in spite of warnings, she went ahead with a rally in Karachi on her return from self-imposed exile in Dubai. Her convoy was attacked, with two blasts killing close to 150 people.

"Now, in Karachi we knew from Sheikh Mohammad of Dubai, I mean, I got information, intelligence from him. We had our own intelligence. He sent intelligence that there are suicide bombers there targeting her. We told her this," Musharraf explains. "And she knew it. We told her. Don't do it!"

"And 145 people died," Logan remarks.

"We offered. We said that we can give you a helicopter," Musharraf says. "But she decided to go in that procession. That's what happened."

Asked if he thinks that was a mistake, Musharraf tells Logan, "Yes, indeed. Absolutely."

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[minhasaslam]

This man should have been grilled rare by the moderator. Instead she treated him with a kid glove. Musharraf was a monstre-a statan, with hooves, tail and a bloody tongue. Like other tinpot dictators in Latin America used and abused by US, this one too bites the dust. He, like his hall-of-shame predecessors, Ayub Khan, Yahya Khan and Ziaul Haque destroyed the country, sold his own people, be it men women or children for dollars (5000 a piece and murdered others. His ex-military colleagues blame him openly for the murder of Benazir. Miss Logan had not done her homeword as she did not ask him why the site of accident was washed (hosed away) to remove all the evidence within the hour? Earlier When two attacks were made (unfortunately unsuccessful) on his life, the sites were barricaded and searched by toothcombs for days. I hope to God he is hunted down and brought back to the country so that he faces criminal and financial crimes that he commited against the country.

[cbsfan27]

Ms. Logan was a big disappointment to me. There are certainly times when a news reporter such as she, needs to be aggressively rude, perhaps to a pedophile or a mass murderer who is already in prison, but not to a leader of any country. Regardless of the opinions she or those of us in the United States may have, we must learn to show respect to all people and give those accused the benefit of the doubt until proven guilty, just as we do here (or at least should do here). Ms. Logan does a great job and does risk her life bringing us the news from the war zone, but regardless of that, she is representing our country and our youth. The leaders of this world need to find a way to come together. Accusations and rudeness will never accomplish that.

[cbsfan27]

Ms. Logan was a big disappointment to me. There are certainly times when a news reporter such as she, needs to be aggressively rude, perhaps to a pedophile or a mass murderer who is already in prison, but not to a leader of any country. Regardless of the opinions she or those of us in the United States may have, we must learn to show respect to all people and give those accused the benefit of the doubt until proven guilty, just as we do here (or at least should do here). Ms. Logan does a great job and does risk her life bringing us the news from the war zone, but regardless of that, she is representing our country and our youth. The leaders of this world need to find a way to come together. Accusations and rudeness will never accomplish that.

[tminhas]

Ms Logan, was very abrupt, and did not appear to be listening to President Musharraf, she deserves to "Report"(ed) as being "abus(ive)"

[maxxigarrett]

Did y''all come on the same bus, or what?
Was it the little yellow one?
Jeeze -

[ehtishamu]

It was very disappointing to watch Lara Logan interview President Musharraf. She showed total disregard for his position and rudely interrupted him throughout the interview. Why would CBS allow such unprofessionalism? Such behavior reinforces the "ugly American" and fuels the anti-American sentiment in that part of the world. But since CBS probably thinks it was a great performance, I hope she is sent next to interview Bush and Brown. Great going CBS!

[maxxigarrett]

Oh, I forgot - i was particularty taken by Lara'' relentless "eye contact" and unflinching manner of directing questions to Mussharrif. In contrast, Mike Walacs covered his mouth when he asked Roger Clemmons, "How about a lie detector test" - a ridiculous question to begin with; to a BASEBALL PLAYER!
How about we SUPPORT someone with a spine for a change?
Maxxi Garrett
Nashville, TN

[maxxigarrett]

C''mon people - we''re supposed to be the "good guys" ; the SMART ones; the light of the world. We Americans
have gotten so used to pablum, soft-ball, "journalism" that we can only accept direct confrontation from paparazzi confrontations of pop-idols like Britney Spears - this we can''t get enough of. I would pay GREEN money to see Lara Logan ask Bush "what about 9/11, you dim wit" or " if you made a mistake invading Iraq, why not say so and stop killing the people there?"
I mean we already have Katie Dimples giving us our Nighty Night - what else do we want, Mickey Mouse hosting the evening news? Lara Logan was BRILLIANT with that punk Mussharrif - we just don''t seem to "get" the context YET - connect a few dots, folks -
we are sheep being led to the .... what is it ... trough?....promised land?....oh, where is it sheep are lead to?
Anyway, we USED to admire people with BALLS - even beautiful women.
[e-mail]

[politicker]

how dare this little arrogant $%*# talk to a president of a country in this manner?? and CBS is proudly showing this as an example of their fine reporting and cultural finesse?? shame on you CBS... any remote semblance American media had of being "intelligent" and sensitive to the non-american, non-white civilization of this planet is gone. Be it fox news or cbs news, its just a bunch of ignorant, arrogant rednecks running the show who couldnt spell ETIQUETTE if their mothers lives depended on it. lara logan needs to be banned from ever entering Pakistan or any other country for that matter - apart from her little racist heaven in South Africa.

[politicker]

how dare this little arrogant $%*# talk to a president of a country in this manner?? and CBS is proudly showing this as an example of their fine reporting and cultural finesse?? shame on you CBS... any remote semblance American media had of being "intelligent" and sensitive to the non-american, non-white civilization of this planet is gone. Be it fox news or cbs news, its just a bunch of ignorant, arrogant rednecks running the show who couldnt spell ETIQUETTE if their mothers lives depended on it. lara logan needs to be banned from ever entering Pakistan or any other country for that matter - apart from her little racist heaven in South Africa.