WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush said Friday he was "taken aback" by a purported U.S. threat to bomb Pakistan back to the Stone Age if it did not cooperate in the fight against terrorism after the Sept. 11 attacks.
[...]
In an interview to air Sunday on CBS-TV's "60 Minutes" program, Musharraf said that after the attacks, Richard Armitage, then deputy secretary of state, told Pakistan's intelligence director that the United States would bomb his country if it didn't help fight terrorists.
He said that Armitage had told him, "Be prepared to go back to the Stone Age."
Armitage has disputed the language attributed to him but did not deny the message was a strong one.
Asked about the report, 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."
For his part, Musharraf declined to comment and cited a contract agreement with a publisher on an upcoming book. However, he told CBS the Stone Age warning "was a very rude remark."
You'd think the leader of the freakin' free world would have some idea what his staff was telling fellow world leaders -- especially if what was being said by staffers amounted to the promise of war.
Really, are we supposed to believe that Armitage just pulled this out of his ass? Those are our options here -- either Bush is clueless and has no control over his staff or he's lying.
Although, it's always possible he's a clueless liar.
Tags: news politics war diplomacy Bush Pakistan Musharraf
