Der Spiegel - Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf rules a country on the front lines in the war against terror. For years he has walked the difficult tight-rope of pacifying a Muslim population and maintaining a close alliance with the US. SPIEGEL spoke with him about anti-Americanism, the hunt for Osama bin Laden and whether Iran should be allowed to go nuclear.
BBC - Pakistan has denied that President Pervez Musharraf told a German magazine that Iran was "very anxious" to have a nuclear bomb.
Reuters - Iran demanded an explanation on Sunday of comments attributed to Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf saying Iran was eager to develop a nuclear bomb.
Makes you wonder what the real truth is. Sometimes the context of the interview tells the truth. Here is the incriminating excerpt:
Print - SPIEGEL Interview with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf - SPIEGEL ONLINE
SPIEGEL: Pakistan justified its going nuclear with the imbalance of power in South Asia after India had gone nuclear. Iran is setting out to break the monopoly of Israel in the Middle East.
Musharraf: But Iran doesn't have a border with Israel. We have a big border with India which is a real threat for us.
"You in there Osama?" Tora Bora was the closest bin Laden has come to being captured after the September 11 attacks.
"You in there Osama?" Tora Bora was the closest bin Laden has come to being captured after the September 11 attacks.
SPIEGEL: The US is trying hard to protect the world from Iran going nuclear. Would you support a pre-emptive strike?
Musharraf: In the present environment it would be disastrous because it would agitate the Muslim world. Why keep opening new fronts?
SPIEGEL: What would you suggest for keeping the Iranians from producing the bomb?
Musharraf: I can't say. They are very keen on building the bomb.
SPIEGEL: As Pakistan was.
Musharraf: Yes, we were keen. Nobody can accept a threat to its existence. Therefore we are very proud to have nuclear weapons.
SPIEGEL: Did Pakistan help Iran and North Korea to go nuclear?
Musharraf: An individual from Pakistan did.
SPIEGEL: His name is A.Q. Khan and it is very hard for people like us to accept that he indulged in a clandestine enterprise without anybody in Pakistan being aware of it.
Musharraf: That is exactly what happened. When India went nuclear in 1974, Dr. A.Q. Khan was brought in (to Pakistan). He came from Holland. He is only an expert in enriching uranium, bringing it to weapons grade. He is not an expert in making nuclear bombs. He started establishing the process. This had to be kept secret from the world because otherwise the world would not have allowed it. For reasons of secrecy, A.Q. Khan was given total autonomy. He was doing a job nobody else knew about except for the President, the army chief and the scientists.
SPIEGEL: And you -- when did you become aware of what was going on?
Musharraf: During my career in the army I was never involved in nuclear affairs. I came in as army chief in 1998, in 1999 I became President. I realized that this man was doing something wrong. Nobody was checking. I removed him in January 2001, much before 9/11 because, as my intelligence told me, he was behaving suspiciously on two or three occasions. To remove him was the most difficult job. He was a national hero. I organized the custodial system.
SPIEGEL: What was A.Q. Khan driven by? Greed?
Musharraf: Greed, ego and dreams, because he is not religious. That I know. And in any case, North Korea is certainly not an Islamic country.
The context says to me Musharraf knows Iran wants the bomb add made the faux paux by sharing the truth rather than the politically correct answer. And just how would Musharraf know so much about Iran's intentions? Because he knows all about Kahn's interactions with Iran. He speaks confidently about his knowledge, telling the truth.
He only denies it later because he has back channel communications with Iran and doesn't want to jeopardize them with the fickle actions of the US with India. Certainly, these back channel communications are not a recent development with the "strategic" alliance with the US. I suspect that Pakistani intelligence knew all about Kahn's activities while it happened with it's tacit support.
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