Special report: Tension escalates in Iraq
Special report: Al-Qaida's chief Zarqawi
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Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's
memoir "In The Line of Fire" is displayed at a Washington bookstore on
Sept. 25, 2006. (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery
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BEIJING, Sept. 27 (Xinhuanet) -- The Iraq war has made the
world more dangerous, said Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf in a
CNN interview. Musharraf wrote "In the Line of Fire," published on Monday
in New York.
Musharraf writes in the book that he never supported
the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq.
"I stand by it, absolutely," Musharraf said in the
program "The Situation Room." Asked whether he disagreed with Bush, he said,
"I've stated whatever I had to ... it (the war) has made the world a more
dangerous place."
He also disclosed that former U.S. Deputy Secretary
of State Richard Armitage told a Pakistani official that the United States would
bomb Pakistan "back to the stone age" if it did not cooperate with Washington
after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
However, Armitage has denied he made the threat,
saying he just gave Pakistan a tough message, telling the Muslim nation it was
either "with us or against us." Meanwhile, Musharraf stressed he was told of the
threat by the Pakistani intelligence director.
"I have written whatever I heard," Musharraf
said.
But Musharraf said he agreed to cooperate in the war
on terror in the interests of Pakistan whether or not the threat was made.
"The first thing that came to my mind was Pakistan,
Pakistani interest, Pakistan security."
Meanwhile, Musharraf's book has drawn a wide range of
disputes in Pakistan. Opposition party Pakistan Muslim League Parliamentary
leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali accused Musharraf of disclosing important national
secrets.
In the memoir, Pakistan's leader offers a candid
account of his life and political career, offering revealing details about his
rise to power, the perils he has faced, the hunt for bin Laden and other
al-Qaida terrorists, the struggle with India, and other key issues.
The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency has paid
Pakistan millions of U.S. dollars for catching al-Qaida fighters during the five
years since the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States in 2001. Enditem
(Agencies)