Pervez Musharraf, we are told, is America's ally in the war on terror. But it could turn out that the Pakistani military ruler has been double-dealing the U.S. for years. It might be that Musharraf is an enemy not an ally:
The Pakistani scientist blamed for running a rogue network that sold nuclear secrets to North Korea, Iran and Libya has recanted his confession, telling ABC News the Pakistani government and President Perez Musharraf forced him to be a "scapegoat" for the "national interest."
"I don't stand by that," Dr. A.Q. Khan told ABC News in a 35-minute phone interview from his home in Islamabad, where he has been detained since "confessing" that he ran the nuclear network on his own, without the knowledge of the Pakistani government. The interview will be broadcast Friday on "World News With Charles Gibson."
It was his first interview with an American journalist in a series of telephone interviews he has granted this week, marking the 10th anniversary of Pakistan's first test of a nuclear bomb.
"People were asking a lot of questions, so I said, 'OK. Let me give an answer,'" Khan told ABC News early Friday, Pakistan time.
As to his widely publicized confession, Khan said he was told by Musharraf that it would get the United States "off our backs" and that he was promised he would be quickly pardoned. "Those people who were supposed to know knew it," Khan said about his activities.
If true, it would mean Pakistan lied to the U.S. and the international community about its role in providing nuclear weapons technology to Iran, North Korea and Libya.
The Bush administration isn't concerned about the whether Pakistan is unreliable. They like their boy Musharraf. They are more concerned about the consequences would be if the Pakistani strongman were forced to step down. The Bush gang are worried about real democracy taking place in Pakistan:
Pressed by a swirl of rumors that he was about to be ousted, President Pervez Musharraf insisted this week that he was staying, and President Bush on Friday confirmed his continued support with a reassuring phone call to Mr. Musharraf, the White House said.
Mr. Musharraf was forced at an official dinner Thursday night to deny rumors of his imminent departure, speaking after a Pakistani newspaper reported that the chief of army staff, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, met with him on Wednesday to persuade him to resign.
At the same time, the Pakistani military confirmed that General Kayani had removed a loyalist to Mr. Musharraf from one of the army’s most significant posts.
[...]In his telephone conversation with the Pakistani president, Mr. Bush “reiterated the United States’ strong support for Pakistan, and he indicated that he looked forward to President Musharraf’s continuing role in further strengthening United States-Pakistani relations,” said the White House spokeswoman, Dana Perino.
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