The U.S.-Pakistan Relationship Shows the First Sign of Tension
October 10, 2001
From The New York Times
" Mr. Bush used today's event to discuss the unrest in Pakistan for the first time. "I understand people's willingness to protest," he said, "but they should not protest the decisions OUR coalition is making, because it is
in the best interest of freedom and humankind."
……………………………………***************……………………….
"Several of his (Bush's) own aides winced, one saying that Mr. Bush is clearly tired, another noting that in internal meetings, Mr. Bush is "repeating over and over again the need for secrecy."
From The New York Times
By DAVID E. SANGER
WASHINGTON, Oct. 9 — The White
House today contradicted statements by
Pakistan's president that he had received "definite
assurances" that the military operation in
Afghanistan would be short, the first sign of strain in
the delicate relationship between President Bush
and Gen. Pervez Musharraf, the Pakistani leader.
Asked this afternoon about General Musharraf's
comments, which seemed part of his government's
effort to calm protests in major cities across
Pakistan, Mr. Bush seemed annoyed.
"I don't know who told the Pakistani president that," Mr. Bush said. "Generally, you know, we don't talk
about military plans." He said there was "one way to shorten the campaign in Afghanistan, and that's for the
— Osama bin Laden and his leadership to be turned over so they can be brought to justice."
The public airing of differences with Pakistan reflected the growing tension between the United States and
Pakistan over the strategy being pursued in the war against Mr. bin Laden's terrorist network and the Taliban
leadership of Afghanistan. Mr. Bush has used every opportunity to signal to the Taliban that he will apply
military force until the network is cracked, and has all but said he will topple the Taliban itself for harboring
Mr. bin Laden.
General Musharraf, in contrast, clearly wants to portray to his own people
that the attacks are a brief, unpleasant chapter on the way to a friendlier
government in Afghanistan. In conversations with American officials he has
made it clear that a long conflict would make it far more difficult to contain
the protests by Islamic hard-liners in Pakistan.
"Every day this goes on is more painful for him," one senior administration
official said. "He wants to hear that it won't take long, and he's repeating
what he wants to hear."
That is apparently what happened on Monday, when General Musharraf,
speaking in English, said, "One is hoping — and I have got definite
assurances — that this operation will be short."
But today White House officials strongly hinted that General Musharraf never
received such assurances. Asked whether the general had been told the
campaign would be brief by any senior American officials, Ari Fleischer, the
president's spokesman, said "not to my knowledge."
At another point in the same briefing, Mr. Fleischer said the action against the
Taliban would be a "long one," though he appeared to be referring to
activities beyond the airstrikes now under way.
Mr. Bush used today's event to discuss the unrest in Pakistan for the first time. "I understand people's
willingness to protest," he said, "but they should not protest the decisions our coalition is making, because it is
in the best interest of freedom and humankind."
Asked twice if he still wants Mr. bin Laden "dead or alive," a comment he made several times last month, he
said, "I want there to be justice." And once again he turned the subject to the terrorist network, as the White
House has done consistently in recent weeks. Mr. Bush, his aides say, sees no benefit in personalizing the
conflict, and he has not yet said what he thought of Mr. bin Laden's taped message on Sunday afternoon.
Mr. Bush's comments about Pakistan came as he stood this afternoon in the Rose Garden with Chancellor
Gerhard Schröder of Germany, whom he thanked for the symbolic and highly unusual step of participating in
NATO-led air surveillance over the United States.
The NATO aircraft are filling in for American Awacs that have been sent to the Middle East and Central
Asia. By sending its aircraft here, Germany can contribute to NATO's commitment to aid in the war on
terrorism, without crossing the threshold of sending its own armed forces into battle.
"I have, and you might remember me saying that, never excluded military contributions coming from the
Federal Republic of Germany," Mr. Schröder said today. "We most obviously addressed this topic today."
Mr. Bush used part of his news conference today to chastise Congress for leaking information, and he was
particularly blunt when asked at one point whether the United States was preparing to put ground troops in
Afghanistan.
Rather than simply glide past the question — which he usually does when confronted with an issue he would
rather not discuss — Mr. Bush reiterated that he would say nothing about military operations or intelligence.
"As to whether or not we will put troops on the ground, I'm not going to tell you," he said, seeming to suggest
— by tone rather than words — that reporters were seeking to compromise sensitive military operations.
Several of his own aides winced, one saying that Mr. Bush is clearly tired, another noting that in internal meetings, Mr. Bush is "repeating over and over again the need for secrecy."
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