Musharraf 'war-gamed' U.S., concluded Pakistan would lose

[ECH1969]

Pakistan's military ruler, Pervez Musharraf, says he contemplated war with the United States in 2001 but opted instead to forsake the Taliban and become President George W. Bush's ally.

"I war-gamed the United States as an adversary," the Pakistani leader wrote in his martially titled memoirs In the Line of Fire, published yesterday. It apparently didn't take the general, then an international pariah for having staged a coup to toppled his country's democratic government, very long to conclude that Pakistan would lose.

In the days after suicide hijackings destroyed New York's World Trade Center and damaged the Pentagon, Mr. Bush warned that countries harbouring or helping terrorists would share their fate. The book offers a bolder account of its author in retelling of the night when Pakistan's fragile democracy was toppled in 1999. At the time, fearing a coup, the government had ordered the plane carrying Gen. Musharraf to leave Pakistani airspace.

The Airbus was running low on fuel, he wrote, "but I kept cool. After my tough training as a commando and years of military service, I have deliberately trained myself never to panic in a crisis. My attitude about death is that if it has to happen, it will happen."

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20060926.PAKISTAN26/TPStory/TPInternational/Asia/

[EarthNeedsHope]

1. This is the leader of my family's country

I can't believe he wrote a memoir. How about getting more kids food in Pakistan and then taking time off to write a memoir. This is practically a Pakistani Bush.

[supernova]

2. He "war-gamed" us?

And concluded that Pakistan would lose? Wow. I must file that under "no shit, Sherlock."

[NOLADEM]

3. Really, Mushie?

Wonder how that went....


Hey War Cabinet!!

YES SIR.

Prepare a report post haste that war games our forces against the Americans.

(CHUCKLE) ARE YOU SERIOUS?

Yes, why?

(PFFFFT, CHUCKLE) OK....(3 second pause)....HERE YA GO. (Hands drawing of mushroom cloud to Mushie)

Oh, ok... Guess we better go to plan B.

WHAT'S PLAN B SIR?

Appease the enemy to help arrives.

[EarthNeedsHope]

4. X D

Funny!

[Parche]

6. war games

Its like this..............."Pilots to the ready room............Pilots man your camels"

[daleo]

5. Not a cakewalk, given Pakistan's population and nuclear weapons

Sure, the U.S. could win an all out war (especially with India's help), but it wouldn't have been pretty for anyone. And a U.S. occupation of Pakistan would be a bloodbath for both sides.

[tocqueville]

7. all this is BS

even if it's probably true that the US made threats to Pakistan, it's not likely that the US had nuked Pakistan. If Musharaf had really "wargamed" he had found out that despite massive destruction, an invasion of Pakistan had been the total quagmire. Probably (as other leaders in this region) they overestimated the US possibilities and leadership. So they chose to be on the "winning side".

5 years after after the Iraqi, Afghani and Lebanese experiences, Mushie founds out that he was wrong and that the US are only a "paper tiger" as Mao used to say. So he has to find the big excuse that he was coerced, just to stay in power. Besides his nukes are now more and functioning and he is getting better and better projection capabilities. That explains the recent "fuck the OBL search" sent to the US.

I bet that some parts of the Pakistani establishment are not going to buy this in the end and that the whole thing can turn very dangerous if Mushie is blown up in some suicide attack.

[w4rma]

8. As opposed to Bush who wargamed Iraq and lost, but still declared war.(nt)