Posted on 06/24/2003 10:17:23 PM PDT by JohnHuang2
W A S H I N G T O N, June 24— Fresh from his meeting with President Bush at Camp David, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf sat down with ABCNEWS' Ted Koppel to recount the day's events and to discuss, among other things, possible Pakistani involvement in Iraq, his position on Israel, and his own presidential powers. Following are excerpts of the interview.
TED KOPPEL: Did the president raise with you [today] the question of sending Pakistani troops to Iraq?
PRESIDENT MUSHARRAF: He did. He did talk of the Iraq dispute, and we did discuss Pakistan troops. In principle, we would agree, but we are looking at the modalities. …
KOPPEL: When you talk about the modalities, for example, would that mean that the United States would undertake the cost of those troops being in Iraq? Would that be one of the modalities?
MUSHARRAF: Yes. One of the issues is certainly the financial package, because it wouldn't be fair to expect Pakistan itself to finance such a large force. The other is the political issues, which one is considering. … The issue is not of controlling a Muslim state, but the issue is more the perception of the Muslim world, and we need to see whether if it can get United Nations cover or the OIC cover or maybe the GCC cover. That is what we are looking for.
KOPPEL: So, in other words, you wouldn't want to send the troops over [to Iraq] as Pakistani troops per se, but as Pakistani troops under a U.N. flag or a Gulf state flag?
MUSHARRAF: Yes. Additional countries participating. This is one area we are examining, as I said. … I feel the main problem is to establish some semblance of governance by the Iraqi people, because governance can't be done by any non-Iraqi, extensively. You can be in focal points, but the Iraqis themselves have to govern themselves. That is the only way of making it successful, and since there is a total collapse, that is a major issue.
The other issue is certainly political, in that there are three major groups: the Shias in the south, and the Kurds in the north — with implications on Iran, Syria, Turkey — and then Sunnis in the center. This is another problem area where governance really will face some challenges.
KOPPEL: What do your intelligence people tell you, and what does your experience as a military man tell you, as you see these almost daily clashes between Iraqis and the U.S. military? Do you have the sense that that is organized, or do you have the sense that these are just isolated incidents?
MUSHARRAF: Well, I wouldn't be able to accurately comment on that, frankly, but it is a cause of concern all right that these incidents are taking place. But then, having said that, one should have realized that, after all, where is the ex-Iraqi army? Where is the Republican Guard of the troops which are supposed to be so loyal to President Saddam Hussein?
U.S.-Pakistani Relations
KOPPEL: Are you satisfied that the United States is supportive of Pakistan? I believe it's accurate to say that you have wanted Washington to become more involved in, for example, the Kashmiri dispute. Has President Bush given you any reason to believe that he will?
MUSHARRAF: Yes, he always says that he will remain committed to bringing peace and harmony between India and Pakistan.
KOPPEL: But remaining committed is a different thing from becoming involved. For example, he has just become involved, for the first time, in the road map to peace in the Middle East. Would you like to see him become involved in a similar fashion in a dispute between India and Pakistan?
MUSHARRAF: Pakistan would certainly like [that], because we are of the opinion that unless there is external influence, whether you call it mediation or facilitation, but unfortunately the other side, the Indian side that talks of a bilateral resolution of everything — although they know that there is a deal of facilitation going on behind the scenes — they don't want to talk about it. We believe in talking, whatever is really happening. So Pakistan would encourage it. We would certainly like to have his involvement …
On Israel
KOPPEL: The question has been raised whether Pakistan might, at some point, recognize Israel as a state.
MUSHARRAF: I did say that, if at all these peace talks progress toward an improvement obligation, or toward a resolution of the Palestinian dispute, then, in consultation with our other Muslim friends, one would like to examine our approach or our policy toward Israel which is, at the most, at the moment, totally antagonistic.
KOPPEL: But unilaterally, you would not do that.
MUSHARRAF: Well, at this moment, since it's such a sensitive issue, one needs to take the nation into confidence. Consensus has to be developed in the nation to see what does the nation really want. But, certainly, our past showed that we have been, as they say, "more Catholic than the pope" on this issue, which needs to be re-examined in the future.
Presidential Powers
KOPPEL: You took over, Mr. President, in 1999, and there has been some expectation that at some point or another you would give up one hat or the other — your military hat or your civilian hat as president. You have shown no inclination to do either. Why?
MUSHARRAF: Well, if you remember, I was wearing four hats, initially. When I took over, I was the chief of army staff, I was the chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, I was the chief executive, and I was the president.
Now, I didn't take or wear these hats by choice. They were really the circumstances put me in the situation that I was wearing four hats. But then I realized that this is not correct. I started removing the hats. On the first opportunity, I removed — I gave up my position as chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, and then, in accordance with the Supreme Court orders, I gave up my third position as the chief executive. … Once I feel that the harmony is there, stability has come, political institutions have started functioning and they have been cemented, I would certainly like to take off this, the one hat that remains.
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