CNN reporter Christiane Amanpour’s hard hitting interview of Pakistani dictator Gen. Pervez Musharraf needs to be commended for bringing out the stark truths behind his offer of “unstinted” cooperation to the global war against terrorism. The interview was highlighted by Gen. Musharraf’s evasiveness about his own support to terrorism and his admission of his own government’s links to the Taliban over the last several years, as well as the existence of thousands of anti-US ‘madrassas’.

Acknowledging Pakistan’s links to the Taliban, Musharraf claimed that these were in the national interest. Thus having admitted complicity with a regime that has hosted Bin Laden and his Al Qaida network, Musharraf offered no regret over Pakistan’s actions. Pakistan’s sustenance of the Taliban and its close links to the Al Qaida have resulted in a global terrorist explosion that reached the shores of the US on September 11th.

Gen. Musharraf also admitted that the US has not shared any evidence or war plans with it. This underscores the mistrust of American officials of a government that has close links both with the Taliban and the Al Qaida organization.

Gen. Musharraf admitted to the existence of over 7,000 ‘madrassas’ which graduate about 700,000 students every year in Pakistan. He acknowledged that many of the madrassas teach only religion and are breeding grounds for anti-US sentiment. The students of these madrassas are taught the same principles of jehad which were applied so cold-bloodedly by the 19 WTC/Pentagon hijackers.

To a question about terrorist groups operating within Pakistan, Gen. Musharraf gave his most evasive and untruthful reply. He claimed that he had no knowledge of terrorist groups operating in the country. The State Department lists at least three Pakistani terrorist groups, Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed that target Jammu and Kashmir state of India. These groups have well known connections to global terrorism and collaborate with the Al Qaida network.

This interview has exposed the Pakistani mindset, and reaffirmed fears about its real goals. If its national interests lie in supporting the Taliban while it spread terrorism and jehad around the world, then Pakistan is a rogue country and the world needs to take immediate steps to dismantle its nuclear arsenal and its many terrorist groups.