A tough warning
The week's news at a glance.
Washington, D.C.
“Be prepared to be bombed. Be prepared to go back to the Stone Age.” That, says Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, was the warning delivered to one of his aides by then–Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage after the 9/11 terror attacks. Musharraf recounts the story in his new memoir, In the Line of Fire, which he is promoting this week during a visit to the U.S. Shortly after 9/11, Musharraf writes, Armitage sought Pakistan’s help in destroying al Qaida forces and rooting out the Taliban, which Pakistan had supported before 9/11. When Pakistan intelligence director Gen. Mahmoud Ahmad resisted some of Armitage’s demands, Musharraf writes, Armitage made his bomb threat. Armitage says that while he told Ahmad that “Pakistan would need to be for us or against us,” he made no threats.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Trinidadian doubles recipe
The Week Recommends 'Dangerously addictive', this traditional Caribbean street food is the height of finger-licking goodness
By Rebekah Evans, The Week UK
-
Labour and the so-called 'banter ban'
Talking Point Critics are claiming that a clause in the new Employment Rights Bill will spell the end of free-flowing pub conversation
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK
-
Andor series two: a 'perfect' Star Wars show
The Week Recommends Second instalment of Tony Gilroy's 'compelling' spin-off is a triumph
By Irenie Forshaw, The Week UK