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Now, out of all the interviews that you've had in these many years, there's the one that stands out.
As the most profound. Ooh, most profound interview.
Well, so I've interviewed people like literal dictators, like people that have killed people like Prevez I don't know if you remember. Proves Musharaff was the leader of Pakistan and this was post nine to eleven, so, and al Qaeda had been threatening him with an assassination. Now I've had great like Malalai Yasausi and Bishop Desmond too too, Jimmy Carter, like people of pure goodness like you just they they vibrate on a different plane of kindness and goodness than
most people, and you can feel it on them. And then you have dictators slightly different vibe. So Prevez musharf it was only memorable because so he was at the time the president of Pakistan and he was under assassination threat. He'd just written a book and it was his autobiography, I think, and so he came here to the show to promote it. And that day we had snipers on the roof, we had AK forty seven's in the hallway, guys marching, we had bomb dogs, we had I mean, it was a level.
Of security that I had never seen before.
And I realized, like, this man is risking his life to tell his story on this show.
I should have read the book.
That's what I remember thinking is I thought, I thought, oh shit, I feel terrible. Now here's this guy's he could die and I'm just gonna be like, so is Pakistan hot?
Like I didn't know?
But so the crazy part was, even with all that security layer right in the studio, they put a kevlar front on the desk Like this was no bullshit.
This was Many of you.
Are younger, so you don't remember after nine to eleven, like we all lost our minds safety wise. Like so they put a kevlar front on the Daily Show desk and I'm in there and I'm looking at it, and I say, because there are secret service agents from both countries America and Pakistan in the room, and I go,
what's so, tell me about this, what's going on? And they said, well, if somebody manages to get through any kind of security issues and tries to assassinate President Musharaff, we will jump and push him down below the kevlar to protect him from the bullets. And I said, you know, funny thing is I'm also you know, because you know, I understand he'll be there and then I'll be sitting there. What should I do without missing to be in New York City? Copwalk bind he goes, should fucking duck.
My guest?
Tonight?
The President of Pakistan.
His new memoir is called in the Line of Fire. Please welcome President Pervez.
Musharaf is done.
Thank you, Thank you, sir.
Now I know it is.
It is customary in Pakistan to offer tea to a guest, uh for hospitality's sake.
So I have brought you this is a jasmine green tea.
Thank you, may I pour Yes, indeed, thank you sir.
This is Do you recognize Is this a tea that is recognizable to you?
Yeah? It is, it is.
It is.
It's good.
Is it a bargain tea? Have I insulted you in any way?
No, no you didn't.
It's a good but it is good tea. I've also uh, this is an American delaxy. It's called a twinkie. Uh.
It is uh the so you, thank you, thank you.
Uh. It is made up of a collection of things that are not edible, but when put all together it becomes edible.
We don't know how they do it. Uh, let me have this, uh so please, sir.
To you, yeah, to your health, Sir, thank you so much for doing We appreciate it.
Thank you. Uh m hmmm.
Good?
Is it good? Where's where's Osama bin Lad?
I don't know you know him? You know very You lead on, We'll follow you.
Thank you very much, Sir. I have to say this this I know, I confess to you.
I know not that much about the history of Pakistan, your history. This is a remarkable tale told in various plain spoken language about a really difficult, volatile situation that you confront in Pakistan, holding together people that are moderate, people that are more extreme, people that are tribal, and trying to connect it all. How has that been? To hold that together?
A difficult job, indeed, and especially made more difficult because international perceptions are pulling in one direction and domestic perception sometimes pull in the different directions. So I've had there to learn the art of titrope walking many times, and I think I've become quite an expert at that.
I do a diplomatic aspect of appealing to It was very interesting to me to read.
Your thought process. After nine to eleven.
You received a phone call from Colin Powell the next day saying, get on board or get off board.
You are with us against us.
Two days later Richard Armitage is under Secretary Cause and said, oh, and by the way, if you don't, there's some bunker busters with Pakistan's name on it.
But your thought process was very logical, walked through us.
What you were thinking well, thought process was basically the interest of my own country, the national interest of Pakistan and the security of Pakistan. And in that one did, of course take into consideration that we are a nuclear state and destabilization of a nuclear state would cause disturbance to the whole world, obviously, and one has to take very deliberate decisions that you do not cause such a
such an upheaval. But basically, may I say, all said and done, Primarily it was our Pakistan's national interest on which I based the decision. It happened to be in the interest of the world also, and therefore we are pursuing it with all the vigor.
It was interesting to me that one of your first thoughts was can we take these guys in terms of America. When they said that, you know, I wasn't expecting that. I wasn't expecting one of your first thoughts to be all right, so let's see. Okay, let's say we do go to war with America. Okay, and you drew it out on the board, and you thought.
Let me admit that we did take into consideration everything, should we adopt a confrontationist approach, and should we cooperate at all? Now, if you did not cooperate, then obviously somebody else would cooperate.
They are going to be knew that the United States is.
Going to reach out to. Whoever did this will tell restacked over ninety eleven. And they happen to be in Afghanistan. There is no way of reaching Afghanistan except through Pagistan. So therefore, whether we are on board or not, they would be treading through Pakistan, whether through its airspace or through its land. Therefore, this had to be taken into constitutions.
Certainly, why is it that the North and Western Provinces, the Waziristan, in those areas that are so difficult to gain control of, you actually recently made a truce with some tribal leaders in that era, I was saying, in America, the idea of you know, let's say making a truce with Florida or you know, because we wouldn't.
They don't deserve it.
But here you are the leader of the state and you're going to them. What is required in a truce with these leaders is it saying will let you be as long as you don't hurt the national interest.
So first of all, we need to understand with hum are be reaching the truth? And then we need to understand what is the greatest danger that is confronting us there. Today the focus has shifted from al Qaida to Taliban in that area. Now what is the greatest danger? And Taliban are the people. They are the locals, They are the Patuon ethnic group. They whereas al Qaeda were not the locals, they were outsiders and they were easily recognizable.
These people are from the people. And now the greatest danger is that this Taliban movement gets converted into a platoon people's movement. So therefore, the important thing at this moment, as I see it, the strategy is ween the people away from the Taliban, ween the non Taliban paktoon away from the Taliban paktoon. Now, that is the basis of whatever we are doing.
Will they no longer than give hospitality to the al Qaedas that live in the area, the bad Taliban so to speak.
Yes, indeed, this is an agreement not to support the Taliban, but to fight the Taliban, to confront the Taliban.
Well, that was nice.
In the book, you are one of the primary targets about Kaida. You describe two assassination attempts, both on the same bridge. By the way, you know, I'm not again a leader of a country. I come up with a new way to go to work, but the same bridge. This is al Qaeda trying to say, apparently feeling that you have been successful in combating them and terrorism.
Yes, indeed we have been successful because we eliminated them from our cities. We got always six hundred, about six hundred and eighty of them from the cities. They know more in our cities, and therefore I keep traveling through the same bridge every time.
Are they extras in Pakistan?
A noisy minority?
You seem to be at the forefront of the threats, yet you seem much calmer about it than we are.
Yes, I am but yeah, we're gonna take a commercial.
We're gonna come back with a little more. Mister President, thank you so much again for joining us.
We'll be right back.
How long back we're here with President Chavez. Musharaff In your book, it's an incredible autobiography of a life, very interesting life.
There's no mention of Iraq.
Is that because you felt like it was such a smart move and has gone so well.
That to mention it would be gloating.
No, I think we were so overly concerned without area. I have mentioned about in a passing reference to Iraq, and I know that the situation, whatever the reasons of going there, I wouldn't get involved in a debate on that. But it has led certainly to more extremism and terrorism around the world.
So we're safer.
No, we're not.
We're not safer.
But I believe in looking at the present and then trying to work out strategies for the future.
That's what we should When you met with the president, you met with our president a few days ago, are you able to speak candidly with him about what you feel is working and what isn't And is he.
Seem open or paying attention or does he let's say, have the TV on or.
Let me give to his credit.
First of all, well, we didn't discuss I rack if you're meaning that, but we did discuss Afghanistan and the environment around on our side of the border.
He was listening carefully.
And because he sleeps with his eyes open. I just want you to know that.
All right, mister President, We're delighted that you're here, but we have to put you on the Daily Show seat of heat show. Let's say if they were an election held in Pakistan today and not clearly for your job, because you're doing a wonderful job for let's say the merrialty of Karachi or Ombudsman or something uh, and we put up two candidates, George W. Bush and Oshama bin Laden be truthful, who would win a popular vote in Pakistan?
I think they'll they'll both lose miserably.
You're you're off the.
Sated in, sir, well done in the line of fire a memoir.
It's on the book.
Heels now, President, profession.
Musha, what about before we go?
As always?
The second with our good friends Stephen Colbert at the Colbert Report.
Stephen, Hey, John, sorry about the muscle here but today's guest has made security insane.
Really because all right, yeah we had we had General Maha, So it's sort of similar, who's your ted dance?
And John.
Might not know to look at him, but he's been shot at more times than fifty cent. So we got bulletproof glass around in the studio, gotta wrap the whole audience and full body keV Lar, And just to be on the safe side, we placed an ankle tracking bracelet on Shelley Long.
Are you Are you being protected?
Steven? You kidding? John?
Only protection I need comes from the blinding radiance of my pearly whites.
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