Jump to content

Post-26/11, Pranab's tough words rattled Pakistan: Condoleezza Rice


Recommended Posts

Posted

Tough talking by the then External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, following the 26/11 attacks, rattled Pakistan so much that it pressed the panic button and called everyone from Chinese to the Americans saying that India has decided to go to war. At one point, the then Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice also panicked temporarily after she could not get Mukherjee on line even after repeated attempts. "The Pakistanis say the Indians have warned them that they've decided to go to war," a White House aide anxiously called Rice. As a result of the wrong rumour coming out of Pakistan, the then US President George Bush asked her to travel to Islamabad and New Delhi to defuse the situation, Rice says in her latest book 'No High Honors' that is scheduled to hit the book stores next week. "What?" Rice uttered after the White House aide told her about the message from Pakistan. "That isn't what they're (India) telling me. In my many conversations with the Indians over the two days, they'd emphasised their desire to defuse the situation and their need for the Pakistanis to do something to show that they accepted responsibility for tracking down the terrorists," Rice wrote in her 766-page book. Rice asked the operations centre to get Mukherjee on the phone, but they couldn't reach him. Consequently she started getting nervous and she thought that Mukherjee was trying to avoid her as New Delhi was preparing for war. "I called back again. No response. By now the international phone lines were buzzing with the news. The Pakistanis were calling everyone--the Saudis, the Emiratis, the Chinese. Finally Mukherjee called back. I told him what I'd heard," Rice wrote. "'What?' he said. 'I'm in my constituency. (The Indians were preparing for elections, and Mukherjee, who was a member of Parliament, was at home campaigning.) Would I be outside New Delhi if we were about to launch a war?'" Mukherjee asked. Rice said Mukherjee explained that the Pakistani foreign minister (Shah Mehmood Qureshi) had taken his stern words in their recent phone call the wrong way. "'I said they were leaving us no choice but to go to war', he said," Rice recalled adding "This is getting dangerous, I thought." On her emergency visit to New Delhi after the Mumbai attacks, Rice said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the Foreign Minister both categorically told her that they were against war, despite increasing public pressure, but wanted Pakistan to do something. And when she arrived in Islamabad, the Pakistani leadership were still denying what the world knew by then that the attackers were from Pakistan. "The Pakistanis were at once terrified and in the same breath dismissive of the Indian claims. President Zardari emphasised his desire to avoid war but couldn't bring himself to acknowledge Pakistan's likely role in the attacks," Rice writes. Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani, in a long speech told her that terrorists who had launched the attack had nothing to do with Pakistan. "Mr Prime Minister, I said, either you're lying to me or your people are lying to you. I then went on to tell him what we--the United States--knew about the origins of the attack," she wrote. "I didn't accuse Pakistan's government of involvement; that wasn't the point. But rogues within the security services might have aided the terrorists. It was time to admit that and to investigate more seriously," she said. "Finally, I went to meet the chief of staff, General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani. Our military liked him and considered him honest and effective. He was the one person who, even if he couldn't admit responsibility, understood that Pakistan would have to give an accounting of what had happened. That was a start," she wrote. In this separate chapter on Mumbai, Rice recollects receiving frantic calls from the American Ambassadors in New Delhi and Islamabad. "Ambassador (David) Mulford's message was stark. 'There is war fever here. I don't know if the Prime Minister can hold out. Everyone knows that the terrorists came from Pakistan'. "I then talked to Anne (Patterson). Her message was just as clear. 'They have their heads in the sand,' she said," Rice wrote in her book. :hysterical::hysterical::hysterical::hysterical::hysterical::hysterical: Poor pakis Small conflict like Kargil pushed Pakistan 10 year behind. Full Scale war will push pakis in Middle age.. http://www.hindustantimes.com/Post-26-11-Pranab-s-words-rattled-Pak-Rice/Article1-762065.aspx

Posted

:hysterical::hysterical::hysterical::hysterical::hysterical::hysterical::hysterical: Aukat toh kuch hai nahi, bas terrorist attacks karne aate hai. Loved the way Pranab made them wet their pants :hehe:

Posted

they can't fight face to face and only good at attacking from behind....no wonder gay sex is the most searched term on google in pakistan

Posted

keep in mind full fledged war now will push us back too .SO no need to go gaga about it ,but incase terrorism from Pakistani side keeps going on then, we will have no option ,but to go all out (which I doubt ).

Posted
"Finally, I went to meet the chief of staff, General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani. Our military liked him and considered him honest and effective. He was the one person who, even if he couldn't admit responsibility, understood that Pakistan would have to give an accounting of what had happened. That was a start," she wrote.
I would like to know what the US Military think of him now. Pretty sure it would be the exact opposite of Rice's endorsement of the General "Snake-face" Kayani
Posted

Look at the big talk here. Pakistan won't exist after a full scale war? Wow just wow.Keyboard warriors in full flow here. This generation of Indians and Pakistanis don't know the meaning of war. It will be disaster for both and both won't be able to recover for decades.

Posted
Look at the big talk here. Pakistan won't exist after a full scale war? Wow just wow.Keyboard warriors in full flow here. This generation of Indians and Pakistanis don't know the meaning of war. It will be disaster for both and both won't be able to recover for decades.
Since your relevant operational missiles are liquid fuellled (its questionable how effective Shaheen 2,3 really are), a few dozen hypersonic brahmos missiles loaded onto couple of su30 mki squadrons, should be enough to take out all your launch sites (and believe me after the induction of a comprehensive satellite system , India will know the locations of all your launch sites: stationary and mobile). If some missiles do manage to escape the net that India will have in place at the border, DRDO scientists have been hard at work developing the two tier ABM system. Why do you think India hasn't attacked your sorry asses yet? These above mentioned moves are in development mode. Once that is taken care of. Its open season. Regardless, its funny how easily you pakis play the nuke card.
Posted
Since your relevant operational missiles are liquid fuellled (its questionable how effective Shaheen 2,3 really are), a few dozen hypersonic brahmos missiles loaded onto couple of su30 mki squadrons, should be enough to take out all your launch sites (and believe me after the induction of a comprehensive satellite system , India will know the locations of all your launch sites: stationary and mobile). If some missiles do manage to escape the net that India will have in place at the border, DRDO scientists have been hard at work developing the two tier ABM system. Why do you think India hasn't attacked your sorry asses yet? These above mentioned moves are in development mode. Once that is taken care of. Its open season. Regardless, its funny how easily you pakis play the nuke card.
Thank you for educating me Sir. BTW where did I play nuke card?
Posted
Thank you for educating me Sir. BTW where did I play nuke card?
the only way there are heavy casualities on India side is if your lunatic military heads launch preemptive nuke strike. Hell, a full scale war won't last 2 weeks. India would do a blockade in arabian sea and you would be starved of fuel. Checkmate. You people have been playing the nuke card for last 12 years and coupling that with terrorism. That is all one needs to know to deduce the state of mind of a pakistani leader.
Posted
Look at the big talk here. Pakistan won't exist after a full scale war? Wow just wow.Keyboard warriors in full flow here. This generation of Indians and Pakistanis don't know the meaning of war. It will be disaster for both and both won't be able to recover for decades.
Like always pakistan thinks big of itself and gets pawned yaad hain 1971 aur yaad rak 1999 mein kya haal huva tha itihaas tho pad.
Posted
Tough words without action sounds hollow.
This. Although Govt. might not disclose what it is going about this, but I'm curious whether this Govt has actually done anything or not.
Posted
This. Although Govt. might not disclose what it is going about this, but I'm curious whether this Govt has actually done anything or not.
They would have strengthened coastal security, intelligence sharing etc. However, the most important thing to prevent an attack on oneself is to increase the cost of conflict. If Pakistan feels that it can get away with a major terrorist attack by making sympathetic noises and asking terrorists to lay low for a while, it is only a matter of time before another one is sponsored and executed. India must respond with force to an armed provocation before the international community can put diplomatic pressure to tone down the stand. IMO this puts the onus on the opponent to decide his course of action rather than simply buying time.
×
×
  • Create New...