Kiriakou also revealed that the US had control over Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal during Pervez Musharraf’s rule. He also claimed that the US “essentially just purchased Musharraf” through millions of dollars in aid, allowing them to dictate the terms of their cooperation.”
“Our relations with the Pakistani government were very, very good. It was General Pervez Musharraf at the time. And look, let’s be honest here. The United States loves working with dictators. Because then you don’t have to worry about public opinion, and you don’t have to worry about the media anymore. And so, we essentially just purchased Musharraf,” he added.“We gave millions and millions and millions of dollars in aid, whether it was military aid or economic development aid. And we would meet with Musharraf regularly, several times a week. And essentially, he would let us do whatever we wanted to do. Yes. But Musharraf also had his own people that he needed to deal with,” the former CIA chief said.
He accused Musharraf of playing a double game on counterterrorism, siding with the US while allowing terror activities against India. “He had to keep the military happy. And the military didn’t care about Al-Qaeda. They cared about India. And so, to keep the military happy and keep some of the extremists happy, he had to allow them to continue this dual life of pretending to cooperate with the Americans on counterterrorism while committing terror against India,” Kiriakou said.
Kiriakou also spoke about the rampant corruption in Pakistan, citing the example of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto’s lavish lifestyle during her exile in Dubai. He recalled a ‘Marie Antoinette moment’ where Bhutto complained about her husband’s collection of Bentleys while living in a $5 million palace.
“When Benazir Bhutto was in exile in Dubai, I went to see her with another senior officer. I went as the note taker. And she lived in this $5 million palace on the Gulf. And we were sitting in the front room, the salon of the house, and we heard a car pull up. And she said, her exact words, so help me God, if he came home with another Bentley, I’m going to kill him!” he added.
“She lives in a $5 million house, and he has a collection of Bentleys. Aren’t they ashamed of themselves? Like, how can they go back to Pakistan and look the Pakistani people in the face when their people don’t even have shoes and enough food to eat? Like, I understand corruption is a problem there, but that level of corruption? Come on!” Kiriakou said.
He described his years commanding counterterrorism operations in Pakistan after 9/11, focusing on Washington’s tense alliance with Islamabad, the emergence of cross-border terror networks, and India-Pakistan tensions that nearly erupted into war during Operation Parakram in 2002.
He recalled the height of the operation after the December 2001 Parliament attack and said, “Family members had been evacuated from Islamabad. We believed India and Pakistan would go to war.”
“The deputy secretary of state came in and shuttled between Delhi and Islamabad and negotiated a settlement where both sides backed off. But we were so busy and focused on Al Qaeda and Afghanistan, we never gave two thoughts to India,” he added.
Kiriakou believed the 2008 Mumbai attacks were not carried out by Al-Qaeda, but rather by Kashmiri groups supported by Pakistan. He further emphasised that the more significant concern was Pakistan’s involvement in terrorism in India, and the lack of substantial action taken against it.
