Pakistan's president says the U.S. threatened to bomb his country unless it cooperated in the U.S.-led war on terror after the September 11th, attacks in 2001.
Pervez Musharraf made the remark in an interview with the CBS television show "60 Minutes" to air this Sunday.
He said the threat came from Richard Armitage -- an assistant U.S. secretary of state at the time -- and was given to a Pakistani intelligence director.
General Musharraf quoted Armitage as saying, "Be prepared to be bombed. Be prepared to go back to the stone age."
State Department spokesman Edgar Vasquez would not comment on President Musharraf's remarks but did say Pakistan has been a steadfast partner in the war on terror.
On Wednesday, President Bush told CNN he would order U.S. forces to go after Osama bin Laden inside Pakistan if he had reliable intelligence on the al-Qaida leader's location.
In response, President Musharraf said he does not want U.S. troops entering his country in pursuit of bin Laden. The fugitive is thought to be hiding in the remote Pakistani-Afghan border area.
President Bush and General Musharraf are expected to discuss the continuing hunt for bin Laden Friday at the White House.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters
