Musharraf on US role in Afghanistan

Associated Press reports:

Musharraf is on a tour of Europe seeking to convince leaders there he is in control of the country and is committed to restoring full democracy eight years after he seized control in a military coup. He gave up his position as army commander in December as part of that transition.

He recalled that Pakistan trained and armed 20,000-30,000 mujahadeen fighters with U.S. support between 1979-89 and sent them to Afghanistan to fight against the Soviet Union.

The result was the departure of Soviet troops from Afghanistan, the collapse of the Soviet Union, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of Germany, he said.

"This is Pakistan's contribution to the free world," he said.

But Musharraf said "we bungled up the end game" because the military victory wasn't transformed into a political victory and "everybody left the scene, including the United States."

For 12 years, until after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the U.S., "Pakistan was alone and Afghanistan was alone" and the militarized mujahadeen who were "armed to the teeth" were left to fend for themselves, he said.

"The mujahadeen coalesced into al-Qaida, and Osama bin Laden is a product of the mujahadeen," Musharraf said.

"The feeling in Pakistan is we were used and we were ditched," he said.