CNN - Pervez Musharraf on Osama bin Laden living in Pakistan: "I am 500 percent sure myself...that I didn't know it"
As the world prepares for the upcoming 2012 Summer Olympic Games, this evening Piers Morgan hosts his program from his home country, broadcasting in London two days ahead of Friday's Opening ceremony.
Joining the British television presenter in his native land is Pervez Musharraf, the man who served as the tenth President of Pakistan for seven years, the final two overlapping with the period during which Osama bin Laden was believed to be in his country.
Questioning Musharraf's knowledge of this, Morgan states:
"Part of the problem, I think, certainly for Americans, is a question of trust. When they discovered that Osama bin Laden had been hiding in Pakistan, they're not going to believe that nobody in any position of authority in the Pakistan government or intelligence services didn't know."
For his part, the retired four-star general admits it's difficult to comprehend, but stands by his claim of naiveté:
"I totally agree with you, that it is not believable. But I personally am convinced that it is a case of negligence and not a case of complicity," says Musharraf. "I believe that. I strongly believe that that is the truth."
Convincing the "Piers Morgan Tonight" host however, proves more challenging:
"It defies belief that somebody as notorious as Osama bin Laden could be living in that compound, so close to military installations, but nobody knew," presses Morgan. "You never heard a single...rumor or whisper?"
"Is it possible that the intelligence agencies were hiding from me?" responds the former Pakistani President. "No, that is not possible because I was the army chief also. And the ISI, the intelligence agencies, are manned, mainly officered by military, army, navy, air force, mainly army. Most of them have associations with me. So if somebody was hiding on top, somebody below, in the second, third tiers, would have come and told me. So this is not possible at all."
Tune in tonight at 9 p.m. to see if Musharraf goes back on his initial characterization of Barack Obama, during which he classified the President of the United Stats as "arrogant."