Raymond Davis Case: Developing Story

[r3alist]

That's why it isn't enough to simply release Davis; Pakistani officials should attempt to explain what diplomatic immunity means to the people and even attempt to pursue the Davis affair in U.S. courts.

Those Blackwater murderers who sickeningly killed Iraqis for fun were let off in American courts, you really think America will prosecute people who are doing their dirty work for them, and clearly this dirty work is crucial for them.

 

[Awesome]

http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2011/02/analysis_gap_in_.php

For over three weeks, the CIA's controversial covert air campaign that targets al Qaeda, Taliban, and allied terror groups' leaders and operatives in Pakistan's lawless and Taliban-controlled tribal areas has been silent. There has not been an airstrike by the armed, unmanned Predators and Reapers, or drones as they are more commonly called, for 25 days. This pause has sparked speculation that the US has halted the strikes for political reasons, but a look at the pace of the strikes over time shows that long pauses are not uncommon.

The current 23-day lull in strikes in Pakistan is the third-longest period of inactivity since the US ramped up the program in August 2008, according to data on the strikes compiled by The Long War Journal [a list of operational pauses that have been longer than eight days appears below].

The most recent strikes took place on Jan. 23, when the Predators and Reapers pounded al Qaeda and Taliban targets in the Taliban-controlled tribal agency of North Waziristan.

The two most extended periods of operational inactivity so far have occurred in 2009. The longest recorded pause was 33 days, from Nov. 4 to Dec. 8, 2009. The second-longest pause was 28 days, from May 16 to June 14, 2009.

Also, there have been two other periods of time in which 20 or more days went by without a strike. Again, both operational pauses occurred in 2009: from Jan. 23 to Feb. 14 (21 days); and from Jan. 2 to Jan. 23 (20 days).

In 2010, there were two periods exceeding 15 days' time in which no Predator strikes occurred in Pakistan: from July 25 to Aug. 14 (19 days) ; and from June 29 to July 15 (15 days).

Since August 2008, there have been 24 periods of eight days or longer with no Predator strikes.

Most US intelligence officials contacted by The Long War Journal were unwilling to discuss the reasons for the current pause in strikes, or previous strikes, citing operational security concerns. But weather in the region is known to be the primary reason for slowdowns in the strikes.

Pakistani news outlets have speculated that the pause in strikes is related to the arrest of Raymond Davis, the US consular official who shot and killed two Pakistanis in Lahore. Davis believed the men were trying to kill him, but Pakistani courts refuse to recognize his diplomatic status and release him. One theory is that the US is not launching Predator strikes while Davis is in custody lest an attack inflame Pakistani sentiments.

But US officials contacted by The Long War Journal would not link Davis' detention to the pause in strikes.

Number of days between Predator/Reaper strikes in Pakistan since August 2008, eight days or greater

2011:

23 days, Jan. 23 to Feb. 16
2010:

9 days, Dec. 17 to Dec. 27
19 days, July 25 to Aug. 14
15 days, June 29 to July 15
12 days, May 28 to June 10
12 days, March 30 to April 12
10 days, Feb. 24 to March 8
11 days, Feb. 2 to Feb. 14
2009:

33 days, Nov. 4 to Dec. 8
13 days, Sept. 30 to Oct. 14
9 days, Sept. 14 to Sept. 24
10 days, Aug. 27 to Sept. 7
8 days, Aug. 11 to Aug. 20
9 days, June 23 to July 3
28 days, May 16 to June 14
9 days, April 19 to April 29
10 days, April 8 to April 19
9 days, March 15 to March 25
10 days, March 1 to March 12
12 days, Feb. 16 to March 1
21 days, Jan. 23 to Feb. 14
20 days, Jan. 2 to Jan. 23
2008:

11 days, Nov. 29 to Dec. 11
13 days, Sept. 17 to Oct. 1

 

[monitor]

 

[monitor]

Why Raymond Davis is so important for US

By Dr Raja Muhammad Khan
Saturday, February 19, 2011


In the midst of the mounting pressure for the release of Raymond Davis, President Obama during a press conference on February 15, 2011, emphasized Pakistan to respect the Vienna Convention and set free this US national. Raymond Davis was arrested on the charges of committing murder of two Pakistani nationals in Lahore on January 27, 2011. Referring to the relaxation in the said convention, President Obama said that, “We expect Pakistan, that’s a signatory and recognizes Mr. Davis as a diplomat, to abide by the same convention.”

Senator Johan Kerry, known for his soft corner for Pakistan, also visited Pakistan, and tried to convince Pakistani leadership for the release of Raymond Davis. In his almost 24 hour brief visit, Senator Kerry conveniently met all the stakeholders in the Pakistani leadership and pursued the case of Raymond.

While taking the principled stand, Pakistan clarified to the visiting senator that, this is a very complicated case, and is under consideration in the court. The message Senator Kerry carried home that; Pakistani leadership would like the case to be decided by the Pakistani courts, under the Pakistani Constitution, as Raymond killed Pakistanis on the Pakistani soil. Pakistan understands that, respecting the diplomatic norms is the responsibility of all member countries; which have ratified the Vienna Convention of 1960.

However, should the convention give diplomatic immunity to the people, involve in heinous crimes like killing innocent citizens of the host country, is a big question mark. Raymond David may have a diplomatic passport, but, in no case, he was a diplomat, as even accepted by the US Embassy in Islamabad, that, he is part of lower technical staff. However, the reality is different, as a lot has been revealed with respect to the suspicious activities of Raymond Davis.

Even on the day of this tragic incidence, he had a meeting with militants. As one could know so far, this so-called diplomat had many links with the anti-Pakistan elements all over the country.

Irrespective if the fact that he is a regular employ or on contract, Raymond Davis indeed is a highly trained CIA operative, working for his organization against the Pakistani interests. It is believed that there are many CIA operatives, involved in similar type of activities all over the country, whose whereabouts may be known to very few in Pakistan.

Had Raymond been a normal diplomat or even a technician in the US embassy having no secret information with him, there would not have been so much pressure on Pakistan for his release.

Since the US itself is the promoter of the human rights, therefore, how the murderer of four innocent citizens (two through direct fire and other two indirectly) could be persuaded for immediate release.

As far as US is concerned, it may pressurize Pakistan, but, it has lot of stakes in Pakistan, whereas, Pakistan can pull on without US help. Nevertheless, without active Pakistani help, Nato and US may not survive for more than a month.

What all-Pakistani leadership is required to have strong nerves and stay united on the issues of national pride and prestige? Any hasty statement or a decision may harm the national interest in the long-term, as the people of Pakistan are very sensitive to this issue.

The writer is an analyst of international relations. Email; drmk_edu@yahoo.com

 

[DV RULES]

AQ is nothing but co organization of CIA from the time of Afghan war.

Last few months there were so many (preplanned) reports from CIA & Pentagon that AQ looking for dirty Bombs, so time showed who will/is provide nukes to this organization and there will play a drama just like 9/11 and US will rush to attack on our border.
This was 2nd war plane in case Pakistan will denied to attack on Haqqani network or in North Waziristan.

We can't reject SVR report over DAVIS, chain is quite clear why US so worry about his Rambo.

Same strategy which they adopted in 1962 FALSE FLAG operation.

 

[JonAsad]

Davis had ID card of Peshawar US consulate

Updated at: 0505 PST, Sunday, February 20, 2011
LAHORE: The Identity Card recovered from US double murder suspect, Raymond Davis, who killed two innocent Pakistani citizens in a busy market in Lahore, was of US consulate in Peshawar instead of Lahore, Geo News reported Sunday.

The ID card represents Raymond Davis being employee of US consulate in Peshawar in instead of Lahore consulate, sources said.

The US consulate number mentioned on the ID card is 4819151, sources claimed.

It is pertinent to mention here that US man Raymond Davis is currently being tried in Lahore High Court (LHC) under charges of killing two innocent Pakistani citizens in a busy market, Mazang Chowrangi, in Lahore.

Later, while the suspect was trying to flee the crime scene so a US consulate vehicle came to his rescue, which trampled to death another man who had come in way.

Davis, before court, said that he had killed two men in an act of self-defence.

US government has been pressing Pakistan since the heinous crime was committed to release Raymond Davis under pretext of diplomatic immunity.

Davis had ID card of Peshawar US consulate - GEO.tv

 

[monitor]

America may increase Pakistan aid by 100 Percent if Raymond Davis released | Pakistani Urdu Newspaper Columns, Articles, Editorials,Top Stories, Corruption Scandals from Pakistan

 

[F86 Saber]

Pakistan will not use atomic weapons. I can guarantee you that the US knows exactly where each and every one of our nukes is stored. They will be neutralized first in any war. And the US will reduce Pakistan into Afghanistan without even breaking a sweat.

The US is not just a superpower; it is a hyperpower. Even Russia is all talk - they dare not take on the US.

Do you have any idea how the local population lives when you have foreign troops in the streets? Even UN troops? There will be ten thousand Davises running lose, killing with impunity. Our high schools will turn into brothels, and our peopel will be reduced to begging for food scraps. There is no dignity there.

Question....... Are you Mastan Khan with double ID?
I think RR bhai has comprehensively explained just one page back why US is not in a position to attack Pakistan even if they are crazy enough to rage war for only one person.
Although i agree with you that Pakistan may not be able to match USA bullet to bullet but we have seen in the past how countries much smaller and with lesser capabilities than Pakistan have stood up to USA and forced them to bend and take one up the ......... From distant past North Korea and Vietnam to recent past Libya, Cuba, Venezuela and most recent Iran, all of them have refused to budge under US pressure and have survived through wars even.
I understand that for nearly 63 years our rulers have been bending over for USA but there's always so much one can take. All it requires is one small incident and it can trigger events as huge as the French Revolution and the recent events in gulf. Its about time US realizes this.

 

[r3alist]

for years the united states and western nations have been peddling the fear that pakistans nukes are unsafe, were an event like this to happen it would be the perfect pretext to act on the fears they have been propagating, funny how that works huh?

now according to the russians the americans are using pakistan's nukes as a raison d'etre to instigate tectonic shifts in the current global order and configuration of the world.


just what is the nature of this deep "strategic" understanding between the US and pakistan??

 

[Awesome]

Let's kill this talk about armed conflict over Davis.

 

[DV RULES]

Let Davis go; Pakistan cannot fight a superpower.

Remember the Klingon proverb, "revenge is a dish best served cold."

No we have not let him go.
Concept of fight not bases on turning tanks toward enemy but it can be done by many other ways, Pakistan knows very well which veins of US under our control. Press one of them & all will be as we desire. Only need how to use it.

 

[r3alist]

lets also kill all this talk of exacting revenge - pak needs justice, security and prosperity, NOT petty anger.

 

[Rig Vedic]

"CIA spy" Davis was giving nuclear bomb material to Al-Qaeda, says report


London, Feb 20(ANI): Double murder-accused US official Raymond Davis has been found in possession of top-secret CIA documents, which point to him or the feared American Task Force 373 (TF373) operating in the region, providing Al-Qaeda terrorists with "nuclear fissile material" and "biological agents," according to a report.

Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) is warning that the situation on the sub-continent has turned "grave" as it appears that open warfare is about to break out between Pakistan and the United States, The European Union Times reports.

How credible is this EU Times?

Racist Skinhead’s Wife Behind European ‘News’ Website
Posted in Neo-Nazi by Larry Keller on December 16, 2009

The online news site European Union Times (EUT) — which recently “broke” a story about President Obama preparing for an imminent civil war — is being cited as a credible source by several libertarian bloggers who are hyping the story.

It turns out the EUT was created in October and is registered to the wife of a racist skinhead gang member who was involved in a bizarre stabbing incident last month.

The story began on Dec. 9 when the EUT reported that Obama has ordered 200,000 troops to be redeployed to the U.S. Northern Command in preparation for a civil war within the United States before the end of winter.

Since then, it has been cited by blogger Michael Gaddy on LewRockwell.com and by former Constitution Party presidential candidate Chuck Baldwin on his own website.

Gaddy, a regular on the racist “Political Cesspool” radio program, wrote that the EUT story shows a financial collapse or a confiscation of firearms may be imminent. Baldwin said the supposedly ominous events described in the EUT story explain the construction of detention camps to hold U.S. citizens, even though there is no evidence that camps exist.

The European Union Times isn’t exactly a venerable news source akin to, say, The Associated Press. It is registered to Jessica Nachtman, wife of Christopher Nachtman. [Editor's note: After the initial posting of this blog item, Jessica Nachtman wrote Hatewatch to say that she merely provides Web hosting for "a European who lives abroad," who she declined to identify further. She said she does not publish or modify any of the site's content.] Christopher Nachtman is a former member of the neo-Nazi group National Alliance who more recently has been active in Volksfront, a racist skinhead group.

In October, Nachtman stabbed another man during an altercation at a luxury hotel in Palm Beach County, where Holocaust revisionist David Irving was giving a talk. No charges have been filed. The man who was stabbed, John Kopko, has also been involved in neo-Nazi activities in the past. Irving was quoted at the time as saying that Christopher Nachtman attended the event with his wife, Jessica, whom he said might open a bookstore and sell his books. The Nachtmans live in the semi-rural community of Loxahatchee in Palm Beach County, records show. [Editor's note: In her note to Hatewatch, Jessica Nachtman described herself as a "White Racialist," but not a Hitler worshipper. She said she "respectfully" quit the neo-Nazi White Revolution hate group after the stabbing incident and added that the white nationalist movement "is full of dirt bags, criminals, and unstable people," along with a a few responsible and intelligent people.]

As for Gaddy, he has been a constant contributor to LewRockwell.com over the past five years, writing repeatedly of his love of guns and his disdain for the “ruling elite” and the “criminal government.” He was among several people who filed numerous on-the-scene reports to Political Cesspool from the Mexican-U.S. border in 2005 in conjunction with the original Minuteman Project. Those reports drew praise from David Duke on his website.

Racist Skinhead’s Wife Behind European ‘News’ Website | Hatewatch | Southern Poverty Law Center

Here is the original source: http://www.eutimes.net/2011/02/cia-spy-captured-giving-nuclear-bomb-to-terrorists/

 

[ajtr]

Diplomatic duplicity​

BY C. CHRISTINE FAIR,

LAHORE -- This much is clear about the latest convulsion in U.S.-Pakistan relations: an American man, operating under the name of Raymond Davis, shot and killed two men in Lahore in the populous province of the Punjab. After the event, an "emergency vehicle," presumably from the U.S. consulate, rushed to rescue Davis and careened into a crowd. The as yet unidentified driver of the rescue vehicle killed a third person. Davis is currently being held in Pakistani custody in Lahore. He has been added to Pakistan's exit control list while his status is being determined in Pakistan's courts, which precludes his exit from the country.

The U.S. government maintains a simple account: he was an employee of the U.S. consulate in Lahore who shot two men in self defense. Since he has "diplomatic immunity," he should be released under the Vienna Convention immediately. President Obama has himself argued that he should be released for these reasons. Concurrent with Obama's appeals for the man's diplomatic immunity, U.S. Senator John Kerry travelled to Pakistan this week to resolve the ever more complicated row. With such high-level demands, the very credibility of the U.S. presidency is at stake. This is not lost upon Pakistan or its citizens.

Pakistan has its own stylized, yet starkly divergent, account from that heard in the United States. Whereas Raymond Davis is a niche topic of the chattering classes in Washington D.C. in the United States, he is the mainstay of conversation across all stratum of Pakistani society and has become a national obsession in Pakistan's print and television media. Pakistanis have called for the hanging of Davis in public rallies.

From the Pakistani viewpoint, the "facts" are far less clear. Davis was first described in peculiar, ambiguous terms as a "U.S. consulate employee." He was driving his own unarmored vehicle and carrying a gun. Most diplomats in Pakistan -- American or otherwise -- now travel in armored cars. They certainly do not drive their own cars, and they generally don't carry guns.

Despite Pakistanis' assertions that he is a spy, he does not have the profile of a bona fide operative of the Central Intelligence Agency. CIA case managers are well-trained and are unlikely to conduct themselves as Davis did. However, some U.S. officials concede that he is likely a security contractor with ties to the American intelligence apparatus. This is consistent with his resume.

Speculation is rife in both countries that this dispute over Davis may come down to a showdown between Pakistan's intelligence agency, the ISI, and American intelligence agencies. Both Pakistani and American analysts have told me that the two men shot likely were Davis's Pakistani intelligence detail or perhaps informants or operatives gone sour.

The view from Pakistan: "Raymond Davis kaun hai?" Who are you?

The Pakistani press raises different issues that generally are not raised in the United States and reflect the conspiracy theories that grip many Pakistanis. First, Pakistani officials doubt that Raymond Davis is the true name of the man in question. A Pakistani barrister, Iqbal Jafree, suggested that Davis came to Pakistan using a fake name. If this is the case, he has argued that another legal case may also be registered against him. He further asserted that "...the U.S. authorities also have acknowledged Davis is not his real name." My examination of the U.S. press has not revealed that this possibility has been suggested.

Second, while some diplomats may be authorized to carry legal firearms, Pakistani observers claim that Davis's possession and use of a firearm was illegal under Pakistani laws. This reinforces Pakistan's vexation with what they perceive as U.S. impunity and further outrages Pakistanis who embrace various conspiracy theories about Blackwater/Xe Services and its ilk running around Pakistan, whose activities are shrouded in complete opacity. These conspiracy theories are given ballast by the actual presence of people like Raymond Davis: an ostensible "security contractor" of some variety adds "ghee" to this fire.

Third, the Pakistani media -- as well as some international media -- dilate upon the reports that he got out of his vehicle and shot his victims in the back. U.S. courts would likely reject claims of self defense if an alleged victim shot his purported assailants in the back. However, U.S. officials privately note that the individuals fled after the first shot was fired from a frontal position, thus negating the claims that Davis first fired into their backs.

Fourth, further fuelling Pakistan's deepest suspicions are the reports in the Pakistani media that a camera was recovered from Davis upon his arrest. His camera reportedly contained "photos of the strategic Balahisar Fort, the headquarters of the paramilitary Frontier Corps in Peshawar and of Pakistan army bunkers on the eastern border with India were found in the camera." Pakistani media outlets have made these photos available to the public. It remains to be confirmed that these videos and photos were actually recovered from Davis's camera, much less what his intentions were in taking these images if he actually did so. However, many Pakistanis accept the authenticity of the footage and its worrisome implications as a matter of fact.

Fifth, the U.S.'s central claim that Mr. Davis has diplomatic immunity is fundamentally contested in Pakistan. Some of my contacts here in Lahore claim that he was not issued a visa on a diplomatic passport and thus the ex post facto claims to diplomatic immunity is a legal, not diplomatic affair.

However, these interpretations are flawed even if they are widely believed. As one thoughtful Pakistani commentator, Raza Rumi, recently explained

If the sending state declares someone a diplomat and the receiving state accepts him, that's the end of the matter. Those who rant that Davis' visa mentions ‘Official Business' and he's a mere contractor need to get their facts right. Pakistan's diplomatic visa does not carry the words ‘Diplomatic Visa' imprinted on it. When Pakistani authorities endorse a visa saying ‘Official Business' on a diplomatic passport, they recognize that the person is travelling to our country under diplomatic immunity. If he stays here on assignment, he gets a diplomatic ID card with his immunity status printed on its back.

Rumi rightly asks how it is possible that Davis could be in Pakistan for three years if his status were ambiguous. He could have been declared "persona non grata" for his suspicious activities long before the current encounter. These questions have a simple answer: this is an orchestrated media frenzy galvanized by an inflammatory ambiguity deliberately fostered by the Pakistani government.

Finally, if the media spectacle were not provocative enough, the suicide of the widow of one of the slain, Mohammad Faheem, has further inflamed Pakistani sentiments about the case and strengthened their resolve to try Davis as a cold-blooded murderer.

The end game

The Raymond Davis issue is iconic of the challenges of U.S.-Pakistani relations.

In some sense, the Pakistani public has made Davis a public catharsis. He is not the first individual to push the envelope of transparency, much less the legal status of diplomatic immunity. Last summer while I was in Pakistan, a U.S. embassy employee crushed a Pakistani citizen to death in his vehicle. It was reportedly the third such incident over week. In 2009, an allegedly drunk U.S. diplomat, ignored a red light and careened his Prado jeep (LG-1) into a fire-brigade vehicle, causing Rs 2.5 million loss (some $29,000) in damages.

Pakistani anger over Davis is also layered upon simmering anger over the inaccurately maligned U.S. drone program. Pakistanis prefer to characterize the program as trampling Pakistani sovereignty and are loathe to acknowledge that the program operates with precision, with the Pakistani government's permission, from Pakistani soil and with Pakistani intelligence input.

Davis also outrages Pakistanis because he is not the first "defense" contractor to vex Pakistanis and raise suspicions about their varied activities in the country. The U.S. use of Blackwater/Xe Services to protect Dyncorp's construction of a Frontier Corps training facility near Peshawar discomfited residents of the frontier city. Absurdly, the Pakistani Taliban have been able to exploit these suspicions to blame the firm for terrorist attacks in Peshawar.

Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari's party, the PPP, has had internal rifts about how best to deal with the imbroglio. Given Zardari's weak government, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Sharif (Zardari's Punjab-based political opponents) is taking maximal advantage of his predicament. It can do so safely as the party has no responsibility for actually contending with the explosive bilateral fiasco. The Zardari government, for now, appears to have outsourced resolution of the awkward situation to Pakistan's activist courts despite the fact that this is a Foreign Office issue -- not that of the courts.

However, Pakistan's activist courts are increasingly making policy rather than merely interpreting Pakistan's laws. More troubling is the potential likelihood that underneath the justice's cloaks is the color of the army's khakis. Indeed, Pakistani observers note that Pakistan's judiciary may have expanded its influence under the protective umbrella of the army's support.

Pakistani author and analyst, Ahmed Rashid, recently noted the "extraordinary cooperation" between the army and justices in recent years. Rashid also observed that the courts are less inclined to pursue the army's alleged human-rights violations. In contrast, cases that undermine and weaken the government occupy prime time at the bench. If the army has some influence behind the courts, the fate of Raymond Davis is ambiguous at best given the Pakistani Army's fraught views towards Washington and its intelligence agencies.

Given the legal clarity of the matter, a bothersome question persists: what elements of the Pakistani government are stoking these dangerous, populist sentiments and to what end? Is this yet another signal that Islamabad does not want to the strategic relationship that Washington continues to peddle with naïve optimism?

In the end, despite the questionable positioning of Pakistan's judiciary on Pakistan's democratic fabric and the likelihood that Davis' diplomatic status is not a judicial matter, there may be some marginal benefit from this absurd drama.

It is unprecedented that the U.S. government has been compelled to present evidence about the activities of its mission and personnel in Pakistan. The U.S. government will have to present evidence about the nature of the position of Raymond Davis in Pakistan's courts. While this is a tedious and gratuitous predicament, it may be a long overdue occasion to cast much-needed transparency upon the activities of the U.S. government in Pakistan and the nature of its ties to various Pakistani agencies, which may have some complicity in this tragic affair. This may be good for Americans and Pakistanis alike, even if it threatens to further undermine the U.S.-Pakistan relationship.

C. Christine Fair is an assistant professor at Georgetown University, Center for Peace and Security Studies and the author of the political cookbook, Cuisines of the Axis of Evil and Other Irritating States and Pakistan's Madrassah Challenge: Militancy and Religious Education in Pakistan.

 

[JonAsad]

How credible is this EU Times?



Here is the original source: CIA Spy Captured Giving Nuclear Bomb To Terrorists | EUTimes.net

I dont know about EU NEWS credibility-
This article is also hosted at
Davis was giving Nuke material to Qaeda: Report
and honestly i dont know Zee News credibility aswell- You tell me-

We should be looking at ANI credibility not the website who hosts ANI news- ANI is from where the original news generated from-