He said, she said

The scramble to save face has begun. Like a newly married couple after their first major fight, flowery words and sugar cookies in the form of money and public statements are being exchanged. The aftermath is illuminating to say the least.

The gist is, now that the US has gotten what it wanted, and supremacy has once again been established, they can deign to be benevolent about the whole episode. Most newspapers today are touting syrupy good will articles consisting of sugar-coated statements by US officials. Lets examine a few of these shall we

“Kerry said: “This was a very important and necessary step for both of our countries to be able to maintain our relationship and remain focused on progress on bedrock national interests, and I’m deeply grateful for the Pakistani government’s decision.”

I have to wonder here…necessary for who? Obviously not for Pakistan, according to the frequent statements issued by our government during the course of the Davis debacle. In fact there have been several press releases and articles, highlighting Zardari stressing how little this incident’s effect was between the ties for the two countries. If the US believed the fate of two entire countries and a 9 year-long war was contingent on the fate of one man, then Houston, we have a problem. It would be very stupid to expect problems like this will not arise again. Are we to have all these American cowboys running roughshod over our people without uttering a peep for fear that they may be “necessary” and “important” to the relations between US and Pakistan?

Kerry continues with “We deeply regret the loss of life that led to this difficulty in our relationship and the demonstrations on Pakistan’s streets, but neither country could afford for this tragedy to derail our vital relationship. We look forward to working with Pakistan to strengthen our relationship and confront our common challenges.””

What Kerry conveniently sidesteps here is the one common challenge which his country refused to allow settled in a mutually beneficial manner. Raymond Davis was our common challenge and both the US and Pakistan failed to surmount this challenge and emerge in a graceful manner. Pakistan, as always compromised its people, while the US, interestingly, compromised on the very principles it claims to be fighting in this region, by using the often lamented Sharia law as a means to free Davis.

“Referring to the release of Davis, Munter further said: “I wish to express my respect for Pakistan and its people, and my thanks for their commitment to building our relationship, to everyone’s benefit.””

I love how Munter thinks that the US’ benefit is automatically “everyone’s” benefit!

The entire article can be found at CIA Spy Escapes Murder Case…

Ah but not all are filled with hearts and sunshine.

“That a recipient of tens of billions of dollars of U.S. aid would treat our people in such a way is shocking,” said Dana Rohrabacher, a conservative lawmaker from the Republican Party, which controls the House of Representatives.

“And (it) should suggest that we take a close look at the fundamentals of who we give our aid to and whether or not they are our friends or whether they are treating us like suckers.”

The gall of this woman is reaching insurmountable proportions. If anyone came out the suckers in this case, it was the Pakistani’s. And let’s be clear on one thing. America is funneling these billions into Pakistan to further their own agenda, not out of the goodness of their bleeding hearts. Furthermore, the purpose of aid is humane in nature, not strategic. Countries provide aid to others to further humanitarian efforts and prop up the economy, or maybe that’s just the idealistic side of me making itself heard. As I stated in my last post, just because America provides us aid does not give its representatives the license to kill…sorry for the pun! Somebody needs to ask Dana Rohrabacher why she doesn’t find it “shocking” that 3 Pakistani’s were killed with about as much remorse as one would save for a squashed cockroach.

For the detailed article, you can visit Reuters

Now that I’m done with the US bashing section of this program, lets looks at the Pakistani side.

First of all, all those out there currently wishing you could wring one of the family members’ necks, please calm down. Remember all ideals can be bought out at a price. The families do have my sympathies. I’m sure when the subject of Diyat came out, the pressure from local parties to not bow down must have been intense…and possibly unwelcome. If Raymond Davis had been acquitted, once the whole furore had died down, Pakistani’s with their typical aplomb, would have forgotten all about the families and moved on with their lives. And, after all, the thought of their family member’s murderer possibly rotting in jail is cold comfort when balanced against a sweet fortune in money, cushy digs and visas out of a country where their social and economic standing was low at best and their futures bleak. I feel its selfish to blame them. It’s easy to be righteous and pound the pulpit in fury when you are a third-party removed from the realities of families that have lost their main breadwinners. Whats sad is that the reactionary nature of our people forced the family to absolve Raymond in secret and flee the country with minimum contact with locals. Which made the people protesting oh-so-vehemently on their behalf, look quite stupid.

Threats of continuing demonstrations and security situations are doomed to failure. The ship has sailed people, the milk has been spilt and the horse has bolted. Killing each other over it just underscores the American opinion of Pakistani’s as a overemotional, unreasonable and ineffective people. Everyone who could have benefitted from the situation have cashed in.

“Analysts also noted that General Pasha, who was due to retire this month, obtained an unusual one-year extension of tenure this week.

Our government and the ISI has gotten their own cut in the hefty payout as well as other benefits such as the unprecedented one year extension in tenure for General Pasha.

Raymond Davis should be thanked. His actions have brought to light shaky foundations US/Pakistan relations are built on. It has shown us the difference between the value of a Pakistani life versus an American life. Most of all it has shown us, that all those niggling suspicions we had about Blackwater and the like are true. In fact, Davis has been of a great deal of service to Pakistan

Now it’s time for us, the people of Pakistan, to use all these revelation in a positive and effective manner. The deaths of the three Pakistani’s will be avenged when the revelations their deaths have exposed will be used for the betterment of our local and foreign policies.

The one that got away

Raymond Davis has been released.
Yes all you anti-Pakistani’s out there who think Davis was justified in shooting two men in cold blood, you can celebrate. Pop the champagne and welcome your hero back. Not only are there two less-wait lets not forget the often overlooked sod who got crushed under the car acting as ray’s cavalry-three less Paki’s to plague the world, he managed to thumb his nose to the country’s masses and government and show us once again the many many areas we are inferior in.
Raymond Davis’ case is one that I have been following obsessively, which is a rarity for me, since not much holds my interest for long. But i digress.
Before you start posting curses in the comments, let me make myself clear. I never believed the guy should have been hanged. I felt bad for the guy considering he wound up in the jail of a third world country. Raymond, if you ever read this, I apologize for the trauma the bathrooms and general hygiene-or lack thereof-must have caused
However, let us not forget that this GI Joe killed two men in broad daylight. Wait, before you leap up with the eternal self-defence argument, hear me out. Yes the men were armed, but then so was Raymond, without a permit might I add. Secondly not only did Raymond shoot one in the back while the he was beating a retreat, he even paused in the proceedings to take pictures of the dead. Whats up with that?
On to the reactions then. With typical Pakistani zeal for all US related issues, the mullahs ran to their mosques to spout conspiracy theories and offer their opinions to the masses. Our government went with its first instinct by siding with the gora, but when the whiplash from the reaction started, the backtracking was both impressive and amusing. As people started taking to the streets and extremists began issuing condemnations, the government resorted to the mumbled vagaries it uses to avoid uncomfortable situations.
Enter the United States of America. With typical attitudes of entitlement and righteousness, and an impressive use of selective understanding and dissemination of information, America made us feel like the savage low IQ beasts they perceive us as. Of course Raymond Davis should be released…what a thing to question, hello..hes an american! hello vienna convention! wait…ure hesitating…how dare u…say bye bye to aid! (On a sidenote…i found it interesting that american aid was, according to some parties, contingent on Davis’ release…interesting that the humane purpose of this aid which is supposed to aid millions, is overshadowed by the decisions and actions of a kamikaze soldier with a Stallone complex and government caught between the classic rock and hard place. Methinks the purpose of this aid may need some revisiting.)
I was careful to not read only the Pakistani newspapers on the subject. I scoured all the greats for snippets but few were forthcoming. If anything was reported, it was a clinical discourse or a sidenote. Not until the controversial reveal by The Guardian, and the scrambling catchup played by the NY Times was the reason for this silence revealed. There’s a general perception here that most Americans are completely oblivious to what is going on outside the US. I never gave it much credit but these antics of newspapers which are the lauded pinnacles in news-reporting had me questioning my beliefs.
Raymond Davis is a CIA agent…and the crowd goes wild.
All those secret suspicions of the white presence in strategic areas of Pakistan have now been confirmed. The masses wanted Davis’ head on a platter while the US began placating both the populace and the families of the deceased. Regardless of how it happened and what amounts were involved, Raymond Davis has been acquitted.
While he flies back home to a happy reunion with the family and a relatively peaceful everafter (I say relative because stupidly, i still hope the americans will remain true to their ideals and still give him some hell, despite him being one of their own. I still hope, despite all evidence to the contrary that some legal proceedings will be made against him.) what will be the status quo once the dust settles? Davis’ exit has left many protestors high and dry, and like any self respecting scorned woman looking for a car to key, someones going to be paying the piper in his stead!