tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5803385070922797451.post3190031535714437248..comments2024-03-27T12:56:38.992-07:00Comments on The Skeptical Bureaucrat: Kudos for KerryTSBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02790614121966204073noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5803385070922797451.post-78524530472885938832011-02-27T10:55:22.379-08:002011-02-27T10:55:22.379-08:00We haven't heard from the family members so fa...We haven't heard from the family members so far, so it looks like they are staying on the reservation and not trying to bargain with the Pakistanis as independent players. <br /><br />I don't think they are actually in Pakistan, anyway. The embassy spokeswoman denied the press reports.<br /><br />http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Raymond-Davis-family-not-in-Pakistan-US-embassy/articleshow/7582460.cmsTSBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02790614121966204073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5803385070922797451.post-23255875227511455002011-02-27T08:51:42.245-08:002011-02-27T08:51:42.245-08:00LAHORE: Family members of Raymond Davis, the Ameri...LAHORE: Family members of Raymond Davis, the American who is charged for the murder of two Pakistanis in Lahore, have arrived in Pakistan on Friday, DawnNews reported.<br /><br />The family is currently staying at the US Embassy’s guest house in Islamabad.<br />................................<br />That is nice! They let Davis' family attend the hearing. It makes me wonder if he isn't going to be tried, found guilty and then banished forever from Punjab Pakistan? Wouldn't that make everyone happy? lilGWBAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5803385070922797451.post-54112581779013346412011-02-21T14:49:15.353-08:002011-02-21T14:49:15.353-08:00I can't see any reason to believe the two were...I can't see any reason to believe the two were ISI agents. They were low-level street criminals with records (although that means they could also have been police informants). <br /><br />If they were acting for ISI at the time of shooting, how did they happen to commit two armed robberies in the minutes before they confronted Davis? They weren't following him when they did those. <br /><br />No, I think Occam's Razor applies here - the two were actually what they seemed to be, and they just had the bad judgment to rob someone who was armed and keyed up to a high level of personal security awareness.TSBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02790614121966204073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5803385070922797451.post-23107665981891811722011-02-21T13:41:30.183-08:002011-02-21T13:41:30.183-08:00TSB:Davis was wrong in carrying the gun - Maybe, m...TSB:Davis was wrong in carrying the gun - Maybe, maybe not. But when he found himself confronted by two armed robbers, it was lucky for him that he had his own pistol.<br /><br />Were the two guys from ISI and wanted to kill Davis because CIA is targeting the mumbai terrorists? So I guess we are for India and for the part of Pakistan that isn't against India?? Pretty confusing!<br />I'm starting to like Ron Paul more all the time!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5803385070922797451.post-18763063873463085872011-02-20T19:01:39.941-08:002011-02-20T19:01:39.941-08:00No sooner did I say there has been a pause in dron...No sooner did I say there has been a pause in drone strikes then we had another one. <br /><br />http://www.dawn.com/2011/02/21/us-drone-kills-five-militants-in-south-waziristan.html<br /><br />"The unmanned aircraft fired three missiles at the house in Kaza Panga village, 15 kilometres (10 miles) west of Wana, the main town in lawless South Waziristan.<br /><br />The attack was the first since a US gunman shot and killed two Pakistanis in the eastern city of Lahore on January 27, triggering a diplomatic row between Pakistan and the United States."<br /><br />Does this mean the diplomatic row is ending? I don't know how to read these tea leaves.TSBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02790614121966204073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5803385070922797451.post-57556935880317002052011-02-20T13:58:42.789-08:002011-02-20T13:58:42.789-08:00Reuters (like AP, etc.) is reporting what the Urdu...Reuters (like AP, etc.) is reporting what the Urdu press is saying, and they're the source of the most preposterous claims.<br /><br />I wonder what could possibly be said in court that hasn't already been claimed in the press and believed by 90% of Pakistanis? Certainly nothing Davis is likely to say will be anything near so sensational. <br /><br />So far as the USG is concerned, a court hearing or testimony isn't the issue. Our whole objection is that the Pakistani federal government hasn't issued a decision on Davis's immunity to the Punjab state government. <br /><br />The pause in drone strikes is no doubt one of the ways we're signaling a break in relations. Maybe it's a mutual break, since the Pakistanis have to cooperate to allow the strikes, and they might see that cooperation as leverage over us. An interesting thing to watch will be whether the strikes resume after Davis is released.TSBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02790614121966204073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5803385070922797451.post-64177321919099350762011-02-20T12:46:15.963-08:002011-02-20T12:46:15.963-08:00Kudos for Kerry!! Do you think he was able to get...Kudos for Kerry!! Do you think he was able to get the US to stop<br />drone strikes til Ray Davis is released?<br /><br />http://www.dawn.com/2011/02/20/pause-in-drone-strikes-linked-to-davis.html<br /><br /> Reuters isn't a tabloid is it? I still think the main goal is to avoid any court testimony about this investigation being made public.<br /><br />lilGWBAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5803385070922797451.post-54658476191369287282011-02-18T18:13:43.879-08:002011-02-18T18:13:43.879-08:00For myself, I'm astonished to learn what kind ...For myself, I'm astonished to learn what kind of nonsense people will believe. Are we supposed to believe Davis was creeping around Taliban hiding places and marking their waypoints on his Garmin? <br /><br />And twelve trips to North Waziristan in the twelve months he was in Pakistan? When did he find the time to do all that other stuff the tabloid press accuses him of - taking photos of 'sensitive' places, meeting spies, stealing secrets from the Babur missile lab, peeping at people using that suspicious telescope, etc., and still keep in top form with a Glock? He must have worked a lot of overtime.<br /><br />FYI, here's a less sensational description of how GPS devices might be used to target drones: <br /><br />http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/06/spy-chips-guiding-cia-drone-strikes-locals-say/TSBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02790614121966204073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5803385070922797451.post-22153948672391636602011-02-18T17:02:53.761-08:002011-02-18T17:02:53.761-08:00KARACHI: Investigation teams were astonished to le...KARACHI: Investigation teams were astonished to learn about Raymond Davis’s alleged connections in North Waziristan, sources told DawnNews.<br /><br />Sources have revealed that a GPS chip recovered from Davis was being used in identifying targets for drone attacks in the tribal region.lilgwbAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5803385070922797451.post-41416111397743655792011-02-18T10:25:19.125-08:002011-02-18T10:25:19.125-08:00Waziristan is on the other side of the country fro...Waziristan is on the other side of the country from Lahore, so I don't think the GPS was for drone strikes. And I also don't think we use visiting Gringos driving around with Garmins to do that in the first place.<br /><br />Anyhow, since when is a GPS in a car suspicious?TSBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02790614121966204073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5803385070922797451.post-90563731604144471812011-02-18T10:00:48.087-08:002011-02-18T10:00:48.087-08:00Ooops! Looks (according to DAWN)as though that GPS...Ooops! Looks (according to DAWN)as though that GPS device was more dangerous to Pakistanis than the gun.<br />Is it ok for diplomats to be calling in drone strikes in Waziristan? I'd love to hear from Hillary on this! <br /><br />lilGWBAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5803385070922797451.post-79676226067314529522011-02-17T19:25:40.688-08:002011-02-17T19:25:40.688-08:00Kerry has a very favorable image among Pakistanis ...Kerry has a very favorable image among Pakistanis (he's seen as the guy who keeps our money flowing to them), and from their press responses to his visit I have to say I think he really helped. <br /><br />I also think he was wise not to come on Bill Richardson-style and expect to take Davis home with him. That was never in the cards. But he actually seems to have brought key people closer to the point where they are ready to give in to the inevitable. <br /><br />The big concern is whether the politicians will give in before someone else - probably a police officer - gets to Davis in his VVIP cell.TSBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02790614121966204073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5803385070922797451.post-76420198630260849342011-02-17T16:47:38.405-08:002011-02-17T16:47:38.405-08:00Aside from not blaming the U.S. for the incident a...Aside from not blaming the U.S. for the incident and not claiming that he had been over the Af-Pak border during Christmas 1967, I can't say John Kerry, who served in Vietnam and not Cambodia, accomplished much.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com