Anarchopedia:Current events

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Anarchopedia:Current events archive

Logo of Xe Watch, representing opposition to Blackwater Worldwide. Blackwater became Xe Services in October 2007

Logo of the Central Intelligence Agency ; a large bureaucracy with many branches; these divisions do not necessarily reflect an operational separation of CIA activities (WP)

On January 27, 2011 a US citizen claiming to be working as a consultant at the U.S. Consulate in Lahore and later said to be a CIA operative killed two armed men in the Pakistani city of Lahore. The identification papers he submitted to the Pakistani police are in the name of Raymond Allen Davis, although initially it was categorically stated by the US State Department that this name was not correct. He is now facing two separate criminal charges, one of double murder and the second of illegal possession of a firearm. Two petitions seeking prosecution against him on charges of forgery for obtaining a visa under a fake name have also been registered with the Lahore High Court.

The incident led to a diplomatic furor and deterioration in the ties between Pakistan and USA. The US government claimed that Davis is protected by diplomatic immunity under the Vienna Conventions and has demanded that he be released from custody immediately. The Foreign Minister of Pakistan, Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that according to official records and experts in the Foreign Office, Davis is "not a diplomat and cannot be given blanket diplomatic immunity". It has been suggested that Qureshi's stand on the issue led to his sacking by the government. The incident also led to widespread protests in Pakistan demanding action against Davis.

US president Barack Obama (WP) asked Pakistan not to prosecute Davis and treat him like a diplomat and said “There’s a broader principle at stake that I think we have to uphold.” The Pakistani Foreign Office stated that “this matter is sub judice in a court of law and the legal process should be respected.”

The American focus has been on the claimed diplomatic status. Pakistani media and officials dispute the claim of immunity from a murder charge, allege that Davis was involved in clandestine operations and question the scope of Davis' activities in Pakistan.

Almost a month after the incident, U.S. officials admitted Davis was a contract employee of the CIA (WP) after this was reported in The Guardian. Davis has also been shown to be an erstwhile employee of security outfit Blackwater Worldwide (called Xe Services since Oct '07) and was a member of CIA's Global Response Staff, who assist case officers when they meet with sources. His two victims are also reported to be operatives of Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). An ISI official has made a statement saying that Davis had contacts in the tribal regions along the Afghanistan border and already knew both the men he shot. He said the ISI is investigating the possibility that the encounter on the streets of Lahore stemmed from a meeting or from threats to Davis.

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WP

It has been suggested that while Davis may be a contractor for the CIA, he could also be something else: a still active-duty member of US Special Forces. One of the items found on him by arresting police was an ID card identifying him as a DOD (Department of Defence) contractor. "It could be the US government has decided now to fall back to claiming he's CIA, which would probably at least spare him a hanging, even if it leaves him with a long jail sentence in a Lahore prison.

Davis was working within areas of espionage covered by multiple departments of the CIA: wetworks (SAD (WP)), black propaganda (Political Action Group (WP)), and military reconnaissance, which is not even a department of the CIA, despite the fact that there has been a CIA operative on the ground before every single US invasion. It most closely resembles army Special Forces activity. Therefore it is apparent that the bureaucratic divisions of the CIA do not necessarily reflect a separation of operations carried out by the CIA (WP) into operatives under each division's authorization carrying out operations specific to that division.

• In response to the Egyptian street protests following the North African protest self-immolations, President Hosni Mubarak has sworn in a new cabinet. New vice president Omar Suleiman is Egypt’s former intelligence chief, with close ties to Washington. He played a key role in the U.S. extraordinary rendition program.
• The 14th Amendment may be reinterpreted if a current bill passes. The Arizona House bill HR 140 is the second such in a week; the first, introduced in Indiana.
• An unprecedented inquiry this week submitted evidence pertaining to the death of President Salvador Allende, and hundreds more unresolved deaths during the 1973 U.S.-backed military coup that brought Augusto Pinochet to power.
• The FBI says it has executed 40+ search warrants as part of a probe into cyberattacks waged in support of the whistleblowing website WikiLeaks. Five people have also been arrested in the United Kingdom in a related probe.
• The Obama administration has publicly confirmed it is continuing the Bush-era policy of opposing the return of Haiti’s ousted former president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Overthrown in a 2004 U.S.-backed coup, Aristide has renewed his pleas to return to Haiti following the recent re-emergence of exiled dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier. In a statement issued through Twitter, U.S. Department of State spokesperson P.J. Crowley said, "We do not doubt President Aristide’s desire to help the people of Haiti. But today, Haiti needs to focus on its future, not its past." The Haitian government has refused to issue Aristide a new passport, reportedly under U.S.-led pressure. - Democracy Now!
• Just after his return this week, Jean-Claude Duvalier was indicted on corruption charges stemming from his embezzlement of millions in state funds before a popular uprising forced him to flee Haiti in 1986. Alleged victims of human rights abuses under his regime have also filed criminal complaints. Duvalier says he returned to assist Haiti’s rebuilding effort, but critics say he’s making a last-ditch attempt to recoup some $6 million frozen in a Swiss bank account. A Swiss law passed in response to Duvalier’s longtime effort to obtain the money goes into effect on February 1. Before the new rules kick in, Duvalier would be able to receive the money if he could prove he is not under criminal investigation in his home country. His return is seen as a gamble that he would have been able to enter Haiti and then depart without being charged, which he would then cite as proof to the Swiss he’s not under legal scrutiny. - Democracy Now!

One of the crowd 'celebrating' Duvalier's return told a reporter from The Telegraph that he had been paid $10 Haitian dollars to cheer. Duvalier "declared himself 'impressed by the welcome I have received, especially from the crowd of young people who don't know me.'"- The Telegraph

• (In January 2011), "a group of U.S.-based human rights groups and legal organizations filed an emergency petition with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to halt the roundups, detention and deportations of Haitian nationals by the U.S. government." - Democracy Now! On the 20th of January, the U.S. government resumed deportations to Haiti. Haitian refugees face a completely different standard than Cuban refugees for entry into the US, according to Human Rights Watch. Other human rights groups criticized deporting people into a triad of disasters: a cholera outbreak, violence surrounding the election and earthquake devastation.

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