not on the table

A13 has some updates on the Ray Davis and Aaron Mark DeHaven situations in Pakistan.

The Peshawar court rejected DeHaven's bail application because he had no legal documents. He goes back to jail for 14 days.

Meanwhile, forty-five other people, culled from Davis's phone, have also been taken into custody.

No word yet on their identities. However, DeHaven's firm is reportedly staffed with retired US military and defense people.

Little was known about DeHaven except that his firm, which also has offices in Afghanistan and Dubai, is staffed by retired US military and defence personnel who boast of direct experience in the "global war on terror".

^^^^^^^

We often hear how "everything remains on the table." However, we see that one thing absolutely does not remain on the table.

There will be no trading Ray Davis for Aafia Siddiqui. 

WASHINGTON: The Obama administration has rejected Pakistan’s proposal to trade Raymond Davis for Dr Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani neuroscientist serving an 86-year term in a US prison, diplomatic sources told Dawn.

The sources said that Pakistan discussed the proposal at “the highest level” in the Obama administration but was told that this was “a non-starter”.

The US government informed Pakistan that they would not entertain the possibility of trading Ms Siddiqui for Mr Davis because “these were two different cases”.

That's correct. Ray Davis shot Pakistanis dead in the street in broad daylight. All sorts of evidence has been recovered from the scene, where he was arrested.

Aafia Siddiqui was kidnapped with her children on March 28, 2003.

Amongst the many outstanding questions regarding the case of Aafia Siddiqui are the following:

• Was she indeed kidnapped with her three children in Karachi on March 28, 2003, and subsequently rendered to a secret prison, where she was raped and tortured for five years? Binyam Mohamed, the British resident who was released from Guantánamo in February 2009, has stated that he saw Aafia Siddiqui in Bagram, and other former prisoners have spoken about “The Grey Lady of Bagram,” Prisoner 650, who they believed was Aafia.

• Where are her children?

• If Aafia Siddiqui was indeed held in secret US custody for over five years, was the story of the attempted shooting of the US soldiers in July 2008 a cynical set-up, designed to ensure that she could be transferred to the US and tried, convicted and imprisoned without the true story coming to light?

Dr. Aafia sentenced to 86 years in prison

Thoughts on Aafia Siddiqui's conviction




Manhattan Judge Richard Berman convicted her.

“She does what she wants when she wants it. These charges are no joke. People almost died.”

~ Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher La Vigne

People almost died, he says.

Victim of US drone attack.

We would like to put up some pictures of Judge Richard Berman and Assistant US Attorney Christopher La Vigne, but their faces have been scrubbed from google.

Judge Berman sent Aafia Siddiqui to the Federal Medical Facility in Carswell, Texas.

In the last 10 years…

• COUNTLESS young women – more than 100 – have died under “questionable circumstances” with families unable to obtain autopsy reports
• NUMEROUS cases of sex abuse, including sodomy and rape, were carried out by prison chaplain Vincent Bassie Inametti whose reign of terror lasted eight years until he was finally convicted in 2008
• RAMPANT sex abuse of prisoners was reported by prison doctor Roger Guthrie who was fired for whistle-blowing
• PRISON doctor was convicted of sexually abusing inmates while another doctor was allowed to leave without charge after being caught sexually abusing a woman patient
• GROSS medical negligence has been reported including lack of care for several cancer patients – one went untreated for a year and died
• SERIAL sexual predator and prison guard Michael Miller was convicted of raping a detainee
• FORCED psychotropic medication on reluctant detainees
• INFESTATION of ants went unchecked even when one patient in a coma was covered by the biting creatures as was the corpse of another.

We would think Aafia the LAST PERSON ON EARTH that the US would want paraded around on teevee as the prisoner exchanged for the valuable "DIPLOMAT" Ray Davis.

They don't ever want her story told.

We thought maybe a dramatic rescue for Ray... ? Most likely they will entertain one of these other proposals.

Since his arrest both sides have discussed various proposals to break the impasse but have not yet succeeded in doing so.
1) The proposals include quashing a case against the ISI chief in a New York court and curtailing the CIA’s activities in Pakistan.
2) Another proposal calls for the US government to pay reparations to the victims’ families, who under a Pakistani law can pardon Mr Davis if asked.

Apparently, the US administration is discussing all three proposals with Pakistani officials.

ISI chief’s case: Meanwhile, a court in New York has accepted a petition against the ISI chief for his agency’s alleged involvement in the Mumbai terror attacks, which also killed some US citizens.

Diplomatic sources claim that the US administration appears willing to claim sovereign immunity for the ISI chief in this case provided Pakistan also granted diplomatic immunity to Mr Davis, who is a CIA contractor. “At one stage, the Americans were going to file papers in the court, stating that the ISI chief enjoyed sovereign immunity but decided not to do so after Mr Davis’s arrest,” an official source said.

About that lawsuit:

The 26-page lawsuit was filed before a New York Court on November 19 against the ISI and LeT by the relatives Rabbi Gavriel Noah Holtzberg and his wife Rivka, who were both gunned down by militants at the Chhabad House in Mumbai.

Major Iqbal and Major Samir Ali are other ISI officers who have been issued summons.
The one of its kind lawsuit also brings as defendants Lashkar operatives like operations commander Lakhvi, JuD chief Saeed, and Azam Cheema.
"The Mumbai terrorist attack was planned, trained for and carried out by members of defendant, the LeT. Defendant ISI provided critical planning, material support, control and coordination of the attacks," the lawsuit alleges.
It accuses ISI officers Mr. Pasha, Mr. Taj, Maj. Iqbal and Major Ali of being purposefully engaged in the direct provision of material support or resources including weapons and explosives.

"On and prior to November 26, 2008, the ISI, Pasha, Taj, Iqbal and Ali (as well as other officials, agents and employees of the ISI) directed, engaged and/or relied upon the efforts of U.S.-based individuals, including but not limited to David Headley and Tahawwur Rana, for raising funds, building a network of connections, recruiting participants and planning the operation of the Mumbai terror attack," the lawsuit claims.

If we had to guess, we think that proposal will probably be the one that works out.