unfortunately, this is an example of "American Exceptionalism" for the world to see

[kpete]

Saved By Sharia?

Raymond Davis Freed After Payment of Blood Money

ISLAMABAD: A Pakistan court on Wednesday freed CIA contractor Raymond Davis, who was accused of murdering two men in Lahore, after blood money was paid in accordance with sharia law, the Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah said.

“The family members of the slain men appeared in the court and independently verified they had pardoned him (Davis),” provincial law minister Rana Sanaullah told a private television.

“He has been released from jail. Now it is up to him. He can go wherever he wants,” he added.

...............
http://www.dawn.com/2011/03/16/court-frees-cia-contractor-accused-of-murder-rana-sanaullah.html

......................

walking backward
my hidden face
does not go before me
I cannot see
the dogs of war
I hear
salt
blood and tears
dripping down
I hear
children become gravediggers
howling

............

http://warisacrime.org/content/us-military-diplomacy-%E2%80%93-wounded-knee-afghanistan

[bluestateguy]

1. I'm assuming all the opponents of Sharia Law will be duly outraged, right?

nt

[Rage for Order]

2. How is it American Exceptionalism?

It sounds like anybody could get the same deal if they have the cash

:shrug:

[Cid_B]

5. Some folks never miss an opportunity to bash the US...

[kpete]

7. i

have always considered myself a patriot,
i love my country
and my planet.

sorry if i offended you Cid_B
i will try to find you a prettier post later today,

peace, kpete

[indepat]

17. Kpete, surely we can love our country while also despising egregiously illegal,

and/or inhumane acts committed in all our names. :patriot:

[kpete]

20. yep

peace, kpete

[Cid_B]

22. No worries...

I am rarely offended.. often amused.. occasionally confused...

I just try to calls em like I sees em...

[handmade34]

10. the point

we are no different than anybody else... hence... not really exceptional

[HereSince1628]

3. We pay people to kill other people...that's not really news.

Prisoner exchange is usually tit for tat. We get him back, they got???????

[Lyric]

4. Seems more like "privileges of the wealthy" to me.

I guess there are some places where money can literally buy ANYTHING--even a get-out-of-jail-free card for murder.

[Johnny_dollar]

15. It is my suspicion that more than money was involved

I wager that some exceptional psychological pressures were applied by ISI operatives on the relatives to accept a "settlement" in lieu of justice. The Pakistani puppets of American war party were eager to avoid a confrontation on the matter of the death of two nonentities. Witness the acceptance of the drone strikes that murder random Pakistanis; the official protestations are hollow indeed.

[Igel]

21. Pakistan got some things out of it.

First, they shamed the US. By accepting the deal, the man's essentially found guilty without a trial.

Second, they're spared the actual trial. After all, it would depend on whether he was attacked and under threat. If so, he'd have walked--and Pakistan might have a problem. Depends on exactly who the attackers were: jihadis on their own? ISI agents? Mere criminals? All three in one package? But the trial would have either been messy and not to Pakistan's advantage; or it would have been a kangaroo trial, which is how it was shaping up to be--good for their self-image, but not so much for their image abroad. If it was a clean-cut, slam-dunk "the bastard's wrong" I think they'd have gone with the trial. They didn't. But what's said is more important than what is, as far as many people are concerned.

Third, they show themselves magnanimous. He's scum, but we forgive him. We are better than he. Communalism writ small.

Fourth, they show that claims of diplomatic immunity acquired the not-quite-so-old-fashioned way are not important. This makes extending diplomatic immunity the new norm there; it's no longer a matter of simply meeting certain requirements and then claiming it. (This has been lost in the shuffle: A lot of people with diplomatic immunity never formally file the paperwork because meeting the generally accepted requirements was sufficient to substantiate any claim. Not now, it would seem: Pakistan rewrote the rules.)

Fifth, it settles some very likely internal conflicts. The ISI, Zardari, the judiciary all have competing motives and struggles for power. Many of the judiciary push for a strong judiciary because of the importance historically of Islamic jurists, and because it's one of the few ways to advance if you're smart, young, and educated and therefore believe that you deserve power. Now, wielding power is fine and dandy; but wielding the rules that power has to obey is better, esp. if those that wield power tend to be the subject of coups. The ISI may have pushed for the compromise, at Zardari's behest or independently; the jurists may have pushed for the compromise. In any event, the courts won this one: They advanced Pakistan's honor and showed themselves powerful. Again.

Diyyah may have been paid. Perhaps not. I expect we'll find out both ways, and then some.

[xchrom]

6. blood money. he'll disappear into blackwater again. nt

[kpete]

8. exactly

even when i am a bit obtuse,
xchrom seems to get it!

peace, kpete

[xchrom]

9. ...

:toast:

[no_hypocrisy]

11. Reminds me of the Churchill anecdote.

Churchill and Lady Astor were having one of their famous cocktail debates. Churchill asked her, "Would you go to bed with me were I to offer you 100 pounds?" She responded affirmatively. He then asked her, "Would you, were I to offer 10 pounds?" She became indignant and rhetorically stated, "What do you think I am?" Churchill responded, "We've already established that. Now we're haggling over the price."

Here, we have two non-military, civilian Pakastanis, murdered by one of our government assassins. He was going to be held accountable and no excuse was going to derail the train of justice.

Until the right number was agreed upon.

Life is cheap. Justice is priceless.

[Pacifist Patriot]

14. Great story, but it wasn't Churchill.

I get the analogy though.

It's usually attributed to George Bernard Shaw with an unnamed woman, but it's probably not true of him either. Old joke.

The best quips exchanged by the two are reported to be:

Lady Astor says to Churchill, "If you were my husband, I'd poison your tea," to which he responded, "Madam, if you were my wife, I'd drink it!"

AND

Lady Astor is supposed to have said to Churchill, "Winston, you are drunk." To which Churchill responded, "And you, madam, are ugly. But I shall be sober in the morning."

Sorry, didn't mean to detract from your response. There's got to be something in that tea story we could use with the teabaggers, I'm just not creative enough to come up with it.

Cheers!

[Angry Dragon]

12. I want to know who paid the money

Does the trail lead back to the American taxpayers??

[Scuba]

13. Makes you wonder why the wingers are opposed to Sharia law. n/t

[msongs]

16. isn't religion wonderful :-) nt

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

18. The CIA bails out one of it's killers in a display of democracy and "the rule of law".

Al-Jazeera is now reporting the protests on the streets of Pakistan.

[cali]

19. lol. this has jack shit to do with American Exceptionalism.

warisacrime is a despicable site.

you seem to really like it.