US Media Blackout on AFPAK Outrage

[skyhook77sfg]

Pakistani tribal Shia demands execution of Raymond Davis


Ahlul Bayt News Agency) -

Shia Tribal (People of FATA) appreciated the uprising in Egypt, Tunisia and Other Muslim countries and warned the Pakistani leadership to change pro-American policy by hanging Raymond Davis (blackwater killer) openly in public place as exemplary lesson for other terrorists.


SOMEONE SAY SOMETHING ABOUT ROPES?

[Tinker]

Captain Murphy: Re: face Makeup.

Makeup isn't to make a person look like some kind of opposite of what they are, it's meant to make them look different.

So he looks like a westerner, changes his hair color, gives himself a distinguishing mole that he doesn't otherwise have. Darkens his skin so he looks hispanic instead of anglo, not so he looks Pakistani. There are all kinds of ways to pull off a con, and they are usually subtle.

[Demon of Undoing]

[Azrael]

[cincinnatus]

[Demon of Undoing]

If you are under the impression I am defending Davis you are quite mistaken. Assuming we are getting anything even vaguely close to the truth , by all rights he would be going away just for the gun charge , let alone for what would be in America an unjustified shooting. You know what you are getting into when you sign on for this. He isn't a victim here and regardless of orders , he was the one doing the doo.

However , barring the irregularities of the Pakistani end of the Vienna accord , if Davis has DI , they have to let him go. I don't think they have an option available to them that won't jeopardize order there ( unless Hillary backs off or we let them do Davis without repercussions in terms of funding).

Other than trying to puzzle out what he was really doing there ( and I resigned myself to never really knowing inside of the first minute ) , my only efforts have been aimed at trying to tamp down the stupid generated because he had a couple of items painted black. It's a terror Magellan ! Sixty rounds of pistol ammo is an arsenal ! What kind of assault monocular is that ? FOR GOD SAKE , HE HAD THREE THINGS THAT CAN SEND OUT RADIO WAVES !!!!! GAAAAAAAA !

FN to Cinci:I am not in skyhook's league. Every time I talk to him I am reminded of it. I was raised in it ( as much as I was raised at all ) , and there is more overlap between where he was and where I was in the middle of the War on Drugs than is supposed. I have heard shots fired in anger. But make no mistake , he's the snake eater. I don't rate anything like that.

[skyhook77sfg]

NOW HEAR THIS




Benazir murder case: Danger for Musharraf if proceedings started against him


From Mumbai Mirror




Islamabad: Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has added Musharraf’s name to the list of accused in the Benazir assassination case, and the country’s Law Minister Babar Awan said earlier this week: “Musharraf is to face the court and the court will decide his fate.”

According to the jurists, although the FIA presented only the interim charge sheet of the case before the anti-terrorism court, it believed that Musharraf was involved in the assassination, Xinhua reports.

After failing to get any response from Musharraf, who was initially nominated as ‘accused’ in the FIR, the FIA presented the interim charge sheet on February 7 in the court declaring him an absconder, mentioning that he would be declared as "wanted" if he did not appear before the investigation team.

"The court, on the next hearing of the case on February 12, can declare Musharraf as ''Wanted'' person in the case and then there would be a question whether to contact Interpol or not," sources said.

FIA Public Prosecutor Chaudhry Zulfiqar told the court that Musharraf was directly advising two police officers Saud Aziz and Khurram Shahzad- responsible for Bhutto''s security- on the day of the incident.

"The phone records confirm contact between Musharraf and Aziz," Zulfiqar said.

Musharraf''s two close aides during his era have agreed to become witnesses against him to prove that he was responsible for Bhutto''s murder, well-placed sources told the news agency.


HAVE ANOTHER GIN AND TONIC PERV

[monster_gardener]

[Azrael]

You'll note that Islamabad never claimed that Mir Aimal Kasi had diplomatic immunity.

[skyhook77sfg]

gentlemen...

diplomats are required to present credentials and register with host countries.

davis did not do that.



two, diplomats enter foreign jurisdiction with special diplomatic passports.
again, Davis did not do that. his diplomatic passport was issued in Islamabad by US embassy two days after the shootings.

thirdly his papers indicated he was engaged in consular activities which was also confirmed by US consular officials when he was arrested.
consular officials and/or employees are not ever granted diplomatic status.

he is in very serious straits.

BTW DEMON

there's more than one way to skin a snake. got a world of respect for the background you clearly have. know that please.

and here I thought I was the only guy with bullets sometimes in ziploc bags.

just put some subsonics in one ...

[Azrael]

[Demon of Undoing]

Full copy. You've done me an honor.

[Tinker]

[skyhook77sfg]

Former Pak spy chief warns govt against American's release


Islamabad: Former army officers will 'take action' against the government if Pakistan releases US official Raymond Davis who shot dead two Pakistanis, ex-spy chief Hamid Gul has warned.

"If the government shows any softness in the case of Davis, former army officers would play their role in the defence of national interest," Gul told some 200 men and women in Islamabad on Wednesday.

"Enough is enough! Americans killed our men and yet our government is apologetic," Gul said.

"We don't want any hostilities with the US but we warned Americans that do not test our nerves too much," said the former head of Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence.

BTW
latest reports from the field indicate fatal shots employed fragmentation rounds...

special ceramic bullets that fragment leaving no ballistic trail originally developed for use in pressurized aircraft ...

the cheese seems to be binding if confirmed.

[Demon of Undoing]

I want to see those rounds. Be advised , they may be referring to the old BAT rounds that were indeed developed with the lovely gentlemen from GSG-9 , specifically for use in aircraft as mentioned. They were not ceramic , but were exceptionally light weight rounds that would only penetrate a few inches in tissue before near-completely disintegrating. While the lack of a scientifically consistent ballistic signature was ( usually) a side effect , the primary concern was to create something light enough not to wreck airframe parts , like doors and windows.*

These rounds , because of the extremely wide hollow point cavity , were sometimes difficult for some weapons to digest. As a result , they used a plastic plug in the cavity that gave the round the same feeding profile as ball. IOW, max reliability in a high expansion, frangible round.

Eventually , the round became unavailable ( I think). However , and this is why I am being so unconscionably pedantic here , the very same design is being used today. It is called Pow'r'ball, loaded by Remington , though I think they increased bullet weight , and it is commonly available in the US. If this is what he had loaded , the confusion might be understandable in a non- pistol ( ie, just about everywhere in the world besides the US) place. Now , if he truly was carrying something ceramic , which is something I've never heard of in pistol ammo ( again, means nothing , I haven't heard of a lot of things) , then yes , things get more interesting.

However , if I have something special for a particular use in direct action , I'm not going to use that to deal with anything but the intended target unless I just have to. A special item like that has a unique signature. If used once , there is no pattern , nothing to trace. If used more than once , however , the lack of a pattern becomes a pattern. If he had to defend himself , it makes no sense to forfeit a particular advantage like that. Now , if the second gun was a disposable ( Glock is great candidate , as they can be used right out of the box with near certitude of reliability and have polygonal rifling that can sometimes spoof forensics when using frangible ammunition) and he has two types of ammunition( ceramic and something else ) , then this was a setup for a bang and drop , either by him or a local businessman. Still can't figure out the photos , though. There are too many other ways to get those.

I am going to look at this video and other recent stuff in the am.


I may be way off base here , boring the peanut gallery on the one hand and trying to teach my grandmother how to knit on the other. Apologies



* Puncturing the seal in an aircraft with a few bullet holes will not lead to explosive decompression , by the way. The aircraft is not a hermetically sealed bubble so much as a vehicle with massive overpressure , like the chem sets in NBC - compatible armor. There are too many access ports , doors , windows , seams and movement to make it watertight , and that's essentially how buttoned it would have to be for something as small as a bullet hole or two to let out the volume of air required for that Hawaiian Airlines effect. A solid round hitting a doorframe or a window edge might make that happen , however , hence the frangible rounds.

[skyhook77sfg]

man you know a lot more than you let on.

nothing short of impressive suffices.

but current generation special military use only rounds in 556 and 9mm are indeed ceramic, emphasis on special.

some even with non metallic cartridges.

as posted, reports as yet unconfirmed.

and as you certainly also know, would contra-indicate firing through a windshield.

[monster_gardener]

[CgDs]

[Demon of Undoing]

There's your boy. I hadn't thought of sintered ammo , but calling it ceramic isn't far from truth. There are ceramic shotgun ( breaching rounds). Dollars to doughnuts this is what he was loaded with - beats the windshield , unspecial enough for duty carry , no ballistic signature to speak of ( apparently) other than metal dust.

[AzariLoveIran]

[skyhook77sfg]

THE DAVIS FILE GETS THICKER


Protests throughout the city of Lahore, university students, various political parties, demanded stiff punishment for a group of Americans, one identified initially as “Raymond Allen Davis,” now “identity unknown,” held on a variety of charges including 2 counts of murder along with four American security contractors currently being sought after fleeing the scene of a vehicular homicide in a related incident.

“Davis” is accused of two counts of murder and terrorism related charges. The other four, named to police but withheld from the media, are being sought for questioning in relation to a vehicular homicide while moving in traffic to assist “Davis.” The four, though described by Davis and the American press to be “diplomats” are believed to be security contractors who entered Pakistan illegally under assumed identities.
The four not yet in custody, believed to be Americans, fled the scene after killing Ibadur Rehman, a local merchant, during a bizarre incident. The Americans, mis-identified by the US Embassy as “diplomats” are believed involved in covert or “black ops” operations inside Pakistan, reportedly against the government of Pakistan, America’s primary ally in the region.

The victim of the vehicle homicide, Rehman, a bicyclist traveling on Jail Road in Lahore, was struck and killed by a four wheel drive vehicle that was part of what “Davis” describes as a “mission” in his statement to police.According to the statement, the two vehicles, the Honda rental with “cloned” plates driven by “Davis” and the “chase vehicle,” a 4 wheel drive vehicle not registered to the American consulate, containing a 4-man armed security team, were heading toward the Mozang Chungi district.Mozang Chungi is a densely populated area of small shops and street vendors typically only used by local residents. Security sources in Pakistan state:
“No American tourist or diplomat would ever go there, certainly not two car loads of heavily armed private contractors equipped for a mission of some kind. The only possible reason to be there would be terrorism. The area has been attacked before by terrorists, taking advantage of the crowds and confusion. We suspect we may have stumbled on the source of previous terror attacks and, in fact, broken up what may have become another ‘Mumbai.’

“This is a classic terrorist cover, false identity, phony license plates, car filled with weapons, radios and surveillance gear.”

“Davis,” in his statement to police, stated he fired in self defense. Weapons were said to be found alongside the bodies of the slain although counter-claims of weapons being “planted” fill the airwaves.Autopsy results, as reported, indicate that both were shot in the back with special fragmenting anti-personnel ammunition, one receiving four hits to the back and the other three..


Davis, and his four companions who have yet to be apprehended, according to police sources, entered Pakistan illegally, using assumed identities.
However, stories in the press in Pakistan and general belief by the “man in the street” say that the man being held is believed to be an American security contractor active in coordinating terror attacks inside Pakistan, working with Indian intelligence, the “RAW.”

The area of the city “Davis” and his four companions were driving to has been the repeated scene of terror attacks in this city of 7 million nestled on the Indian border, hundreds of miles from Taliban strongholds. Sources in Pakistan state that it simply isn’t credible that an American would be in the densely populated and poorest region of Lahore, especially an American with a false identity and rental car with license plates “cloned” from another vehicle 300 miles away.

“Davis” is believed to be a native of Las Vegas, 36 years old with a military background in Special Forces. An internet search shows him to operate under a “one man” Florida based security company but there is, of yet, no known relationship between this entity and any State Department overseas mission.
A check of passport records show that “Davis” has traveled between Pakistan and Afghanistan 9 times during the past 18 months.


from a pakistani major, ret but still active,,,

more detailed but beware of interests at play

[skyhook77sfg]

Altaf asks people to brace for revolution

By Fasahat Mohiuddin
Saturday, February 12, 2011

Karachi

Muttahida Qaumi Movement chief Altaf Hussain has said a revolution of patriotic Pakistanis on the pattern of the French Revolution is knocking on the door of the country, and asked “patriotic army generals” to get ready to save the sovereignty of Pakistan.

He has further said that if the US agrees to release Dr Aafia Siddiqui, the heirs of the two young men shot dead by American national Raymond Davis could be requested to pardon him.


PUBLISHED ESTIMATES PAK NUCLEAR ARSENAL RANGE FROM 50 TO 80

[Demon of Undoing]

Talk about bad timing. After Egypt , the street is going to be hot and the army is going to want to get out ahead of it.

Houston , we have a problem. Didn't see this coming.

[AzariLoveIran]

[skyhook77sfg]

YOUR GENERAL APPROACH IS REFRESHING AZARI

here's another approach to the Pakistani current state of the state...

best brief out there....



Following free elections, religious parties have lost their ability to pass extremist legislation. In fact, with the JUI’s exit, the government is now comprised of parties that are unlikely to pass such legislation, though admittedly they are afraid to fight for secularism. Neither capacity is likely to re-emerge soon.

Progress on eliminating the militants’ capacity to undertake violent attacks has been slower. Suicide attack casualties have decreased and the radius of the extremists’ operations is shrinking. However, the disruptive power of extremists remains strong enough to keep the country unstable. Taseer’s murder represents a flare-up in this capacity. But, the most ferocious displays of this capacity occur in defence of past territorial and legislative gains (for example, when proposed changes to the blasphemy law and remaining Fata strongholds are attacked) rather than for new gains.

The ability to indoctrinate people also remains strong. Beyond enhancing their disruptive capacities, this may also help extremists win elections or take over key institutions stealthily, especially the military. Neither scenario is impossible but nor is it easy, given Pakistan’s polycentric nature. Winning elections, in particular, would require enormous social mobilisation by the extremists to nullify existing patronage politics. Even if either happens, it will happen gradually, over years.

Given this status of different capacities, it is clear that Pakistan today is not a country slipping rapidly into an extremist abyss but one slowly clawing its way out of it, with extremist violent capacities largely focused on defending past victories.Nevertheless, even these remaining capacities represent Pakistan’s biggest challenge since 1971. Clearly, hate factories, extremist legislation, illegal weapons and militant strongholds must be eliminated to, amongst other things, achieve economic and political stability.

Unfortunately, neither the politicians nor the generals seem willing or capable of doing this until Afghanistan stabilises, given their fears of the extremists’ disruptive capacities. Thus, the army is in a stalemate in Fata. However, the same is true in Afghanistan for the mightier and more motivated Americans.

This is happening primarily because Pakistan and America are not on the same page. The US is pursuing a military solution but Pakistan a compromise whereby pro-Pakistan militants can dominate Afghanistan. Until both parties operate from the same page, the stalemates will persist.

Pakistan could fully pursue the military solution demanded by the US under strong American pressure. However, the success of this strategy is uncertain given the failed history of external military forays in the region. It is also likely to cause serious strife within Pakistan as extremists unleash their disruptive capacities to protect remaining gains.

Abandoning the war unilaterally, as is sometimes suggested, is inadvisable given that Pakistan must maintain international goodwill, and its past complicity in encouraging extremism on both sides of the border.Thus, the most feasible option is that, foregoing narrow aims, Pakistan must convince America and the Taliban to pursue peace whereby Taliban elements willing to respect human rights join a broadly based, ethnically decentralised Afghan government that is neutral towards all external stakeholders.

This option will optimise the interests of not only domestic and regional stakeholders but also America. America’s real rival, Al Qaeda, barely exists in Afghanistan any more but has spread globally.

In being heavily involved in Afghanistan, the US is chasing ghosts — getting distracted from new Al Qaeda sanctuaries and fanning instability in nuclear-armed Pakistan. By weaning away the Taliban, the US will increase Pakistan’s capacity and willingness to tackle remaining Al Qaeda-allied and domestic extremists through a carrot-and-stick policy, and enhance Pakistan’s stability.

Will the US learn the lessons that the UK and USSR learnt earlier about Afghanistan? It probably will, but closer to its withdrawal timeline of 2014. So, barring military miracles, Pakistan will remain unstable until then (though without collapsing). However, this will reflect the follies not just of its generals and politicians but also America, as has been the case throughout Pakistan’s history.