Diplomatic Immunity and Drone Bombing: Life Can't Get Any Cheaper in Pakistan

"Certainly a dangerous gift, power without kindness, inventive

slyness without understanding. The corruptedly cultivated human

being wants only to be able, to have, to rule, to enjoy, without

considering to what end he is able, what he has, and whether what

he calls enjoyment does not eventually turn into the killing of all

enjoyment."

----Herder, Letters for the Advancement of Humanity, #115.

Recently in Lahore, Pakistan a US private security contractor,

Raymond Davis, was arrested by Pakistani police for the murder

of two men. He was alone with an unregistered gun in a crowded

business district of the city. One of the victims was shot in the

back. The first few days after the alleged crime a tale was spun

that Davis had no connections to the US Embassy in Pakistan and

that he killed the two men out of self defense. When the ballistics

of the event were established and numerous witnesses stepped

forward the self defense argument evaporated. Strangely, after

guilt seemed more likely from forensics, the US Embassy reversed

it's early dismissal of Davis by stating he's a diplomat and deserves

immunity. Yesterday President Obama stated, falsely I might add,

that Davis should not be held for the crime of murder because of

International Standards on Diplomatic Immunity. First, immunity

does not cover all crimes committed by Diplomatic personnel. Grave

crimes, and we believe a double murder reaches this standard, do

not, by those same standards, merit the protections of Diplomatic

Immunity. Second, Diplomatic Immunity can only be enforced when

a diplomat is in the process of performing diplomatic functions. I

doubt Davis was attending a function illegally armed and shooting

two men. Can one foresee the tortuous casuistry in attempting to

state a double murder while alone in a business district was a

Diplomatic Function. Third, since when are private security

contractors labelled "diplomats"? And what of the early disavowals

of the alleged murderer as an "outside actor" not connected to the

US Government?

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The President of the United States is now trying to help an alleged

murderer escape due process in Pakistan. Ironic the US denies

due process and all rights of recourse, habeas corpus etc., when

when we suspect a Pakistani may be connected to the killing of

an American. The US drone bombing policy is based on a Legal

Standard that people alleged to be "terrorists" can be killed,

along with innocent bystanders, without any legal process observed.

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US policy explicitly states it can murder suspects in foreign lands

without any judicial consideration while US financed private security

contractors are allowed to murder people in the same land under

the protection of Diplomatic Immunity. This policy is consistent

in its standard of providing impunity for the lawless enforcement of

executions committed by the forces of US empire in foreign lands.

It also exposes the psychotic insistence that the US can murder

suspects without any standard of legality and can also evade any

kind of accountability when a contractor is caught murdering

people. A complete lack of fealty to any standard of International

Law is what the US demands. But when a single actor is caught

committing a grave crime they run for the protections of that

same disparaged International Law.

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Pakistan is on the brink of chaos. Senator John Kerry has been

sent to Pakistan to negotiate for Davis' release. If the Pakistani

gov't succumbs to US pressure there will be riots. Our supposed

ally will suffer a grave debasement in its people's eyes. If he is

released there will be unrest and the likelihood of a Coup by

the military. No future regime will be unable to cool the rage of

the people by aiding US interests concerning AF-PAK efforts.

The people are already deeply enraged by the escalating Drone

Bombing policy of President Obama inside Pakistan. Thousands

of women and children have been killed. Add an American

private security contractor granted immunity from judgement on

a murder charge and one more match will be thrown on dry grass.