Arrested U.S. Official is Actually CIA Contractor

Disclosure likely to further frustrate U.S. government efforts to free him

Pakistani security officials escort Raymond Allen Davis, center, to a local court in Lahore, Pakistan, on Jan. 28, 2011. (Photo credit: Hamza Ahmed / AP file)

By Adam Goldman and Kimberly Dozier

Feb. 21, 2011

WASHINGTON — An American jailed in Pakistan for the fatal shooting of two armed men was secretly working for the CIA and scouting a neighborhood when he was arrested, a disclosure likely to further frustrate U.S. government efforts to free the man and strain relations between two countries partnered in a fragile alliance in the war on terror.

Raymond Allen Davis, 36, had been working as a CIA security contractor and living in a Lahore safe house, according to former and current U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to talk publicly about the incident.

Davis, a former Special Forces soldier who left the military in 2003, shot the men in what he described as an attempted armed robbery in the eastern city of Lahore as they approached him on a motorcycle. A third Pakistani, a bystander, died when a car rushing to help Davis struck him. Davis was carrying a Glock handgun, a pocket telescope and papers with different identifications.

Meanwhile, the Obama administration insisted anew Monday that Davis had diplomatic immunity and must be set free. …

The revelation that Davis was an employee of the CIA comes amid a tumultuous dispute over whether he is immune from criminal prosecution under international rules enacted to protect diplomats overseas. New protests in Pakistan erupted after The Guardian newspaper in London decided to publish details about Davis’ relationship with the CIA. …

Full story

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As reported in The Guardian

American who sparked diplomatic crisis over Lahore shooting was CIA spy (Feb. 20, 2011)

Link to video

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3/17/2011 Update

CIA Denouement Likely to Leave Scars for U.S., Pakistan

Analysis by Missy Ryan

March 16, 2011

WASHINGTON — CIA contractor Raymond Davis may no longer be locked in a Pakistani jail, but the diplomatic storm unleashed by his arrest will likely leave scars on a fragile relationship central to U.S. security.

A Pakistani court acquitted Davis, who shot and killed two men in the Pakistani city of Lahore on January 27 in what he said was a robbery attempt, of murder charges and released him on Wednesday after what some officials said was a deal that involved paying “blood money” to the victims’ families.

Davis’ release ends a weeks-long standoff that inflamed already strained ties with Washington, which has leaned on Pakistan to crack down on militants who are making it hard for President Barack Obama to finally end the Afghan war.

After weeks of unusually public pressure on Islamabad to declare Davis immune from prosecution, officials in Washington sought to put a bright face on the situation on Wednesday, saying his release meant a return to business as usual.

But when it comes to secretive, high-stakes U.S. ties with Pakistan, a shaky democracy, nuclear power and a big recipient of U.S. military aid, that business is anything but ordinary. …

Davis’ release clears the way for unfettered U.S. drone strikes on militants in Pakistani tribal areas, which were halted for weeks after Davis’ arrest in a long pause seen as linked to the tension over his fate. …

Full story

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Note: It appears the alleged “armed robbery” was either a CIA cover story or an ISI assassination attempt. There are reports the two motorcyclists were turncoat CIA informants working with Raymond Davis to spy on Lashkar-e-Taiba, who became double-agents for the Pakistani ISI to spy on Davis himself.

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Related report on this site

Anti-American Backlash in Pakistan (Jan. 30, 2011)

Supporters of Pakistani religious party Jamat-e-Islami chant slogans behind a banner reading “Hang the American killer of innocents” during a demonstration against a U.S. consular employee accused in the shooting deaths of two Pakistani men, in Islamabad, Pakistan. (Photo credit: Anjum Naveed / AP)

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FROM THE ARCHIVES: One Year Ago — February 21, 2010

Little Rock Lake Water Quality

Nancy Carver of Rice, Minn., has led by example by restoring her shoreline on Little Rock Lake to native flowers and grasses. (Minnesota Pollution Control Agency video)

One year ago today, I reported that Nancy Carver of Rice, Minn., restored her shoreline on Little Rock Lake to native flowers and grasses and helped educate her neighbors about the importance of shoreline restoration for improving water quality.

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FROM THE ARCHIVES: Two Years Ago — February 21, 2009

Barack Obama’s Leadership Style

Sarah Moore and Angela Rodgers in the Capitol rotunda.

Two years ago today, on Feb. 21, 2009, I reported that two of my student research associates in the Unit for the Study of Personality in Politics, Sarah Moore and Angela Rodgers, presented their research on “The Personality Profile of President Barack Obama: Leadership Implications” at the 6th annual Minnesota Private Colleges Scholars at the Capitol event, Feb. 19, 2009 in the State Capitol rotunda, St. Paul, Minn.