Raymond Davis case and Uncle Sam's hypocrisy

The Davis case has brought out the worst face of the USA: the hypocrite, who uses Islamic law where it pleases.

“The message that the Obama administration sent in Islamabad on Wednesday is loud and clear. If you work for the CIA, the US government will pay your way out of jail even if you are being held on murder charges.”

This was the crux of Pratap Chatterjee’s report for the Guardian The ransoming of Raymond Davis.

Call it blood money, call it a bribe – the fact is that someone paid $2.3 million to get Raymond Davis out of a Koth Lakhpat jail and on a special plane faster than you can say “CIA agent”.

Where this money came from is unclear. While the US government denies paying off the victims' families, the facts are clear: this is yet another incident where America’s hypocrisy stands stark naked.

An American Shariah for Davis

The same American government that has repeatedly criticized the Shariah Law calling it's tenets "barbaric" and "medieval" has now used the Qisas and Diyat Ordinance 1990 to save their CIA hero.

Go ahead America, cringe at the Shariah-sanctioned flogging of ‘adulterous’ women in Swat; grimace at the chopping of thieves’ hands in Saudi Arabia; but pay a couple of million dollars in exchange for a murderer’s pardon through Diyat.

Another interesting point has been raised by columnist Christian Whiton who writes for FOX News.

Whiton writes:

Assistance from US taxpayers to Pakistan has increased to a sky-high average of $1.5 billion per year.

The gall of asking for an extra $2.3 million payment on top of this is insulting.

Yes, you read it right. This columnist (a former US State Department senior adviser) is enraged that holier-than-thou America had to actually pay Pakistan to release Davis after giving it a flood of financial assistance.

He asks:

Exactly what is that $1.5 billion a year supposed to buy us?

Has the American government bought Pakistan’s sovereignty by giving it money? The answer seems to be that it has.

The popular idea that our policy makers, diplomats and military brass get their cues from Uncle Sam is not just rhetoric. As Davis flies off to safety, over 30 Pakistanis have been killed in an alleged US drone strike, begging the question - why is a Pakistani life so much cheaper than an American one?

“Pakistan shouldn’t bite the hand that feeds,” is a justification given to explain our country’s tacit approval of anything suggested by the US government. But when that very generous hand grabs us by the throat and threatens to stop sanctions and development, it is clear who the barbarian is.

The same America that talks about justice and bravery, has lived up to its reputation of playing an under-handed game. Long live America!