This is great news. Either the US paid the ‘diyat’ directly or indirectly to the families of the dead, but either way blood money was paid and Raymond was released!
It reminds me of the cases currently in Afghanistan. I wonder how much a compensation payment would have to be in order to get Robert Langdon and others released? In Raymond’s case, it sounds like a total amount of $ 2.3 million was paid out to all three of the families.
Now the thing to watch in Pakistan is the public reaction. Uprisings have been going on throughout the world, and the government in Pakistan is probably bracing itself for the negative reaction from the population after this release. Hell, they were already fired up after Davis killed the two men out of self defense. I have no doubt that elements of the Taliban and AQ are right in there stirring up the masses into a lather. It doesn’t take much to get the mob all riled up in Pakistan.
That brings up another point I wanted to make. The media in Pakistan, and specifically the new media is a joke. It is so hard to tell who is politically motivated, who has an agenda, or who is really focused on just getting the truth out. Most of the times I just laugh when reading the stuff, because it’s as if the author of the story found his material in a comic book. Or worse yet, you can blatantly tell when it is some irhabist dork trying to spin the story. Matter of fact, I am sure they are just dreaming up new and fantastical ways of spinning the Davis deal as we speak.
Finally, our relations with Pakistan pisses me off. The US has dumped billions of dollars into that country in this war. Not to mention all the support and money given during their flooding crisis last year, and other disaster in past years. And what really gets me going is that AQ and the Taliban enjoy a nice little safe haven along the border, and yet we continue to depend on Pakistan’s ability to do the job of destroying them. They have not done this, and it’s as if the money we have been giving Pakistan is passed on to the Taliban and AQ to build resorts and health spas for their guys up in those hills. Pffft.
And look how much hassle it took to get Davis back? Are we not in the same fight? What really gets me is how would you like to be a soldier in the Pakistani army that lost friends in the war, and yet they see their government playing games like this? Politics… –Matt
U.S. did not pay compensation in Raymond Davis case
March 16, 2011
The U.S. government did not pay any compensation to the families of two Pakistanis killed by Raymond Davis, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday.
“The United States did not pay any compensation,” Clinton told reporters in Cairo. Asked who paid the families, she replied: “You will have to ask the families.”