Pakistani Doctor that helped US track down Osama bin Laden sentenced for treason

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Hayabusa Rider

Admin Emeritus & Elite Member
Jan 26, 2000
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???

Suppose a person blows up a bus in China then flees to the US. Pictures of the terrorist are shown on TV. A woman sitting in the bar notices that the person on TV is the man sitting next to her, so she calls the Chinese government which stages a military raid in Pittsburgh to take the man away then the US government then charges the woman with treason. This makes sense to you?

That's closer to how it was.
 

dmcowen674

No Lifer
Oct 13, 1999
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Congress voted to strip $33 million from the $1 billion in U.S. taxpayer money aid to Pakistan today.

$1 million for each year they sentenced the Doctor.

Like they will miss that $33 million when still getting close to a billion.

Can I form a country and get a billion in U.S. taxpayer money too?
 

Hayabusa Rider

Admin Emeritus & Elite Member
Jan 26, 2000
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I see you changed UK to China. Playing the race card a little early in this game.
Race is your suggestion. Relations between the US and UK are about as close as can be. That between Pakistan and us are not. China would be a better example where there is more antagonism and little affection and less understanding between peoples.
 

Craig234

Lifer
May 1, 2006
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To toss the right a bone here, some humor:

What would be funny is Seal Team Six going and taking him out of prison to the US.
 

EagleKeeper

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To toss the right a bone here, some humor:

What would be funny is Seal Team Six going and taking him out of prison to the US.

I am sure that such has already been proposed by both the military (plans drawn up or being drawn up) or some politician.

I expect that Pakistan will release him to the US after some haggling.
 

Hayabusa Rider

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I am sure that such has already been proposed by both the military (plans drawn up or being drawn up) or some politician.

I expect that Pakistan will release him to the US after some haggling.

A raid will not happen. The US will not rescue a Pakistani national in what is an internal legal issue. We will attempt to negotiate his release and that i strongly support.
 

EagleKeeper

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I am sure that such has already been proposed by both the military (plans drawn up or being drawn up) or some politician.

I expect that Pakistan will release him to the US after some haggling.
A raid will not happen. The US will not rescue a Pakistani national in what is an internal legal issue. We will attempt to negotiate his release and that i strongly support.

I agree it is not going to happen.

However, plans are being drawn up at the request of someone.
 

5150Joker

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Feb 6, 2002
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Suppose a person kills an Iranian nuclear scientist in Tehran and flees to the USA. The Iran intelligence agencies recruit an FBI agent to help hack into their system to locate that man. After finding him, Iranian commandos launch an operation and kill him. That FBI agent is tried for treason. This makes sense to you?

The USA is a much bigger threat to Pakistan than Iran is to the USA. Let's face it, if Pakistan stood any chance, we would have been at war with them after 9/11.

In hindsight, I feel that all this commotion by the Pakistanis is to express their anger and frustration against the USA for allegedly killing OBL without informing them.


Why are Pakistanis frustrated that OBL was killed without telling them? Pakistan has proven to be an unreliable partner with many in the ISI and other branches that leak sensitive information. Not to mention the Taliban isn't even the real threat like Americans are told, its the Pakistani government.

The Pakistani military establishment is controlled by a small club of individuals who have been manipulating Pashtuns in Western Pakistan and Afghanistan since the USSR war ended for their own gains. I'm sure those in the upper echelons of US command know this but can't do much without declaring all out war against said establishment.

If anything, Pakistan should be glad OBL and his Arab brethren are out of Pakistan, they are a scourge that should have stayed in Saudi Arabia. Arab culture and their version of Islam has been more damaging than 10 nuclear bombs to Pakistan and Afghanistan's largely uneducated populace and you know it.
 

crashtestdummy

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Feb 18, 2010
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Why are Pakistanis frustrated that OBL was killed without telling them? Pakistan has proven to be an unreliable partner with many in the ISI and other branches that leak sensitive information. Not to mention the Taliban isn't even the real threat like Americans are told, its the Pakistani government.

The Pakistani military establishment is controlled by a small club of individuals who have been manipulating Pashtuns in Western Pakistan and Afghanistan since the USSR war ended for their own gains. I'm sure those in the upper echelons of US command know this but can't do much without declaring all out war against said establishment.

If anything, Pakistan should be glad OBL and his Arab brethren are out of Pakistan, they are a scourge that should have stayed in Saudi Arabia. Arab culture and their version of Islam has been more damaging than 10 nuclear bombs to Pakistan and Afghanistan's largely uneducated populace and you know it.

That's easy.
They feel emasculated that someone else had to come in and fix their mess, and that the US could do it without Pakistan knowing it was too late.

By doing it this way, the US announced to Pakistan that they can do whatever they want, anywhere in Pakistan, and they can't do anything about it. Not a good way to look fearsome.
 

Fern

Elite Member
Sep 30, 2003
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Interesting point. Do we know how they found out about him?

NY Congressman Peter King (Intel Committee) is claiming the Obama admin leaked enough info that Pakistan figured out it was the doctor.

Fern
 

Baasha

Golden Member
Jan 4, 2010
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I do. (If you think bin Laden trusted many with a $50 million bounty on him...)

Based on in large part on credible reporting I've heard from those familiar with the issue.

Wanting him punished does not require support for bin Laden - that's an 'end justifies the means' mentality to ignore a variety of crimes, as others mentioned.

There are certainly many Pakistanis sympathetic to bin Laden - for a variety of reasons including the drone strikes that sometimes kill innocent people. We'd be upset also.

Craig,

You fail to see that sometimes to catch a wolf, you have to become one yourself. Ergo, transgressing the rules of combat and "law" are not implausible within context. This OBL raid was a perfect example of this.
 

Craig234

Lifer
May 1, 2006
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Craig,

You fail to see that sometimes to catch a wolf, you have to become one yourself. Ergo, transgressing the rules of combat and "law" are not implausible within context. This OBL raid was a perfect example of this.

Nothing I said contradicts that opinion.

I think there's an argument for your position - it just is an issue when it comes to our taking a very different position about people doing the same to us.

Most aren't even able to - but we strongly object even if they could.
 

EagleKeeper

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NY Congressman Peter King (Intel Committee) is claiming the Obama admin leaked enough info that Pakistan figured out it was the doctor.

Fern

Politicians/aides can not keep their mouth shut. Revoke their access to classified info at a minimum. Put oversight committee seat or fire the aide.

A little harsh treatment will shut the traps
 

EagleKeeper

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Is this the truth or just a CYA maneuver due to pressure?

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - A Pakistani doctor who helped the United States find Osama bin Laden was imprisoned for aiding militants and not for links to the CIA, as Pakistani officials had said, according to a court document seen by Reuters on Wednesday.
Last week, a court in the Khyber tribal region near the Afghan border jailed Shakil Afridi for 33 years. Pakistani officials told Western and domestic media the decision was based on treason charges for aiding the CIA in its hunt for the al Qaeda chief.

But in the latest twist, the judgment document made available to the media on Wednesday states that Afridi was jailed because of his close ties to the banned militant group Lashkar-e-Islam, which amounts to waging war against the state.


Link has more info.

A couple of weeks of pressure and this is then what happens. :thumbsdown: