Dr. Shakil Afridi is a Pakistani citizen living and working in Pakistan, a sovereign country. He independently and covertly assisted the United States while acting as an agent of the United States in carrying out an US covert military operation and attack in Pakistan without informing Pakistan. (For good reason from our standpoint.) For his act Pakistan has convicted him of a crime against the state and tossed him in prison with a 33-year sentence. This is unreasonable why? It’s not IMO. The Doctor may be a good friend of the US and a good person too. He was our ally in the war against al Qa’ida and Islamic terrorism but he is still a citizen of Pakistan living in Pakistan. Regardless of all of the preceding he committed treason against his country. What does the US and world expect Pakistan or any other sovereign country in similar circumstances to do? I think Pakistan is the most dangerous country in the world and I would like to see us get out of Afghanistan completely and sever all aid of any kind with Pakistan and only maintain diplomatic relations with them. Some say we need Pakistan. Once we are out of Afghanistan we don’t need them for anything of value to justify a close or friendly relationship. My only question is what part if any did we play in doing or saying anything in revealing his identity and role in the raid. Any information identifying him by us is wrong. The credo in the world’s government and especially their intelligence agencies is if you tell the United States a secret they will not keep the secret. And people wonder why our intelligence agencies labor under certain burdens. The doctor has good reason to believe that there is decent possibility that he will end up after all the huffing and puffing and bribes, threats, and closed door meetings that he will end up better than he is now. Heck, he might even make it eventually to the US as a permanent resident on a fast track to citizenship if he wants it.
I think the United States owed this man a safe haven in return for what he did for our country. The fact that this didn't happen just sucks big time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's another thing I feel passionate about.
And our government's reply to the conviction? Our elected officials are just as complicit as those who ratted out Dr Afridi in Pakistan. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me in the least that someone in Washington D.C. did the ratting.
That's another slap in the face for that doctor, and yes I was thinking the same thing, that someone in DC did the ratting. How much lower can we sink? I'm so fed up with these people! During all the excitement about catching Bin Laden, I wondered where the informer was and expected any day to hear that he was safely in the United States. I guess I was still laboring under the illusion that there were a few shreds of honor left in the government. I was wrong. Everything is about power and money and ego. Period.
