By Brett Daniel Shehadey
Special Contributor for In Homeland Security
The Pakistanis have agreed to lessen the 33 year life-sentence for Doctor Shakil Afridi to 23 years.
Great. Thanks, guys. Ten years less!
We help you eliminate the world’s greatest terrorist and you put our man in prison? Sorry we could not trust you with the operational details.
There are two morals the Doctor Shakil Afridi story tells the larger global community. The first is the most unfortunate for future US intelligence operations: that the CIA is incapable of protecting its agents or is visibly unwilling to rescue them through follow-up actions.
The second hard lesson with Doctor Shakil Afridi is a blow to the Pakistani government. Holding this man means that Islamabad is most likely implicit in knowingly harboring Osama bin Laden. And that this was a cover-up move. After all, why would you charge a man no one has even heard of for treason if he helped eliminate a mass murderer? Furthermore, it makes Pakistan look like they support international jihad. The move should have been condemned wildly US partners.
Pakistan appeared more al Qaeda and Taliban friendly from the act than perhaps they wanted to be. It might appease the extremists and more radical Muslims for a moment but that moment is up. Now they want more.
The violation of sovereignty charge against the US is only valid so far as it targets US actions, but not against Doctor Afridi’s involvement to stop the villain. Moreover, Pakistan lost all sovereignty rights when they, along with Afghanistan prior to 2001, harbored al Qaeda. They were characteristically harmed perhaps even more than the CIA will ever be as a result of this move. Mistreating him in prison is a further witnessed injustice.
The US is presently withholding $33 million dollars for his release. His defense remains at work on the case in northeastern Peshawar. I say break him out and extract his family. Work with the EU to press his case. Offer them political refuge in the EU or the USA with a new identity. Prove to the world that the CIA can protect their assets and therefore ensure greater participation and loyalty from them.
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