American Held in Pakistan Worked for CIA, U.S. Officials Say
By TOM WRIGHT And ADAM ENTOUS
WASHINGTON—The American detained in Pakistan in the killing of two armed men was working secretly in the country for the Central Intelligence Agency, U.S. officials say.
The disclosures about Raymond Davis, a former Army Special Forces soldier who worked as a contractor in Pakistan for the CIA, might complicate U.S. efforts to secure his release and exacerbate growing tensions between between U.S. and Pakistani intelligence agencies. Pakistani intelligence officials say they weren't informed by the U.S. about Mr. Davis's role with the CIA and warned that ties may have been damaged beyond repair by the case.
Mr. Davis has been held by Pakistani authorities in the eastern city of Lahore since late January. He was on a contract with the CIA as a protective officer, responsible for providing security to American personnel, including intelligence officers who help orchestrate covert operations against al Qaeda militants and their allies, U.S. officials said.
The CIA carries out drone strikes in tribal areas bordering Afghanistan that are deeply unpopular in Pakistan, and U.S. officials fear the release of information about Mr. Davis's ties to the CIA could endanger his life in detention. As a security officer, U.S. officials said, Mr. Davis wasn't directly involved in the CIA's spy or drone operations. "Rumors to the contrary are simply wrong," a U.S. official said.
The U.S. says Mr. Davis, 36 years old, shot the two men in self-defense when they tried to rob him.
Pakistani security officials escort Raymond Allen Davis, a U.S. citizen, to a local court in Lahore, Pakistan in late January .His arrest has strained the relationship between the U.S. and Pakistan.
U.S. officials had asked several U.S. news organizations, including The Wall Street Journal, not to publish information about Mr. Davis's work with the CIA because of fears over his safety in jail. U.S. officials agreed to release details about the case Monday after senior ISI officials were quoted over the weekend describing his ties to the CIA.
U.S. President Barack Obama referred to Mr. Davis last week as "our diplomat" and said that he was covered by diplomatic immunity and should be immediately released. Facing public anger over the killings, Pakistan has refused to do so. As an interim step, U.S. officials have asked the Pakistanis to do more to ensure Mr. Davis's security.
The jail where Mr. Davis is being held in Lahore holds about 4,000 inmates, most of them militants, according to U.S. officials. They said that Mr. Davis was moved to a separate part of the jail facility and that all the guards in that area have had their guns taken away for fear that one of them might try to kill him. Dogs are tasting or smelling his food to make sure it doesn't contain poison. A major concern for the U.S. is that local police are allowing protesters near the prison, officials said.
"The Pakistanis have a solemn obligation to protect Ray Davis. If they're not going to release him—which they certainly should based on his diplomatic immunity—surely they can find a safer place for him," a U.S. official said.
A senior official with Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency, or ISI, said Pakistan wasn't initially aware Mr. Davis was working for the CIA. The official said he believes the U.S. could be using other undeclared operatives like Mr. Davis as a way of circumventing visa restrictions imposed by Islamabad on the U.S. spy agency. The ISI's decision to reveal Mr. Davis's CIA ties reflect Pakistani anger over U.S. conduct in the case. Comments last week by CIA Director Leon Panetta that relations between the two agencies were among "the most complicated" he has ever seen also rankled the ISI.
"We didn't even know about him," the ISI official said. "We don't know how many Raymond Davises there could be running around."
The CIA has "acted with arrogance toward ISI which has resulted in weakening the relationship on which it is entirely dependent," the senior ISI official added. "Irrespective of the commonality of objectives in this war on terror, it is hard to predict if the relationship will ever reach the level at which it was prior to the Davis episode."
Pakistani authorities are under intense pressure from Islamist and student groups not to release Mr. Davis. Regular street protests since the Jan. 27 incident have called for Mr. Davis to be hanged.
Mr. Davis says he fired on two armed men in self-defense as they approached his white Honda Civic at a crowded intersection in broad daylight. The men had earlier robbed other people in the area, U.S. officials say.
Mr. Davis, who was alone, fired nine shots with a Glock pistol from inside the car, seven of which hit the men in various parts of their bodies, according to police officers in Lahore.
He attempted to flee in the car but was arrested moments later. A second vehicle from the U.S. Consulate in Lahore that attempted to rescue him killed a bystander. The driver of that vehicle wasn't detained and hasn't been identified.
Pakistan authorities say they recovered items including a make-up kit and long-range radio from Mr. Davis's vehicle.
According to excerpts from a preliminary Pakistani police report obtained by U.S. officials and shared with The Wall Street Journal, the two dead Pakistani men were found with pistols, live rounds and five stolen cell phones. According to police documents, one of the dead Pakistani men had "cocked his pistol and pointed it towards [the] American."
Little is known about where Mr. Davis has traveled in Pakistan on behalf of the CIA. He arrived in Lahore as a short term contractor for the CIA in January 2010, but U.S. officials say he has done multiple tours as a security employee for the agency over the past four years.
Police in Lahore say eyewitnesses who recognize his photo remember seeing him late last year in a northern suburb of the city where Afghan refugees live.
Senior police officers in Lahore have said Mr. Davis is likely guilty of murder even though they have yet to formally charge him. They deny the men were planning to attack Mr. Davis and say they may have been armed because of a feud in which one of the men's elder brothers had recently been killed.
U.S. officials say such comments by police officials leading the investigation mean Mr. Davis is unlikely to get a fair hearing if the case goes to trial.
Mr. Obama, in his first comments on the incident last week, said Mr. Davis is covered by a 1961 treaty on diplomatic immunity to which the U.S. and Pakistan are both signatories. U.S. officials said Mr. Davis's status working with the CIA in no way diminishes his right to immunity.
A court in Lahore will decide next month whether Mr. Davis has diplomatic immunity.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704476604576158393645440806.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTTopStoriesPretty stupid. Might as well just sign the guy's death warrant. Paging Valerie Plame.
