Raymond Davis and Drone Strikes

If the Raymond Davis case was not a full blown circus before, the confirmation of his involvement with the CIA has certainly unleashed the craziest conspiracy theories. What I find quite interesting however is the one element that all these conspiracy theories share. They all follow a particular line of assumptions beginning with the premise that the US is inherently bad and Pakistan is merely a victim of American imperialism.

Was Raymond Davis targeting drone strikes?

This was one of the first conspiracy theories that was being circulated, and it was based on the conspicuous halting of drone attacks after Raymond Davis was arrested. Finding the GPS chips and other factors certainly support the idea that he may have been involved in targeting drone attacks.

But a twist is added by a new report that the CIA drones have passed up opportunities to kill high-level militant leaders including Sirajuddin Haqqani in order to protect the lives of innocent civilians – a development confirmed by Pakistani officials.

The Pakistani official, who spoke on condition he not be named, said allowing high-value targets to escape reflected a decision by the U.S. since August to use greater caution in the drone strikes.

If Raymond Davis was carrying a GPS chip used in identifying targets for drone attacks, and drone strikes are intentionally directed to avoid killing civilians, does it not follow that Raymond Davis was actually protecting innocent civilians from drone strikes?

I can see you are upset. But give me one more minute, please, before you post your comment in disgust. I have merely presented a theory based on evidence in mainstream news sources and logical inference. I make no claim that the conclusion is true or not true, but I do suggest that if you consider it without any anti-American bias it is no less likely to be true than many of the other theories that are being spread. In fact, the only real difference is that it does not include the assumed premise that America is evil.

I have seen the present situation surrounding the American Raymond Davis described as a ‘case’, an ‘affair’, a ‘fiasco’, and my personal favourite, a ‘clusterf****’. It’s a terrible situation and one that is seriously straining Pak-US relations. But it doesn’t have to be. Everyone wants justice for the shooting. But before we can serve justice, we have to stop making assumptions and spreading conspiracy theories that prejudice the outcome.