Pakistan

POSTED BY BILL

The Pakistani police holding our official from the consulate is a very bad situation - that could get really, really bad.  A lynching isn't out of the question in that country.  In October, 2000, a mob in the West Bank city of Ramallah did lynch two Israeli soldiers after attacking a police station where they were being protected.  The Palestinian cops, to their credit, suffered some injuries trying to save the Israelis.  Recently, the Governor in Pakistan was murdered by his own bodyguard - who is now a hero!

A lot of folks may have a problem with diplomatic immunity, but it is absolutely necessary for diplomacy between nations to occur.  In severe cases, the miscreant should be (and has been in the past) tried in the home country.

Of course, in this case, it appears the guy did nothing wrong, merely defended his life.  The related case of the citizen killed by a car coming to rescue the guy appears to be a simple tragedy that should be compensated the legal way.

What do suppose are the odds that at least some people high up in the State Department aren't thinking, "Why couldn't this guy have just gotten himself robbed and killed?  Then we could be the aggrieved party."   The U.S. government better pull out all the stops to get this guy out safely.