Raymond Davis a CIA Contractor, US Confirms

US Still Insists He Has 'Diplomatic Immunity' Somehow

Faced with growing allegations that this was the case, the US admitted today that US “Consulate Employee” Raymond Davis, currently held in a Lahore prison facing double murder charges, is indeed a CIA employee.

Despite referring to him since his arrest as a “technical advisor” and despite President Obama referring to him as “our diplomat,” Davis is confirmed as a contractor to the CIA, and is responsible for providing security to CIA spies who travel in Pakistan.

Incredibly, the US is still demanding that Davis be released without charges and insists that he is entitled to “diplomatic immunity” because, even though he was actually a spy, he is still officially (though apparently fraudulently) listed as a member of the embassy’s technical staff.

Needless to say, Pakistani officials insist they don’t intend to release Davis over the demands, and that his diplomatic status is purely in the hands of the court system. The Davis situation sparked outrage across Pakistan, and has sparked even more anger about the US, and more paranoia about US spies roaming the streets of Pakistani cities.

The latest twist in the case will also fuel additional discussion about the increasing US use of embassy personnel as spies, and the blurring of the line between the two professions. WikiLeaks cables revealed massive spying and surveillance operations spanning embassies across the globe.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.