American Carrying Bullets Detained at Pakistan Airport

US told to cut CIA, Special Forces personnel in Pakistan

(NEWSER) - The US-Pakistan alliance forged in the wake of the September 11 attacks appears to be on the verge of collapsing. Pakistan has demanded that the US halt its drone attacks on suspected militants, and sharply reduce the number of CIA and Special Forces personnel in the country, reports the New York Times . The demand is part of the fallout from the arrest of a CIA contractor who killed two Pakistani men earlier this year, according to US and Pakistani officials. More»

Raymond Davis released, ending US-Pakistan diplomatic standoff

(NEWSER) - On the same day he was indicted on two murder charges, CIA contractor Raymond Davis has been acquitted by a Pakistan court and released. The victims' families told the court "that they have accepted the blood money and they have pardoned him," the Punjab Law Minister tells Reuters . Davis’ release ends the US-Pakistan diplomatic standoff that began when Davis fatally shot two Pakistanis on Jan. 27 during what he claimed was an attempted armed robbery. Davis claimed self-defense and the US insisted he had diplomatic immunity. Click for full background on the case . More»

'Guardian' says it can confirm Raymond Davis a spy

(NEWSER) - Turns out that Jason Bourne thing may not be as easy as the movies make it look—the Guardian reports that it can confirm that Raymond Davis, the US embassy staffer charged in Pakistan with the murder of two men , is a CIA agent. "It's beyond a shadow of a doubt," a Pakistani intelligence official told the Guardian , which bases its claim on interviews that occurred in the US and Pakistan. The paper notes that several US media outlets know about Davis's role but have stayed mum at the White House's request. More»

Defense chief also calls for release of doctor who helped catch him

(NEWSER) - Defense chief Leon Panetta talks about the capture of Osama bin Laden with CBS' 60 Minutes in an interview airing tomorrow, and two main points are generating headlines:

• Pakistan knew? He suspects government authorities knew bin Laden was in Abbottabad, notes the Hill . "I personally have always felt that somebody must have had some sense of what was happening at this compound," he said. Why? Start with those 18-foot walls. "It was the largest compound in the area. So you would have thought that somebody would have asked the question, ‘What the hell's going on there?’” In fact, the US didn't tip off Pakistan about the raid because it feared word would get out to bin Laden, he added.

Part of an attempt to improve relations with Islamabad

(NEWSER) - In an effort to make nice with Islamabad, the CIA paused drone missile strikes against low-level militants in Pakistan nearly six weeks ago, current and former officials tell the Los Angeles Times . The suspension affects so-called signature strikes: attacks on those who were observed, via drone or another form of intelligence, to likely be supporting the Taliban or insurgent groups like the Haqqani network in adjacent Afghanistan. The suspension hasn't downed all drones—Predator and Reaper drones are still surveilling the country, and will be used to attack an al-Qaeda leader if one is identified. More»