The Curious Case of Daood Gilani alias David Headley & co

Gagan · Post by **Gagan** » 24 Mar 2010 17:15

S Sridhar and others,
There is more to why Headley is important to India:
1. Headley was part of the inner core which planned and executed 26/11 is the unique witness who can nail, the pakistani generals, Jihadi heads, US intel agents and a whole lot of other people. If, US-CIA/DEA was somehow involved with 26/11, headley is the living walking proof of it.
The working of intel agencies are like a web with multiple prongs. That the US is stonewalling India on the 26/11 investigations perhaps, just perhaps because the US is as deep in shit as the pakistanis are on 26/11? Dawood Geelani might be liquidated well before India gets true unfettered access to him.

2. Chindu, also seems to be obfuscating the issue somewhat. He is an accomplished lawyer himself. He knows what India can do with the legal system in the US and what it can't. There seems to be a dog and pony show going on with GoI mandrains blowing hot and cold and the US joining in with a few statements from ambassadors etc. But India doesnot seem to be walking the talk on this. GoI could have hired lawyers in the US who will represent the victims of 26/11 to prevent any plea bargain from being successfully executed, I don't think GoI has done any of that. Meanwhile with each passing day, slowly and surely Dawood Geelani is heading towards a pleasent retirement under the witness protection program.

3. India wanting access to headley is not only to extract info that will tie up the gaps in the intel - intel which India will get either way from sources in Pakistan, but as a witness who will nail Hafiz sayeed, and a whole lot of other generals and handlers.

4. Finally I refuse to believe that there is or was only one like david headley. There must be others. Perhaps some based in India. Perhaps david might slip info on these others.

WRT 26/11 investigations and the US, this seems to be 1993 mumbai redux, where the US seems to be protecting its faithful servant Pakistan and its Generals from legal problems. The more things change, they remain the same.

Tanaji · Post by **Tanaji** » 24 Mar 2010 17:25

SSridhar wrote:
CRamS wrote:. . . but what the f#$%ck is access to Headley going to get India?
CRamS, India needs to know several things. Quickly off the hat,
His Indian contacts
His knowledge about sleeper cells in India
Operational details of 26/11 that he was privy to and which could be used to stop future attacks or fill gaps in our security planning
The methods he employed in visiting and scouring places
The US might have extracted some information from him, but we can't be sure how much of that has been passed on to us. Also, the Indian investigators may ask him questions, based on their knowledge of Pakistani terrorism and their terror infrastructure, that the US investigators would never have had a clue about. More importantly, India should exercise its rights, even if it brings no extra information, to at least set a precedent for future events. Let us also see how far is the US willing to go even as it talks of India as the 'most important strategic partner for the Twenty first Century'.

I agree on the precedent part, but what is the likelihood of Headley actually replying to any of the above questions? It is not as if the Indian interrogators can force him to answer the questions. The US can very well grant access and then instruct Headley to either lie or not answer at all...

Given the fact that we were clueless about the existence of Headley until we were told of it, its no point blaming the US.

Gagan · Post by **Gagan** » 24 Mar 2010 17:27

Ultimately what India is going to get in terms of access to headley will be like the 5 minute pre arranged marriage interview between the boy and the girl with parents and grand parents from both sides sitting nearby.

Fat lot of good that is going to get India.

India needs to demonstrate that it is willing to take out terror bosses on the basis of suspicion not proof that can stand in a court of law. The statements on the air, in the media is all bakwaas. Terrorists deserve no sympathy, because they subvert law, their redemption should not await the long drawn legal process. Terror bosses already waived that legal right when they became terrorists.

Hari Seldon · Post by **Hari Seldon** » 24 Mar 2010 17:27

grant access and then instruct Headley to either lie or not answer at all...

Yup, precisely what I thought. Sri Headley will take the first amendment only. EoS.

A_Gupta · Post by **A_Gupta** » 24 Mar 2010 18:07

SBajwa wrote:Indians who voted for Barack Hussain!!! will probably have come to their own senses and have realized their mistake. ....
Barak hussain is a villain for India...

If Headley was a CIA asset, he was an asset of the Bush administration's CIA. His surveillance of Mumbai and the possible US knowledge of a planned strike were during the Bush era. Obama was inaugurated Jan 20, 2009. Mumbai attack was Nov 26, 2008.

PS: Yes, Barack Obama has shown amply that he wants to cover up his predecessor's mistakes and even his predecessor's crimes, and in that he is a major disappointment.

CRamS · Post by **CRamS** » 24 Mar 2010 18:25

Tanaji wrote:
Given the fact that we were clueless about the existence of Headley until we were told of it, its no point blaming the US.

This is precisely one of the reasons why all the self-satisfying, self-righteous noises coming from India about Headley cut no ice. First, they were clueless about this guy. Next, they didn't act even on the tit-bits US provided. Then showed that they are nothing but consummate whining wimps post Mumbai when TSP brazenly thumbed its nose. And now, its Headley, headley, haedley; as if he is going to throw up some magic that will instantly loosen the TSP albatross around India's neck.

SSridhar:

US might very well give a few piddly mins of access to Headley. And for equal equal, they might give TSP also access. Are you willing to wager what TSP will put out after meeting Headley?

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 24 Mar 2010 18:29

What he chooses to not answer will also be revealing.

Pranay · Post by **Pranay** » 24 Mar 2010 18:46

Hari Seldon wrote:
grant access and then instruct Headley to either lie or not answer at all...
Yup, precisely what I thought. Sri Headley will take the first amendment only. EoS.

The Amendment that Headley will take cover behind is ...

5th. Amendment (the right to remain silent)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fifth_Amen ... nstitution

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

not the 1st. Amendment

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Amen ... nstitution

The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law "respecting an establishment of religion", impeding the free exercise of religion, infringing on the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering with the right to peaceably assemble or prohibiting the petitioning for a governmental redress of grievances.

Hari Seldon · Post by **Hari Seldon** » 24 Mar 2010 21:10

^^^Theek hai baba, first fifth same thing only, no?

Desi team should take the second amendment, IMHO.

amdavadi · Post by **amdavadi** » 24 Mar 2010 21:30

GOI wont be allowed in same zip code as terrorist headley. We can forget about GOI able to get any information
from DEA agent. Unkil will keep headley as far away as possible from GOI.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 24 Mar 2010 22:00

There is treaty for extradiation between India and US. Its not a one way street. So this tests that treaty relevance. The treaty is not just for US to get people from India. It works both ways.

I don't understand why folks dont want GOI to assert its rights. The DH case is turning into exposing biggest of the 3.5 friends role. If the US refuses to extradiate the DH then it can also aborgate the treaty.

My musings: I think a section of the US govt knows what it did was wrong and hence the words about access etc coming from the Attorney General's office. At same time the US India baiters in State Dept., want to protect the US-TSP relationship and hence their denial of access rights which are in the plea bargain.

First time this is happening within the US admin. Eariler eg. in 70s thru 90s, it was Admin vs Congress etc.

If India gets the acces it diminshes the baiters in US Admin who are hiding under legal cover. Roemer will have to go back for he loses credibility.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 24 Mar 2010 22:11

The plea bargain is a US internal procedure while the extradiation treaty is an international treaty that overrides local laws. Hence if India presses for extradiation then we shall see the US go through pretzel logic to explain how local laws have primacy.

Shades of the nuke deal legalese. Never takrao with yindu nayavadi.

Biggest mistake will be not filing case on Headley and Rana.

amdavadi · Post by **amdavadi** » 24 Mar 2010 22:19

DH saga is not all black & white. Unkil will throw treaty with india down the hudson river to protect DEA agent.

Tanaji · Post by **Tanaji** » 24 Mar 2010 22:19

ramana wrote:The plea bargain is a US internal procedure while the extradiation treaty is an international treaty that overrides local laws. Hence if India presses for extradiation then we shall see the US go through pretzel logic to explain how local laws have primacy.

Shades of the nuke deal legalese. Never takrao with yindu nayavadi.

Biggest mistake will be not filing case on Headley and Rana.

I thought Headley was in custody of FBI, hence its a federal matter and not a local i.e. state matter? The plea bargain is a legal agreement between the prosecutor and the defendant and it has the sanction of the court. The feds cannot unilaterally go around it citing a "treaty" compulsion: treaties do NOT trump federal statues. The defence can and WILL sue to prevent extradition on legal grounds.

The only "out" here is if new charges are filed, which may well be, but you can bet that defence will vigorously challenge the new charges and hence any extradition procedures that may arise. All this, assuming the US plays fair.

More likely what will happen is Us will allow the NIA team a 2 hour interview and will instruct Headley to keep mum or take the Fifth. That way the US can claim cover behind its Constitution and laws, Headley will be happy he is not extradited, the NIA can claim "we tried", Chidambaram can say "US is co-operating".

All ijj well!

Rangudu · Post by **Rangudu** » 25 Mar 2010 00:12

I agree with Ramana. India must press the Headley matter resolutely. Plea deal, miranda rights, 5th amendment etc. are irrelevant as compared to a bilateral treaty. There is every reason to make handing over of Headley a litmus test of the extradition treaty and even the future of Indo-US ties.

We can infer that behind the scenes "cooperation" promises or future carrots, goodwill etc. have been promised by Unkil to make GoI back off. But those things count for zilch and cannot simply apply to what was a 9/11 equivalent for us.

There will have to be consequences of comparable magnitude for Unkil and that too in a public, high profile manner. I'd prefer something like an abrogation of the extradition treaty and even one of the defence treaties to make the point clear. Maybe add a cancellation of joint military exercises or such to add an emphasis.

The message should go to both Roemer/Foggy bottom and to the business community, India caucus in Congress etc. that this is a crisis point in Indo-US ties and without this being resolved to India's satisfaction there can be no progress in bilateral ties of any sort - business, political, cultural - or whatever type.

P.S: To do all this, GoI needs to up its game internally and file cases against Headley, Rana and every single TSPA officer involved and formally file the letters rogatory and other legal pre-reqs.

csharma · Post by **csharma** » 25 Mar 2010 00:48

At the very least there has to be some downgrading of intelligence coopearation. After 26/11 all the barriers to the cooperation were brought down and now they should be brought back up.

Will MMS do these things? Let's wait and see. Today BJP openly came out and spoke about US double standards and also mentioned that MMS is going out of the way to befriend US.

'Govt must act tough, seek Headley's extradition'

http://news.rediff.com/report/2010/mar/ ... dition.htm

With the United States ruling out handing over of David Headley to India [ Images ], Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium has asked the government to act tough and settle for nothing less than his extradition, arguing that a plea bargain cannot be a substitute an international treaty.

Subramanium, whose advice was sought by the Home Ministry on Headley case, has underlined that the US was under obligation to hand over the Lashkar-e Tayiba operative as the extradition treaty between the US and India was binding on the two countries as per international covenants, sources said.

If the US does not extradite this guy, what is the use of the extradition treaty?

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 25 Mar 2010 01:14

Now you understand. Till now the propaganda was from US media that their internal (Federal and State) laws trump international treaties. They dont. Looks like GOI is going full blast with this line of arguement. Need to test the US limits. Till now such an occassion did not occur in such a formal manner.

R man whats making you choose? A lot of people are sittingon fence not making mnds. Can you ask your contact to write an op-ed?

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 25 Mar 2010 01:25

Headley's extradition will set the precedent for poodles also. No Paki Jernail and his money will be safe in any poodleland. Headley and his handlers /masters must be charged with crime against humanity in Indian court and sentenced accordingly. Headley etc can be sentenced in absentia in Bombay and the legal case to remain open till logically concluded. What was good for Serbians must be good for Paki and PakiPapa.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 25 Mar 2010 01:55

The US site Nightwatch comments on all sorts of matter related to terrorism but has zero, zilch, nada on Headely!

Gagan · Post by **Gagan** » 25 Mar 2010 02:21

For India to pursue DH in the US, GoI will have to formally file a case against him in a court of law.

GoI hasn't done that. The court in mumbai has rejected making him a co-offender. (Why? Perhaps the GoI case had enough loopholes that the judge saw right through it?)

Instead all sundry are huffing and puffing on TV about how the US is not granting access onlee.

GoI's intent is clear - play to the gallery and not do anything of substance. Now where have we seen this before? Ah yes the case of a certain Quattarochi comes to mind, where despite all the right noises on the air, the arms of the government were actively subverting the due legal process.

But then the point is,
If DH is extradited to India, what is India going to achieve? Ajmal Kasab is a goner, his fate is sealed by the 10000000000 witnesses against him. India and the courts in India can't do any more. I mean can India 'sooli se latkao-fy' Hafiz, Kiyani and Mushy from DH's testimony in the brehenmumbai court of law?

Perhaps GoI understands this. Here the problem is that DH can't be absorbed into the legal system process here. His value is only limited to the Intel he holds to prevent future terrorist attacks and any other info that can save lives. Any info that nails Hafiz, Lakhvi, Kiyani etc will have to be routed via massa, because only massa can make the charges stick in pakistan. Sad reality we have to face. Left to GoI, there will be nothing more than Dossier-pe-Dossier, Dossier-pe-Dossier, Dossier-pe-Dossier again if DH gets extradited to India.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 25 Mar 2010 03:13

The case against Headley and Rana is different than the one against Kasab which has proceeded quite far without Headley's input. Hence the judge dismissed a plea to bring in Headley as a witness for the defence. So adding Headley to the Kasab case delays the latter even further.

PC already said they will file case against Headley. Its linked a few pages ago. So till that time all is speculation.

BTW, by its inaction the GOI has allowed the US to show its hand. All the complaining chatterati are US fan boys feeling let down now.

Gagan, There are multiple contentions in multiple arenas. Think of this as one of those.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 25 Mar 2010 04:55

India to write to US for access to Headley

The Home Ministry will soon get in touch with the U.S. Department of Justice seeking a date for having direct access to Headley

In its communication, likely to be finalised in the next few days by Home Minister P. Chidambaram and top officials, the Ministry will tell the American authorities that a team of Indian investigators is ready and can visit the U.S. once a confirmation is given.

The sources said the National Investigation Agency, probing the case, will file the charge sheet against the 49-year-old terrorist only after getting direct access to him.

Patni · Post by **Patni** » 25 Mar 2010 07:17

Harbouring Headley violates law

NEW DELHI: India has decided to challenge the plea agreement between the US authorities and Lashkar operative David Coleman Headley, a key protagonist of 26/11 attacks, on the ground that it goes against the international laws that require the US to cooperate in turning in a fugitive wanted for a terror act committed on foreign soil.

According to the legal opinion placed before the Union home ministry, India is entitled to seek access to Headley and also have him extradited as under the international laws, the US is obliged to cooperate with India in bringing to book the perpetrators of one of the most heinous terror acts it has seen.

The government is of the view that the plea agreement between the US attorney for Northern district of Illinois and Headley does not take into account that he is wanted in India for being the key protagonist of 26/11 attacks, which claimed 166 lives across multiple targets set in Mumbai. Government sources indicated that the plea agreement does not override the US obligation under the international law to help India in investigation and trial of a crime committed on its soil.

Under the international law, a country can take the sovereignty plea to deny cooperation only where the issue involves the realm of defence or security of boundaries. Even if this was so, the sovereign right as regards the Headley case would rest with India, the victim of the 26/11 attack, and not the US.

“The plea agreement should not have been done as the case involves something between Headley and India, the victim of the terror act to which he has pleaded guilty,” an official pointed out. Even though six American citizens were killed, one can’t overlook the fact that the prime target and also majority of the victims were Indians, the official added.

The government has now decided to move the US authorities — in this case, the US Department of Justice — seeking a review of the plea agreement, especially since it is yet to be approved by the Illinois district court trying Headley. India, in a letter to be sent to the DoJ shortly, will be registering a strong protest against the plea agreement that Headley has signed with the US authorities. The US DoJ is expected to be categorically told that if it does not cooperate with India regarding access to Headley and his extradition for trial in the 26/11 case, it will come close to inviting the charge of harbouring a terrorist wanted in India.{highly unlikely!

At the same time, the MHA will seek a mutually acceptable date from the DoJ for interrogating Headley. “We will inform the US authorities that the Indian team is ready to fly to the US as soon as it confirms the dates,” said a senior home ministry official. It is only after questioning Headley that the NIA intends to file the chargesheet for his role in the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai.

That India is determined to interrogate Headley as soon as possible was indicated by law minister Veerappa Moily on Thursday. “Headley will have to undergo interrogation by our agencies...he will have to face India...one day or the other, US will have to agree and expedite this issue,” he told reporters here.

Saying he did not want to comment on the US law processes, Mr Moily said India has already made a “strong” case on Headley. “This is a matter (where) we need to hard press our argument and you know we have a strong bargaining and tell US what’s necessary...we have to make a strong case...Headley is involved in the Mumbai attacks, he is really involved,” he stated.

India remains optimistic about interrogating Headley despite a statement from the US ambassador Timothy J Roemer on Wednesday that there was no formal commitment from the US as yet on giving India direct access to the LeT operative. Union home secretary G K Pillai late on Wednesday sought to downplay Mr Roemer’s statement saying that as the Union home minister understood from his conversation with the US attorney general Eric Holder, “the most responsible person in the US government dealing with the situation as he is the boss of the US attorney who entered into the plea agreement with Headley,” an Indian team would be given direct access to Headley.

“We would be free to ask him what we want,” he told a news channel adding that direct access would help the Indian investigators “know the nuances of his replies which the FBI interrogating teams may have missed.

kenop · Post by **kenop** » 25 Mar 2010 08:29

Can someone please speculate what could have been the need for Unkil to arrest DH? He could haven been just made to disappear. He was their guy after all.
Added later:
FBI got this guy. Unlike India they do not have to some minister to take some permission. Rest of the drama was to undo what had come out in the open after his arrest. Right?

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 25 Mar 2010 10:17

Wrong. Read my posts above.

Gagan · Post by **Gagan** » 25 Mar 2010 15:17

So GoI finally shows signs of waking up.

As far as I can recall, DH has been in US custody for close to one year now. It was well known that he planned 26/11 and surveyed for future terrorist strikes against India.

Now at the 11th hour when the plea bargain is on the floor in the US court, GoI is making noises of moving hell and earth to get access to headley.

Please note that the key word here is "MAKING NOISES". If this does not let slip the real intent I don't know what will.

Are there any legal eagles well versed in US law who will care to give a truly balanced commentary on weather GoI's 'intentions' are really meant to bear fruit in this case.

To me, nothing that has been done seems anything more than 'hawa garam karna'. Nothing of substance is intended it seems.

PS: Saying that the chargesheet against DH will be filed AFTER 'meeting' with him, will allow the US plea bargain to go through on the grounds that India has still not even chargesheeted him. Plain and simple.

Tanaji · Post by **Tanaji** » 25 Mar 2010 15:39

Rangudu wrote:I agree with Ramana. India must press the Headley matter resolutely. Plea deal, miranda rights, 5th amendment etc. are irrelevant as compared to a bilateral treaty.

I am willing to learn, but can you provide for at least one precedent in the eyes of the law, where a bilateral treaty has trumped the law of the land in US?

Hari Seldon · Post by **Hari Seldon** » 25 Mar 2010 16:35

^ from what little i heard of the order of precedence - constitution comes first (i.e. trumps all else), then come foreign treaties (trump all else as long as they are not unconstitutional), then federal law and statute and then state and local laws only.

arun · Post by **arun** » 25 Mar 2010 20:03

SSridhar wrote:India to write to US for access to Headley

The battle to get Pakistani origin terrorist Daood Gilani aka David coleman Headley is going to be a long and bruising one as the US has practice at shielding terrorists.

Take the case of the terrorist Luis Posada Carrilles.

The association of Luis Posada Carrilles with the CIA and FBI besides the fact that his terrorism targeted long time US bête noire Cuba and more recent US bête noire Venezuela, has ensured a long and tortuous path just to bring the terrorist to trial in the US.

This foregoing should be a pointer on what the US could dish out to India notwithstanding protestations of combating global terrorism together.

Check out the declassified documents available at the National Security Archives website maintained by George Washington University which establishes the prior knowledge of the CIA and FBI of the career Luis Posada Carrilles’ in International Terrorism and his connections to U.S:

LUIS POSADA CARRILES : THE DECLASSIFIED RECORD

chaanakya · Post by **chaanakya** » 25 Mar 2010 21:11

What India wants is access to DH for questioning. This issue is well covered by plea bargain. MHA first has to request access to DH and that is what is being done. Granting access or not is a decision by USA and several factors would have a bearing on it. So need to wait and see the response as USA has amply indicated that it is yet to decide on nature, mode and duration of access to DH.

Extradition is still a far cry. For that India has to file a charge-sheet before a competent court in India and then send the request to USA provided he is charged with a crime punishable by at least one year imprisonment in BOTH countries. The request must accompany a warrant of committal and a charge-sheet and other information showing that the offence committed by DH requires committal of the accused in a USA court.

Extradition treaty between India and USA excludes ICC jurisdiction unless both countries consent to it.Accused also can not be extradited to third countries without express consent of either countries.

The request for extradition will be examined by a court of law in USA or India , as the case may be, and this indicates that national court has full liberty to take a decision on extradition request. Now it depends on willingness of the USA prosecution to to pursue vigorously the extradition request. Here it may fail because prosecution was lackadaisical or defense was more vigorous.

Extradition is a process between two courts in accordance with treaty between ~~them~~ two countries party to it and Extradition Act of the respective countries.Domestic laws of USA or India have full bearing on any such request, notwithstanding different opinions voiced here.

So no extradition until DH is charged in India.

While USA has been successful in getting extradition of many persons to USA from India , Indian efforts have not been so successful in USA courts. Warren Anderson is a prime example.

On a side note , DH crimes in India may be punishable by death penalty but evidence with investigation is scant and based on what USA has provided so far and may not stand scrutiny of evidence Act. And in any case he may live longer in Indian jail and might get pardon ultimately.

Much was made of USA non cooperation , but what was done by India when DH came to India several times and also visited pk. Even after his complicity came to light, India was unable to get his clear photograph ( courtesy Ujjawal Nikam) despite DH applying for visa with Indian Embassy. We cant even retrieve Visa application and talk of FIR and extradition is yet a far cry.

abhishek_sharma · Post by **abhishek_sharma** » 26 Mar 2010 07:11

LETTER FROM INDIA
Suspicions Over Attacks Keep India Sensitive
By AKASH KAPUR

Published: March 25, 2010

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/26/world ... etter.html

A_Gupta · Post by **A_Gupta** » 26 Mar 2010 07:29

Hari Seldon wrote:^ from what little i heard of the order of precedence - constitution comes first (i.e. trumps all else), then come foreign treaties (trump all else as long as they are not unconstitutional), then federal law and statute and then state and local laws only.

http://articles.latimes.com/2006/jun/29 ... reigners29

U.S. Law Trumps World Treaty, High Court Says
SUPREME COURT RULINGS
June 29, 2006|David G. Savage, Times Staff Writer

WASHINGTON — Stating that American law outweighs an international treaty, the Supreme Court said Wednesday that foreign criminals held in state prisons did not have a right to reopen their cases if their rights under the Vienna Convention had been violated.

http://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog ... cuit-.html

D.C. Circuit: AMT Trumps Tax Treaty

The D.C. Circuit on Friday affirmed a Tax Court decision (T.C. Memo. 2008-118) that the § 59(a)(2) limitation of the foreign tax credit to 90% of the taxpayer’s AMT liability trumped the U.S.-Canada tax treaty. Jamieson v. Commissioner, No. 08-1253 (D.C. Cir. Oct, 16, 2009).

and so on. Ultimately the interpreter of the law - whether it be derived from the Constitution, legislation or foreign treaty, are the courts. They generally don't seem to hold foreign opinions in high regard.

Pranay · Post by **Pranay** » 26 Mar 2010 08:17

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/26/world ... ?ref=world

A lot of additional details... thereby posting in full.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — An American charged with helping plan the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India, moved effortlessly between the United States, Pakistan and India for nearly seven years, training at a militant camp in Pakistan on five occasions, according to a plea agreement released by the Justice Department last week.

The odyssey of David C. Headley, 49, included scouting targets in several cities in India and meeting with a senior operative of Al Qaeda in Pakistan’s tribal areas. These and other new details of Mr. Headley’s activities, contained in the plea agreement, raise troubling questions about how an American citizen could travel for so long undetected from his home base in Chicago to well-established terrorist training camps in Pakistan.

The document shows that Mr. Headley made two trips to North Waziristan, the heart of Qaeda operations in the tribal area where the United States is still pushing Pakistan for a military offensive to clear out militants. His handlers, the document reveals, included a former Pakistani military commander with ties to a Pakistani extremist group and even Al Qaeda.

From there, Mr. Headley not only helped plan the Mumbai attack, it says, but he was put in contact with a Qaeda cell in Europe that may still be operative. The document shows the cell was well supplied with weapons and money and primed for an attack until the moment Mr. Headley was arrested by the F.B.I. at O’Hare airport last October.

Mr. Headley divulged details of his life as a spy and militant as part of a plea agreement that will spare him the death penalty, his lawyer, John T. Theis, said this week. Mr. Headley’s maximum sentence would be life imprisonment, he said. As part of his plea, Mr. Headley has volunteered to talk to the authorities in India, Pakistan and Denmark, where he was plotting with a Qaeda cell to attack the Copenhagen offices of the newspaper that had printed derisive cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, the agreement says.

The revelations around the European cell were particularly disturbing, said Bruce Riedel, who was a member of the National Security Council in the Clinton administration and is now at the Brookings Institution. They showed that “Al Qaeda still has a significant operational infrastructure somewhere in Europe,” he said. Mr. Headley’s story also showed in clear contours the close relationship between Al Qaeda and the Pakistani militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba, he said.

Mr. Headley was able to use his Pakistani and American heritage to great advantage, playing up his American descent on his mother’s side in India, and then behaving as a Pakistani in Pakistan, where his father was born.

As he became more intensely involved in the web of militant activities in Pakistan — sometimes training for months at a time — and then making five trips to Mumbai from 2006 to 2008 to scout locations, Mr. Headley kept his base in Chicago, the document says.

Mr. Headley started his career as a militant scout with Lashkar-e-Taiba, a terrorist group established decades ago with the help of the Pakistani military and intelligence agencies to fight against India’s control of disputed territory in Kashmir.

Lashkar was supposed to have been outlawed in Pakistan in 2002, but it remains active behind the veil of a public charity in Pakistan and, according to Mr. Headley’s plea, continued to be assisted by former Pakistani military officials in recent years.

From 2002 to 2005, Mr. Headley trained at Lashkar camps on five occasions, learning about explosives, small arms and countersurveillance techniques.

The plea names a retired Pakistani military officer, Col. Abdur Rehman Hashim Syed, known as Pasha, as Mr. Headley’s main contact with Lashkar. Earlier prosecution documents said that Colonel Syed was arrested last year in Pakistan on unspecified charges, but then released. In early 2009 Colonel Syed introduced Mr. Headley to Muhammad Ilyas Kashmiri, a Qaeda operative in North Waziristan, according to the document.

Colonel Syed then served as the go-between for the men, who all met together in North Waziristan, according to the document.

The visit in February 2009 may finally have put Mr. Headley on the radar of the American authorities, who started tracking him in the late spring of last year, Mr. Riedel said. Mr. Kashmiri is considered to be one of Al Qaeda’s most dangerous commanders. The Long War Journal, a Web site that specializes in reports on militancy, says he is a former member of Pakistan’s elite commando Special Services Group, though Pakistani intelligence officials deny that. He was the target of a drone attack last September. After initial reports that he was killed, it appears that he survived, according to Pakistani officials and militants.

It was Mr. Kashmiri who asked Mr. Headley to help plan the attack against the Danish newspaper, the plea document says.

After Mr. Headley’s second trip to North Waziristan in May of last year, he was told by Mr. Kashmiri that the “elders” had approved the attack in Denmark, a remark that Mr. Headley understood to mean the Qaeda leadership, the agreement says.

The attack against the newspaper, which involved a Qaeda cell already in place in Europe, was planned to be particularly gruesome, with suicide attackers trying to kill everyone in the building, the plea says.

As the planning for the Copenhagen attack unfolded, Mr. Headley returned to Denmark for a final scouting mission last August.

He then met with the Qaeda team in Europe, according to the agreement. The precise location of that meeting with Qaeda operatives is not specified in the document, apparently in deference to investigations by Western intelligence agencies. When Mr. Headley was arrested on Oct. 3, 2009, he was headed to Pakistan once again to meet Mr. Kashmiri in North Waziristan to hand over 13 surveillance videos he had taken in Copenhagen.

Mr. Headley’s plea agreement with the government was not his first. After being sentenced for drug trafficking in the 1990s, he served as an informant in Pakistan for the Drug Enforcement Agency as part of a deal for a lighter sentence. He was in Pakistan for the drug agency from the late 1990s until at least 2001. By 2002, he was training with Lashkar, raising the possibility that he had made contact with the militants while still working for the drug agency.

In addition to sites in Mumbai, Mr. Headley scouted targets in Pune and Goa, the document says. He was sent to Mumbai several times, it says. There, he made videos of the targets, including the Taj Mahal Hotel, took coordinates with a GPS unit, and scouted sites in the harbor where 10 Lashkar militants landed Nov. 26, 2008, in inflatable boats. They killed 163 people.

Hiten · Post by **Hiten** » 26 Mar 2010 20:10

American Scout for Mumbai Attacks Was Jokingly Called ‘Agent Headley’ by Friends

......In January, Jonathan Miller of Britain’s Channel 4 News went to Mumbai to retrace Mr. Headley’s steps and interview two Indian bodybuilders he had befriended there. Mr. Miller’s video report, embedded below, includes interviews with those two men, Rahul Bhatt and Vilas Varak, who showed him e-mail messages they had received from their friend and said that they suspected that their new American friend was a spy.....

.....“I had a hunch then and I have a hunch now that he was an American agent of some sort,” Mr. Bhatt told Channel 4 News. “I nicknamed him Agent Headley. I thought, and I suggested to him, that he worked for the Central Intelligence Agency, and he used to not like it.” .....

You have a hunch that a person is a spy but don't bother to inform the authorities in time - how very ideal citizen you are

Pranay · Post by **Pranay** » 26 Mar 2010 22:02

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 728767.cms

NEW DELHI: With hopes of David Headley's extradition receding, India has decided to send a magistrate to the US to record his statement which would be admissible as evidence in a court here.

A request letter for access to Headley, Lashkar-e Taiba operative who has admitted his role in Mumbai attacks, would be sent by home ministry next week to the US department of justice, official sources said on Friday.

The magistrate will be sent when the US grants permission for direct access to Headley to record his statement under CrPC 164, which is admissible in an Indian court of law, the sources said.

chaanakya · Post by **chaanakya** » 27 Mar 2010 00:30

Recording statement under 164 CrPC is nothing but a subterfuge, as lawyers know better. I am not aware of any Magistrate which has jurisdiction to record statement under section 164 r/w 281 ( since DH is unlikely to confess, he may make statement) outside of India. Cr PC applicability is only to Whole of India excluding J&K. Some provisions do not apply to Nagaland. Moreover, DH is not an Indian Citizen, presently not even in India.

Even if statement is recorded by someone purportedly a magistrate having jurisdiction over USA territory

DH can not be charged as to be charged for trial in an Indian court, named accused should be present in the court. Perhaps MHA is thinking about committal of the charged accused to trial by Video Conferencing, but then statement could also be recorded via video conferencing. It will have limited validity if the charged person can not be questioned in the trial court.

Section 273 of the CrPC explicitly provides that "all evidence taken up in the course of trial or other proceedings shall be taken in the presence of the accused, or when his personal attendance is dispensed with, in the presence of his pleader."

May be MHA will first amend the Law in current session of Parliament and then send a Magistrate to USA.( Last I knew, even Supreme Court of India's authority did not extend beyond national border.)

Indian public will hear may such inspired news items about DH in coming days till they get tired of it and forget about DH.

There is this crucial piece of reform in CrPC yet to be taken by the Govt is to charge a person in-absentia and commence trial as well as punish. May be someone better knowledgeable could explain the NEWS ITEM to us , newbies.

Patni · Post by **Patni** » 27 Mar 2010 00:37

Headley names Pakistani Army officers involved in 26/11

Lashkar-e-Taiba operative David Headley has told a US court that serving Pakistani Army officers were involved in the 26/11 terror mayhem in Mumbai, and one of them was "on the other side of the telephone line" with the terrorists during the 2008 attack, news reports said on Friday.

According to Outlook newsmagazine editor-in-chief Vinod Mehta, the involvement of the Pakistani Army officers proves their "direct link" with the terror carnage in India's commercial and financial capital in 2008 that left 166 people dead, including foreigners.

"David Headley has confessed to the involvement of serving Pakistani Army officers in 26/11," Mehta told CNN-IBN news channel.

"Of them, three are serving and one is retired," he said, adding it showed the "direct link" of the Pakistani Army with the terror strike that shook the country.

"Col. Shah (Pakistani Army officer) was on the other side of the telephone line (keeping in touch with the 26/11 terrorists)," Mehta told the television channel.

According to Outlook, the Pakistani-American terror suspect Headley has reportedly identified Major Sayeed, Major Iqbal, Major Sameer and Colonel Shah as the officers involved in the 26/11 attacks.

Meanwhile, India has decided to send a magistrate to the US to record Headley's statement. Besides the magistrate, other members of the team to quiz Headley will include lawyers and officials of Mumbai Police and the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

The 49-year-old Pakistani-American has admitted in a Chicago court to his involvement in plotting the Mumbai terror attack.

The magistrate will be sent when the US grants permission for direct access to Headley to record his statement, which would be admissible in an Indian court of law.

A request letter for access to Headley is to be sent by the home ministry next week to the US Department of Justice, official sources said on Friday.

The letter is being finalised by Home Minister P Chidambaram and top officials.

The NIA, probing the case, will file the charge sheet against Headley only after having direct access to him.

Headley has confessed to his involvement in the 26/11 attack in a plea bargain with US authorities under which he will not be extradited to India or Denmark, where he is wanted for plotting terror acts, or be given the death sentence.

Under the plea bargain, India can have access to the LeT operative by deposition, video conferencing or through Letters Rogatory.

Amber G. · Post by **Amber G.** » 27 Mar 2010 01:10

Xpost: From WP:
Access to Mumbai terrorist creates rift between India, U.S.

New Delhi's interest in interrogating Headley is causing a diplomatic rift between the United States and India. American diplomats have offered conflicting signals on whether Indian investigators will be able to question Headley, 49
...Since the Mumbai attacks claimed the lives of six Americans, the FBI felt it had an automatic entitlement to that [Kasab] meeting. But the murder of more than a hundred Indians in the same attack; one that left India naked and vulnerable forever, does not apparently give us the same right," Barkha Dutt, a national talk show host, said in a recent column in the Hindustan Times. "But we are being asked to forget all of that and be grateful for the fact that Headley may now testify in the trial via videoconference. What a joke."

Many Indians have even speculated that Headley was a CIA operative who went rogue, an assertion Washington has denied.

"If the shoe was on the other foot and the Indian authorities had in their custody an Indian citizen involved in major terrorist attacks in the U.S., Washington would no doubt expect to be given direct access to this person. So India is justified in expecting to question David Headley directly," said Lisa Curtis, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation in Washington.

"Until India gets direct access to Headley," she said, "there will be an underlying suspicion that the U.S. is trying to cover something up."

SBajwa · Post by **SBajwa** » 27 Mar 2010 01:26

Can DH be extradited to Israel, Japan, Canada or any of the other country whose people were murdered in Bombay? NO!

He committed the crime in India and thus only place he should be tried is Bombay (place of the terrorist act)., otherwise US government state office is directly involved along with Pakistani Army and ISI for pulling this act.
And thus he is being protected.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 27 Mar 2010 01:44

chaanakya, So if a person absconds from India after committing a crime he cant be charged? Is that what the law says?