Posted on 03/19/2010 2:30:00 PM PDT by James C. Bennett
NEW DELHI: The agreement between David Coleman Headley and US authorities, under which he pleaded guilty to being part of the 26/11 plot in order to dodge the death sentence and extradition to India, has considerably abated the fear here that the Americans would let off Headley aka Daood Gilani, a suspected "double agent", lightly. It also marks a big boost to New Delhi's efforts to expose Pakistan's propaganda to project Lashkar as a group focused on J&K.
Details of the "guilty" plea made by Headley validate India's claims about the Lashkar leadership masterminding 26/11, and suggest that the American jihadi may not be able to get away lightly as was being feared.
What should temper the disappointment in certain quarters over Americans agreeing to Headley's condition not to extradite him to India is that the deal marks the first time that top Lashkar leaders -- mentioned in the agreement as Lashkar Members A, B, C and D -- have been held responsible for the killing of American citizens in a US court.
The estimate of Indian investigators is that the alphabets stand for jihadi commanders Sajid Mir, Zakiur Rahman Lakhvi, Muzzamil and Abu Hamza or Abu Al Qama: all key figures in the ISI-scripted campaign to use terror to bleed India.
The lid on their identity will soon be ripped apart given Headley's promise of cooperation. In fact, that he is already singing has been one of the reasons cited by the American authorities to justify why they are not pressing for Headley being put on an electric chair or given a shot of lethal injection.
That leaves out the "Big Daddy" of Lashkar -- Hafiz Mohammad Saeed -- the hate-spewing jihadi ideologue. But given that Headley has already acknowledged having been inspired by Saeed's anti-India rhetoric and his testimony about the involvement of Lashkar commanders in the Mumbai plot, the agreement strengthens home minister P Chidambaram's demand -- stubbornly rejected by Pakistan -- for an investigation into the role of the LeT chief.
More so, because Headley's testimony also spotlights that Lashkar is now fully enmeshed in the larger terror web that has Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida at the lead. Prosecutors told the court that co-accused and HuJI chief Ilyas Kashmiri was in regular touch with Qaida's No 3 Sheikh Mustafa Abu al-Yazid.
That is not all. Headley also confessed that his collaborations were "not limited to" just members of LeT -- a significant statement in the light of his testimony early on to FBI about the Karachi Project that involves serving and retired officers of Pakistan Army, besides Lashkar and their Indian proxies, Indian Mujahideen.
What makes the agreement more satisfactory is that while the American authorities have agreed neither to extradite him nor to seek death penalty despite Headley being charged with seven crimes punishable with execution, the fear of being sent to the gallows will continue to hang over Headley like a sword of Damocles.
The agreement, as acknowledged by Headley's counsel Robert Seeder, makes it clear that the death sentence is off the table only so long as the accused continues to cooperate. "The defendant (Headley) understands that if he should breach this cooperation agreement and if the government, at its sole discretion, voids such agreement, the government will no longer be bound by its decision not to seek the death penalty," stressed the plea agreement.
The rider is crucial from India's viewpoint because the cooperation expected under the deal extends to helping with India's own investigation. The statement issued by the US Department of Justice stresed that Headley has agreed to "fully and truthfully testify in any foreign judicial proceedings held against the United States by way of deposition, video conferencing and letter rogatory".
The formulation has clearly been designed to help India and Denmark, in that order, considering that of the 12 charges Headley has pleaded guilty to, as many as nine relate to the Mumbai massacre, seven of them warranting death.
The deal which is predicated upon the "calculation" that Headley would get a life sentence, also makes it clear that the sentencing will not happen till he has fully cooperated. More important, it acknowledges that the court could very well prove the calculation wrong -- put bluntly, award death to Headley -- but rules out the option for Headley to withdraw his guilty plea.
Nor does the agreement shut out the possibility of Headley being tried for offences, including those meriting execution, if the investigation conducted by his cooperation throws up evidence of links to crimes other than the dozen figuring in the deal.
That’s Headl- ... er, never mind.
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