Virginia is moving ahead with the scheduled execution of a Pakistani man who went on a 1993 shooting rampage outside CIA headquarters -- an attack motivated by his anger toward Washington's Middle East policies. The execution of Mir Aimal Kasi, 38, scheduled for 9 p.m. ET Thursday, has prompted the State Department to issue warnings that his death may trigger retaliatory attacks against U.S. interests overseas. Kasi was convicted in 1997 for the killings of two CIA employees — Frank Darling, 28, and Lansing Bennett, 66 — as they sat in their cars in morning traffic outside CIA headquarters. Three other CIA employees, all in separate cars, were wounded in the attack. "I was real angry with the policy of the U.S. government in the Middle East, particularly toward the Palestinian people," Kasi said in a prison interview with CNN-affiliate WTTG.
I imagine the usual suspects will be outside the pen this evening, holding their candles and explaining that when Islamists get angry over anything, as we all know, they're not responsible for their actions, so this execution is obviously unjust and unwarranted. Say what you will about the death penalty, it certainly cuts the recidivism rate... |