Re: Daniel Pearl

["Sean Smyth" <Sportswriter@dejazzd.com>]

Donna writes:
> I must disagree here.  First, if you have been reading the newspapers and
> magazines in other cities (in Boston, our media have been wall to wall
> Patriots and then wall to wall pedophile priests), you know that Mr Pearl
> was not doing a business story.  Rather, he was doing investigative
> reporting about ties between Al Qaeda and the Pakistani police/military.
I
> believe that is a very important story, since like Saudi Arabia, Pakistan
> is allegedly our ally.  Only recently has there been any investigative
> reporting about what is happening in Afghanistan (or Pakistan):  until a
> few weeks ago, we got only the Donald Rumsfeld version with no mention of
> bombs that misfired or civilian casualties or anything else.  While that
is
> to be expected during a war, now some journalists are trying to find out
> more information, the Boston Globe among them, and I commend those who
> venture into war zones.  They are a courageous group, worthy of our
> respect.  Granted, investigative journalism is not the sort of thing the
> Wall Street Journal is known for, but surprisingly, every so often they do
> in-depth stories on subjects one might not expect.  There is another
reason
> why I believe Mr Pearl was targeted-- and why other American journalists
> have been warned-- but I will save that for discussing in a day or two,
> since it does not pertain to this list directly.  Every time we talk
> politics, we end up in flame-wars.  I'd rather just leave it with my deep
> sorrow for ANY journalist who dies in the line of duty.  I don't think the
> average citizen has a clue how dangerous the job of a reporter can be.

I agree with you, and I don't want to seem like I am minimalizing Daniel
Pearl's death at all. However, when heads of state die, they aren't even
afforded this much coverage on CNN.

I agree that we do need more investigative reporting on the whole situation
in Afghanistan. As you do, I applaud the reporters taking risks covering the
stories in Afghanistan and Pakistan. To put this whole Sept. 11-related
situation in proper context, I think we do need to find out WHY these
countries are havens of terrorists. For example, I remember seeing one
report about bin Laden's terrorist training camps in Afghanistan on 60
Minutes a few years back, mentioned in a cursory manner, and basically they
were pooh-pooed. So, yeah, we do need information from there.

However, as Dan Billings mentioned in another reply, does Daniel Pearl's
death deserve more attention than those of Mikey Spann, or other Americans
who have died in this conflict? I say no. Of course, you may think I'm
comparing apples to oranges.

Respectfully,
-Sean