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Volume CXXXIII, Number 19 |
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A conversation with Doug Jehl
ALEX DUNCAN
STAFF WRITER
Doug Jehl has worked for The New York Times in
a variety of capacities, including bureau chief in Cairo, Egypt, and as
an environmental correspondent out of Washington, D.C. As the world's
attention focused on Afghanistan and its neighbors in the wake of September
11, the Times sent him to the region (which he covered prior to
his assignment in Washington), and he has subsequently spent five of the
last six months in the area. He reported from the USS Enterprise (an aircraft
carrier in the Arabian Sea that served as a launching point for attacks
into Afghanistan), and from Saudi Arabia. He briefly returned home to
his wife, Lisa, and their one-year-old daughter, Nicole, for Christmas
in Bethesda, Maryland, before duty called him back overseas. In recent
weeks he has been in Islamabad, Pakistan, where he is currently serving
as acting Islamabad bureau chief. It is from Pakistan that Doug, my cousin,
agreed to answer questions via e-mail, regarding the kidnapping and murder
of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.
Did you know Daniel Pearl? What was he like?
I did know Danny. I first met him 20 years ago, when he was a year behind
me at Stanford. I didn't know him well then, but our paths crossed over
the years in places like Iran when we were both covering the Middle East-he
from London, I from Cairo. He was smart, funny, understated, and generous.
He once walked up to me at a conference in Cairo to reintroduce
himself-we hadn't seen each other in a long time. In his typically humble
way, he claimed that he'd been following in my footsteps since Stanford.
And then I had the unfortunate timing of arriving in Pakistan,
on a temporary assignment, just a few days after Danny was kidnapped.
I had learned of his disappearance only as I boarded a plane to fly here,
in fact. So the whole experience has brought a real personal sadness to
the last month.
What effect did the kidnapping have on reporting activities
in Pakistan? Did you and other reporters cut back on your work as a result?
It has certainly made most of my colleagues and me much more cautious
about what we do and who we meet with. There's a feeling that this could
have happened to any of us- I mean, by necessity in covering the Middle
East, you meet with militants and other shadowy characters. It's the only
way to get a grip on what's really happening.
But yes, my colleagues, my bosses in New York, and I spent
some time debating security arrangements. In the end, we beefed up the
guard staff at the private home that serves as our house and our office.
I for one have avoided seeking out militants in the way that I might have
in the past. I'm careful to always travel with a trusted driver or fixer.
And the Times and several other news organizations decided to keep
its correspondents out of Karachi, and to cover the story of Danny's disappearance
and his murder from Islamabad, the capital.
Have you felt afraid or anxious for your safety as a
result of the recent events? Is it nerve-wracking working under the shadow
of such a potential threat?
I haven't felt particularly afraid, at least not since the first few days
after the kidnapping, when there were explicit threats that other journalists
would be kidnapped. But since then, as I said, I've been more cautious
about who I might meet with than I can remember being in the past. Some
of the recent stories I've written have discussed the links between militants
here and Pakistan's intelligence service, and some people here have warned
that that could stir up trouble as well.
It's not particularly nerve-wracking, just very sad and
grim. Danny's disappearance cast a big weight over my time here, and his
murder really hit home.
What do you think are the longer term repercussions for
reporting and journalism as a result of the kidnapping? In particular,
in the Middle East and South Asian region?
It's hard to say right away. After the wave of kidnappings in Lebanon
in the late 80s and early 90s, most major news organizations essentially
pulled out, or at least barred their reporters who were American citizens
from going. I went into Lebanon in 1995 for the Times, when things had
very much quieted down, but I think I was the first American the paper
had sent in eight years or so.
It's sad when that happens because it adds to the disconnect
between the West and parts of the world, like the Middle East and South
Asia, that are so important.
I can't imagine yet that there will be such a reaction in Pakistan or Afghanistan. About 10 reporters have been killed in the region since the crisis began, I think, but all except Danny seem to have been killed in combat or by bandits. Still, what was so chilling about Danny's death was the way he was singled out and then lured to his death, and the way his executioners chose to make a spectacle out of it. If, God forbid, there should be more such kidnappings, then I think big news organizations will think again about security. Certainly, though, all of us are going to be much more careful about seeking out people like Ahmed Omar Sheikh, which unfortunately means that it will take longer for parts of this story to be told.