Reflections on "Kidnapped Nation"
Interview by Lorie Konish, media analyst
June 23, 2003
Richard Behar's "Kidnapped Nation" offers an in-depth look at Pakistan, a country over-shadowed by news coverage of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Read on to find Behar's reflections on the ten-week odyssey that resulted in his award-winning investigative article.
(Ed. Note: We suggest that you read the article to put the following interview in context.)
"Kidnapped Nation," your award-winning article from Pakistan details, "A ten-week journey through Pakistan — and dozens of interviews with suicide bombers, government ministers, Western-trained bankers, tribal gun dealers, and illegal moneychangers." What most surprised you about these seemingly elusive contacts and information?
I remember visiting Quetta, one of Pakistan's largest cities, and being stunned at the hordes of Taliban roaming the streets — as well as pro- Taliban/Osama posters, flags, news stands, and even a well-guarded Taliban headquarters that was very much in operation. America had begun bombing Afghanistan a month earlier, and I said to a colleague, "I guess nobody told the citizens of Quetta that Pakistan is America's ally in the war on terror. The word hasn't trickled down here yet." When I mentioned this Quetta scenery to Pakistan's Interior Minister, he seemed surprised that it existed. Tragically, just before I left Pakistan, this minister's brother was killed on a Karachi street — a direct shot, it was believed, at the government's promised crackdown on terrorists.
As for the wide range of sources, if I had to pick traits that link them all, it would be courage and tenacity. Pakistan's experiments with democracy have been utter failures, and yet the ministers and bankers persevere and are truly working hard to reform the society. The current administration, while unelected, is — ironically enough — perhaps the best government Pakistan has ever had in its half-century existence. But the jury is out (Behar: literally, in fact, which is part of the problem!) on whether they can achieve their goals. At the other end of the spectrum, the gun-dealers, suicide-bombers, radical terrorists and illegal money-changers are just as determined to keep Pakistan in the dark ages. One thing that surprised me was how huge this gap is — between the educated and illiterate, the rich and poor, the Pakistanis who embrace a moderate Islam and their radical brethren.
A particularly striking incident occurs in "Kidnapped Nation" where a Fortune reporter is invited inside Al-Badar Mujahideen's "House of Martyrs," only to be told by the commander Umer Inqlabi, "Today you are my guest—my brother! But you belong to the enemy side. If I see you at the war field, I will just kill you." After having had the opportunity to meet with or investigate these people personally, how has your understanding of them changed?
These people need jobs, and real education. And they need to direct their energy towards reforming their own society. But it's much easier (and lazier) to have invisible foreign 'enemies' like the US or Israel. It's a bit like David and Goliath, or Robin Hood. They mythologize themselves and their perceived adversaries. They don't want to see or believe any evidence that contradicts their prejudices. And, as religious fanatics, they veer toward paranoia and can turn on you sharply. At one point, I asked my Al-Badar host a simple question about his arms-training camps, and he shot me a harsh look, before smiling and saying, 'We are not children. Those are the kinds of questions someone in the CIA would ask.' Needless to say, I changed the subject quickly.
All that being said, America has done a poor job of communicating with these radicals — I think the US government ought to be renting stadiums in Pakistan to lay out its policies and positions — and we did make the mistake of leaving the region after the Russians were driven out of Afghanistan. There was no Marshall Plan. There was no program to lower the temperature and channel these students into productive work. So, in essence, the US trained, armed and whipped up the kids to beat Russia, and then we said, 'Goodbye and good luck.' With hindsight, one could almost predict that they'd turn against their own trainers. I say this knowing full well that the US can't be expected do everything and be everywhere. But this is one of those unintended consequences of a limited foreign policy.
Your investigations in Pakistan led you to interact with such a variety of people in Pakistan, people that most Americans never get to meet. How would you say you were generally received as an American reporter by the Pakistani people?
What do you think is important for Americans to understand about the Pakistani people?
With few exceptions, I was well treated by the Pakistani people, even though the majority were supportive of the Taliban and Bin Laden. CNN had asked me to carry a video camera — I was given a 10-minute training on it just before my flight to Karachi — and I think the camera actually gave me an added layer of protection. At other times, however, I felt the need to have armed security — particularly when visiting certain radical groups, or certain neighborhoods that were dangerous places for Westerners to be.
Pakistan is an oppressed, yet vibrant society. I shot about 15 hours of video on the streets; very few citizens objected, and I was rarely physically attacked. I made some good, lasting friends there. But I could sense some shadows starting to form in the weeks before I departed Karachi. The assassination of the minister's brother was a turning point, followed by a real (finally) crackdown on terror groups in early January 2002, shortly before Danny was kidnapped.
Americans should understand that Pakistan has tremendous potential, if key reforms take place in the economy and school system. The hate-filled textbooks need to be rewritten — even the ones in their better public schools. And the quotas for their key export (textiles) should be increased in the US. Unfortunately, after our ambassador in Islamabad stated that buying Pakistani goods was a "patriotic" thing for Americans to do (i.e. more jobs equals less terrorism), there was a backlash in our textile-protective Congress, and she never uttered such words again. Americans do need to care about what happens in Pakistan. For one thing, they have 'the bomb.' Secondly, the country is a breeding ground and transit point for terrorists.
The American presence in Pakistani culture is described with the heightened security at American businesses including Citigroup, American Express, KFC, Pizza Hut and McDonald's in ,"The Karachi Connection" and then subsequently with the story of a Pakistani man who is told that he lost his factory job because America is not buying enough goods in "Kidnapped Nation." How would you define the American presence in Pakistan?
I can only speak to the period I was reporting — Oct 2001 to Jan 2002 — but I haven't heard that much has really changed since then. I recall that American Express took in its street sign, while the security at Citibank was exhaustive — with a giant block-long gate installed outside its top branch in Karachi. After two Kentucky Fried Chicken outlets were burned, most American-style restaurants had at least one guard toting an AK-47. Western investment had pretty much dried up.
Oddly, even kids with jobs at American-style shops were supportive of Osama and the Taliban. I remember shooting video of the young staff at a Kentucky Fried Chicken in one of Karachi's worst neighborhoods. The kids seemed smart, and they were quite cute in their KFC uniforms. They cheered Osama as a freedom fighter. When I pointed out that KFC was an American franchise, they shook their heads and pointed to a sign that said 'owned and operated by Pakistanis.' How does one begin to digest that picture? Colonel Sanders must be rolling in his batter.
You extensively describe the hundi money exchange system dominating Pakistan, which you define as "a network of brokers and moneychangers who transmit funds to and from Pakistan without moving money across borders or creating a paper trail." How much would you say that hundi contributes to the culture as being "a society held hostage?"
The system of hundi — "flying money" — is a cancer that both fuels and strangles Pakistan's economy. It allows billions of dollars to move in and out of the country without documentation. In essence, the society and economy are held hostage by this underground system, in which maybe a half-dozen men sit at the top of the pyramid. Their power is so vast that even officials inside the central bank were reluctant to name them for me. Unfortunately, hundi is more efficient than the official banking system in Pakistan — poor people in rural areas are uncomfortable walking inside banks, or are shunned by banks — but this invisible network is particularly insidious because it allows terror and drug money to flow through its veins undetected. Imagine America's six largest financial institutions operating in the shadows — with unnamed CEOs based in a city just outside the US border — and you'll have a clearer sense of what's happening in Pakistan.
"The Karachi Connection" discusses the trail of Said Bahaji and five other men, with "the names of three of them not publicly revealed until now." "FBI's 'Phoenix' Memo Unmasked," on the other hand, includes the names of several Middle Eastern students, who you acknowledge having the names of, but do not actually reveal them in your article. When it comes to national security, what determines what you will and will not reveal in your articles? What responsibility does this knowledge demand of you?
Good question. The decision to name the alleged Bahaji associates and not to name the Phoenix students had less to do with national security and more to do with privacy and fairness. If I recall correctly, one or more of the students were still enrolled in the Arizona school, and I didn't have information that they were under FBI investigation. Also, it's common for Middle Eastern students to take flight training in the US, which is considered the best place for study. In fact, many insurance companies will not insure airlines whose pilots have not trained in US schools.
As for the Bahaji case, documents indicated that the men traveled with Bahaji (German-Turkey-Pakistan) in the days just before 9-11. An international arrest warrant was outstanding for Bahaji — the alleged logistical leader of the terror attacks — who, to this day, remains a fugitive. We (Fortune and CNN) also had information that two of these men were under government surveillance in Germany at the time we published, while German law enforcement had, in documents I obtained, linked them to Bahaji. Also, these men had provided specific Pakistan addresses (in Quetta, near the Afghan border) on their travel documents that turned out to be nonexistent. With police security, I went door-to-door in Quetta searching for information about the men, but found nothing.
As for national security, I think almost every reporter would hold back on publishing information that would put the country in jeopardy. It's a no-brainer. But it's also a case-by-case situation, as the Pentagon Papers case taught us in the 1970s. Government tends to classify more material than it should, and the press is one of the few checks we have to keep government censors from going overboard.
The locations you have written about in your articles extend from Russia to China, Mexico to Brunei. In all your investigations of these cultures, what has been the most striking memory you have taken from them?
People are people, while governments are too often run by babies and tyrants. Part of the problem is the pay scales. If government officials and workers aren't paid enough, corruption will be an epidemic. You see this throughout certain cultures, such as Indonesia, Mexico, China, and Russia. (About) Brunei? This is an odd little country where the citizens are paid just enough by the Sultan so that they don't care to demand more of a voice in how the system works. So much is decided in the shadows there — inside the 1,788-room palace. It could change, however, when the oil money runs out.
For an archive of Behar's recent articles, visit the Fortune Web site:
http://www.fortune.com/fortune/search?query=Richard+Behar&publication_id=6
|
|
|
For a special Interview with Behar, the recent recipient of the Daniel Pearl Award, click
here.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Osama Bin Laden Candy from Pakistan, courtesy of Behar Collection
|
|
|
|
Awards and citations received by Behar include the following:
DANIEL PEARL AWARD
for "outstanding print reporting on South Asia by a U.S. journalist" (South Asian Journalists Association, Columbia University, 2003)
MORTON FRANK AWARD
for "best business reporting from abroad in magazines" (Overseas Press Club of America, 2003)
DEADLINE CLUB AWARD
for "Best News Reporting" and "Best Business Reporting (Society of Professional Journalists 2003, 1998, 1996)
NATIONAL HEADLINER AWARD
for "outstanding continuing coverage (CNN Investigation Team) of attacks on America and their aftermath" (Press Club of Atlantic City, 2002)
BUSINESS JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR
(2001 Business Journalism Awards; Corporation of London/World Leadership Forum)
BUSINESS NEWS LUMINARY OF THE CENTURY
("The Top 100," TJFR Group, 2000)
SOPA AWARD FOR BEST FEATURE WRITING
(Society of Publishers in Asia, 2000)
JACK ANDERSON AWARD
for "top investigative reporter of the year" (International Platform Association, 1999 and 1997)
NATIONAL HEADLINER AWARD
for "coverage of a major news event" (Press Club of Atlantic City, 1999, 1997, and 1996)
NATIONAL MAGAZINE AWARD
for "editorial excellence" (American Society of Magazine Editors, Columbia University, 1997)
GEORGE POLK AWARD
"for excellence in journalism — magazine reporting" (Long Island University, 1995)
GERALD LOEB AWARD
"for distinguished business and financial journalism" (The Anderson School at UCLA, 1992)
CONSCIENCE-IN-MEDIA AWARD
"for singular commitment to the highest principles of journalism at notable personal cost" (American Society of Journalists and Authors, 1992)
BUSINESS INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER-OF-THE-YEAR
(Business News Reporter, 1992)
WORTH BINGHAM PRIZE
"for distinguished investigative reporting" (White House Correspondents Association dinner, 1991)
Behar was also a finalist for the Gerald Loeb Award (2000); National Magazine Award (1999 and 1992); IRE Award, Investigative Reporters and Editors (2000 and 1998).
|
|
|
|
|
