Danny pearl, did the wall street journal endanger their own reporter.

March 5, 2002 6:46 AM

Danny pearl, did the wall street journal endanger their own reporter. The handing over of a laptop to the C.I.A and the department of Defense may hve led to the singling out of a Journal employee.
posted by johnnyboy (2 comments total)

Very interesting, great link. The Journal was right to share the information with the U.S., wrong not to own up to it immediately. My sense is that unless al-Queda operatives are reading Romensko's MediaNews, they didn't know about the laptop dustup. (Actually, I don't think MediaNews has jumped on this one yet?) The kidnapping seems like more of a crime of opportunity.

Among much that is interesting here is the following line:
"[Bush] ordered a change in government policy on kidnapped Americans, essentially saying that in future the government would feel compelled to rescue abducted journalists."
Journalists? Or any ordinary American? I would imagine a "journalists only" rescue policy would, in the eyes of the world's baddies, ally U.S. journalists even more closely with their gonvernment.
posted by luser at 7:04 AM on March 5, 2002

Far be it from Alternet to ever exaggerate a government policy in the furtherance of making a political point.

I believe the confused statements of the kidnappers themselves -- alleging he was CIA, then Mossad, then simply emphasizing his Jewishness on the death tape -- argue against the effect of "blowback" in this case. (A phrase that Alternet readers will specifically associate with being reflexively hurt by American policies.) Had the laptop affair been on their minds, surely they would have made sure to frame this as a warning to other journalists of any nationality -- remember, they seem to think Pearl was effectively Israeli -- from assisting the US government. Perhaps they would have targeted Cullison himself (the reporter in the laptop affair) or indicated that the Wall Street Journal itself was being targeted. They did not, which renders this article speculative.
posted by dhartung at 7:45 AM on March 5, 2002