OBIT: Daniel Pearl R.I.P.

Subject: Daniel Pearl R.I.P.
From: DougR
Date: 21 Feb 02 - 05:50 PM

Not really an obituary, but I simply could not assign this thread a B. S.

It seems certain at this point that the Terrorists that kidnapped Daniel Pearl, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, was murdered by his captors, and the murder was filmed.

Is there anyone who does not recognize that the terrorists the U. S., Great Britain and other allies are at war with, are people who are as cruel as this world has seen?

DougR

Subject: RE: OBIT: Daniel Pearl R.I.P.
From: Devilmaster
Date: 21 Feb 02 - 05:52 PM

Just out of curiousity, was there another thread that said Daniel Pearl was a musician....

Was looking for it, but couldn't find....

Steve

Subject: RE: OBIT: Daniel Pearl R.I.P.
From: DougR
Date: 21 Feb 02 - 05:54 PM

Yes, Steve, I believe someone said he played fiddle, and played as sessions in Washington, D. C., I think.

DougR

Subject: RE: OBIT: Daniel Pearl R.I.P.
From: CarolC
Date: 21 Feb 02 - 05:58 PM

Was this the thread?

Subject: RE: OBIT: Daniel Pearl R.I.P.
From: wysiwyg
Date: 21 Feb 02 - 06:00 PM

So sad.

Here is the PREVIOUS THREAD.

I read that after their wedding reception, there was an all-night jam session.

Did any of the FSGW folk know him?

~Susan

Subject: RE: OBIT: Daniel Pearl R.I.P.
From: GUEST,jaze
Date: 21 Feb 02 - 08:37 PM

How incredibly sad and stupid. And his wife is pregnant with their first child. What a world...

Subject: RE: OBIT: Daniel Pearl R.I.P.
From: Amergin
Date: 21 Feb 02 - 08:40 PM

Journal Says That Kidnapped Reporter Is Dead Pearl's Murder Was Videotaped, According to U.S. Officials Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, seen here in a recent file photo, is dead, according the newspaper's publisher. (-- - Wall Street Journal via AFP)

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• Wall Street Journal Managing Editor Paul Steiger on news of the death of Daniel Pearl • Text of statement

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• Bush on Pearl's Death • Transcript

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E-Mail This Article Printer-Friendly Version Subscribe to The Post By Peter Baker and Kamran Khan Washington Post Foreign Service Thursday, February 21, 2002; 5:59 PM

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Feb. 22 (Friday) -- Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, who was abducted last month by Islamic extremists while reporting a story in Pakistan, has been killed by his captors, authorities and the newspaper said tonight.

U.S. officials and executives of the newspaper announced the development after a videotape was delivered to the U.S. consulate in Karachi tonight with gruesome footage showing Pearl being killed with a knife, according to a source close to the investigation. His body has not been found but authorities considered the videotape authentic.

"We now believe, based on reports from the U.S. State Department and police officials of the Pakistani province of Sind, that Danny Pearl was killed by his captors," Journal Publisher Peter Kann said. "We are heartbroken at his death. Danny was an outstanding colleague, a great reporter, and a dear friend of many at the Journal. His murder is an act of barbarism that makes a mockery of everything Danny's kidnappers claimed to believe in. They claimed to be Pakistani nationalists, but their actions must surely bring shame to all true Pakistani patriots."

The State Department decried Pearl's murder but credited the Pakistani government for making "every effort" to save the Journal correspondent. "The murder of Mr. Pearl is an outrage and we condemn it," the department said in a statement. "Both the United States and Pakistan are committed to identifying all the perpetrators of this crime and bringing them to justice."

Pearl, 38, the Journal's South Asia bureau chief, disappeared Jan. 23 after going to a restaurant in the southern Pakistani port city of Karachi to meet with intermediaries he hoped would arrange an interview with an Islamic cleric. Pearl was investigating links between Pakistani extremists and Richard C. Reid, the British citizen accused of trying to blow up a commercial airliner over the Atlantic Ocean with explosives hidden in his sneakers.

His kidnappers sent a pair of e-mail messages to news organizations claiming to have taken Pearl because he was a CIA agent and including photographs of him with a handgun held to his head. The e-mail messages issued a series of demands, including the release of Pakistani prisoners being held by U.S. military at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The Journal and the CIA denied that Pearl worked for the government; the second e-mail message from the kidnappers said they now understood he did not work for the CIA but now linked him to Israeli intelligence, an allegation likewise denied by the Journal.

Police arrested a prominent radical Islamic militant, Sheikh Omar Saeed, who spent five years in an Indian prison for kidnapping four Westerners before being released in a trade with airplane hijackers in 1999. Saeed admitted involvement in the kidnapping, saying he wanted to show that Pakistan should not cater to American needs.

In open court, Saeed said last week that he believed Pearl to be dead, however Pakistani officials from the president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, on down publicly cast doubt on his statement. Sources said last week that Saeed told interrogators privately that he believed Pearl was killed Jan. 31 during a failed escape attempt. He said he learned of the death on Feb. 5 when he called accomplices who had been holding him.

The videotape delivered to the U.S. consulate in Karachi left no doubt that Pearl was indeed killed, according to the source. The videotape showed Pearl speaking with someone, almost as if he were conducting an interview, when suddenly an unseen assailant grabbed him and slit his throat, the source said. The videotape included no date, no audio and no faces other than Pearl's, the source said.

Pearl's wife, Mariane, who is pregnant with their first child, had remained in Karachi issuing several public pleas with kidnappers to release her husband unharmed.

His death could prove to be a major international embarrassment to Musharraf and his government. The case has been the top issue in Pakistan for weeks and came to overshadow Musharraf's own debut visit in Washington, where he personally assured President Bush that he believed Pearl was still alive and would soon be rescued.

Musharraf has given conflicting interpretations of the roots of the abduction case. In an interview before heading to Washington, he blamed the crime on agents working with arch-rival India, even though Saeed has been one of the leading fighters against Indian rule in the disputed province of Kashmir. Then while in Washington, Musharraf suggested the kidnapping was part of a backlash against his recent campaign against Islamic extremism in Pakistan.

© 2002 The Washington Post Company

Subject: RE: OBIT: Daniel Pearl R.I.P.
From: kendall
Date: 21 Feb 02 - 09:27 PM

Those bastards have given Barbarism a bad name.

Subject: RE: OBIT: Daniel Pearl R.I.P.
From: The Pooka
Date: 21 Feb 02 - 09:42 PM

DougR, you are right, No there can be no doubt. "Denial" maybe; but no legitimate room for doubt.
Susan, yes it is "So sad". But more than only sad. Death is sad; untimely or awful death is tragic. War itself is a horror. But *these* things, which are not *even* War, are inconceivable. Cruel sadistic murder by monsters. No "cause"--**nobody's**, anywhere --can justify such things. Nor excuse. Nor "Explain".
RIP brave journalist, & musician, Daniel Pearl and may G*d comfort those who loved him. And help us all.

Subject: RE: OBIT: Daniel Pearl R.I.P.
From: DougR
Date: 21 Feb 02 - 10:55 PM

Yes, Kendall, I agree.

Subject: RE: OBIT: Daniel Pearl R.I.P.
From: Lonesome EJ
Date: 22 Feb 02 - 01:14 AM

These are people who claim God is on their side, and also claim that the US is the "Great Satan". The anger almost overwhelms the sadness and sympathy I feel for Mr Pearl and his family.

Subject: RE: OBIT: Daniel Pearl R.I.P.
From: Kaleea
Date: 22 Feb 02 - 01:46 AM

Oprah's Tues show was about the journalists who believe that it is their duty to bring us the story. It was very touching to hear the various journalists explain why they do it, how they try to expalin it to their families. They are willing to go into these hot locations for much the same reasons our young people join the military, because they believe that there are people out there who otherwise would never recieve the help they so desperately need, and, because we, the people, have the right to know what is really happening around the world from fair and impartial journalists who report the facts, even while facing danger. I will never forget Dan Rather looking down the barrels of the machine guns of the chinese troops in Tianinmen Square to bring the story to us, back here in America. I grew up seeing war on the evening news, and I still am chilled by the sheer rage of the inhuman creatures who hold such disregard for their fellow humans. Perhaps we should send up thoughts/prayers for the journalists & for our troops "over there."

Subject: RE: OBIT: Daniel Pearl R.I.P.
From: katlaughing
Date: 22 Feb 02 - 05:57 AM

Barbarism can be found in the history of almost any society.

37 journalists lost their lives last year.

I am in no way belittling the terrible loss of Mr. Pearl, just pointing out that it is not a new thing. One of the woman on Oprah was kidnapped and held for twenty days before she was lucky enough to escape, yet there was NO news coverage of this event at all.

Dan Eldon was stoned to death in Somalia at the age of 21. I had a teacher whose children grew up with him. She was always telling us what a kind and extraoridnary young man he was; he wanted to bring the truth of genocide to the world and was killed for it.

It is a sorry and horrible thing that Pearl has joined the ranks of so many. My sympathies go to his family and friends. May their god comfort them and bring them peace.

kat

Subject: RE: OBIT: Daniel Pearl R.I.P.
From: SharonA
Date: 22 Feb 02 - 10:59 AM

This is a horrible tragedy, and such a pointless one. What could Pearl's kidnappers have hoped to accomplish by his murder, except to engender more hatred?

There were several war correspondents featured on the Oprah Winfrey show on Wednesday, and they discussed their motivation to risk their lives to bring their stories to the world's attention, as well as their empathy with Pearl (this was broadcast while Pearl was still believed to be alive). Among the correspondents were Christiane Amanpour, Terry Anderson, Ian Stewart, Deborah Copaken Kogan and the relatives of Dan Eldon. Here's a link to a review of that show: 20 Feb 2002 Oprah show: "Reporters' Notebooks"

Subject: RE: OBIT: Daniel Pearl R.I.P.
From: Big Tim
Date: 22 Feb 02 - 11:45 AM

I have seen no reference to Mr Pearl's religion, if he had one. I wonder if he was Jewish (unlike me) and if so was this a twisted factor in his ghastly murder.

Subject: RE: OBIT: Daniel Pearl R.I.P.
From: Mrrzy
Date: 22 Feb 02 - 11:48 AM

Having gone through the not-knowing part, I am relieved that the family finally KNOW what happened, rather than wondering like the MIA families etc. I remember - it was WORSE not knowing and fearing, than having my fears confirmed. That poor family can begin the long road to surviving now, at least. May their footsteps be upon the softest ground possible on that long trail.

Subject: RE: OBIT: Daniel Pearl R.I.P.
From: SharonA
Date: 22 Feb 02 - 12:23 PM

P.S. to my earlier post – I should have included Tina Susman in that interviewee list above (from the Oprah show). She was kidnapped in Mogadishu and held for 20 days. She managed to escape, and continues to report on world events. Here's a statement from her that may well reflect Daniel Pearl's commitment to his life's work:

"People complain about the weather, about the price of milk, the price of gas. If they have to stand in line an extra half-hour at security to get on the airplane, they complain. What I want to do, what I hope to do through these stories, is make people realize that they have so little to complain about." — Tina Susman

Here's a short obit statement from Pearl's family: Pearl family mourns loss of 'gentle soul'

More statements, from the Washington Post: Pearl Killing Condemned Worldwide

Subject: RE: OBIT: Daniel Pearl R.I.P.
From: M.Ted
Date: 22 Feb 02 - 01:05 PM

One of the reasons given for taking, and killing him, was that he was Jewish--a telling irony, since Islam regards Jews as "People of the Book" that is part of same religious tradition, and complicity in his death, especially in the cause of Jihad, would result in damnation-- I suppose it is a mistake to try to make any sort of sense of all this, but the emotional impact is real enough, especially after seeing a picture of him, playing his fiddle, on the news--

Subject: RE: OBIT: Daniel Pearl R.I.P.
From: Mickey191
Date: 22 Feb 02 - 01:07 PM

My sympathy goes to all who knew and loved Daniel Pearl. This is a most dispicable act. Big Tim, CBS news reported today at noon, his last words were, "My mother is Jewish." His throat was cut, and then he was decapitated. Man's inhumanity to man.

Subject: RE: OBIT: Daniel Pearl R.I.P.
From: SharonA
Date: 22 Feb 02 - 03:12 PM

More from the Washington Post:

"Pearl's abduction appeared to be a methodically plotted operation involving weeks of interactions, false identities, e-mail and mobile telephones. Sheik Omar Saeed, a native of Britain affiliated with the Jaish-i-Muhammad terrorist group fighting India's rule in Kashmir, shaved his beard and met the journalist for coffee and club sandwiches in January in Rawalpindi near Islamabad, according to police. Saeed has said he had met with Osama bin Laden shortly after Sept. 11, although it is not clear whether bin Laden's al Qaeda terrorist network had any direct role in the crime.

"Police are now searching for two of Saeed's main partners. One is a man Saeed referred to as Hyder and Pearl knew as Imtiaz Siddiqi. Investigators have said they believe the man is really Mansur Hasnain, a terrorist involved in the hijacking of an Indian airliner in 1999 that forced authorities in New Delhi to free Saeed, who had spent five years in an Indian prison for kidnapping four Westerners. Investigators are also hunting for a man identified as Amjad Farooqi, who was believed to be among the captors holding Pearl." © 2002 The Washington Post Company

This is what comes of making deals with terrorists (like the 1999 hijackers). They let the guy out of jail so the hijackers won't kill anybody, then the guy AND one of the hijackers kill somebody. Surprise, surprise.

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On the "Terrorists Kidnapped Bluegrass Fiddler!" thread, MTed pulled a quote from the Washington Post that said "Red Haired Boy" was Daniel Pearl's favorite tune. According to Ebbie, it's the same tune as the one for THE BEGGARMAN'S SONG (JOHNNY DHU) in the Digital Tradition. Does anyone know the lyrics to "Red Haired Boy", if there are any?

I think we should pick a date and a time, and play the song together as a tribute to Pearl.

Sharon

Subject: RE: OBIT: Daniel Pearl R.I.P.
From: SharonA
Date: 22 Feb 02 - 04:53 PM

P.S. – I've posted links to several pages with flatpicking tabs, chords and more midi files for "Red Haired Boy" here, if anyone wants to learn to play the tune: "Terrorists Kidnapped Bluegrass Fiddler!" thread, post by SharonA 22-Feb-02 - 04:29 PM

Sharon