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American Morning

Case of Alleged Kidnapping of Clark Bowers Met with Good Deal of Skepticism

Aired January 23, 2002 - 07:36   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: An American citizen says he has been kidnapped in Afghanistan, and his wife at home makes an urgent plea for help. It's the kind of story that might have made big headlines, but the case of the alleged kidnapping of Clark Bowers exactly two weeks ago in Afghanistan, and his recent release, barely made a splash at all. Instead, the story was met with a good deal of skepticism. And now CNN's Gary Tuchman has learned there may have been a very good reason why.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Clark Bowers called his wife, Amanda, on January 9 to tell her was a kidnap victim.

AMANDA BOWERS, CLARK BOWERS' WIFE: Clark called me via satellite phone on Wednesday after taking a chartered plane from Istanbul to Kabul. During that brief conversation, he told me that he had landed safely in Afghanistan, but that he and his acting interpreter had been abducted by someone whom Clark said was a tribal warlord.

TUCHMAN (on camera): But a U.S. government official says at least two satellite phone calls made by Bowers, while he said he was being held hostage, were traced to neighboring Pakistan. The inference being that Bowers was in Pakistan, while he said he was a captive in Afghanistan.

(voice-over): In fact, government sources say there was no independent confirmation Bowers ever landed in Afghanistan. Bowers claims he made two trips there since September 11. Following the first, he talked with a Dallas TV station about why he went.

CLARK BOWERS, OCTOBER 3, 2001: It is sort of humanitarian in that I'm not being paid by anyone. I'm doing it on my own personally, because I believe in this, and I want to help.

TUCHMAN: Bowers' resume is murky. On it, he lists a tribute from Nobel Peace Prize winner, Ellie Wiesel, quoting him as saying, "Clark is a wonderful scholar." Wiesel's office at Boston University, where he teaches, says Wiesel had never heard of Bowers before this incident. He also claims to be Dr. Bowers, receiving a Ph.D. at Boston University. But that school says he never completed his dissertation.

A. BOWERS: Honey, are you there?

TUCHMAN: Bowers phoned late last Friday to tell her he had been released after being tortured, and had gotten himself to a hotel in Karachi, Pakistan. The FBI and the State Department reached him there.

RICHARD BOUCHER, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: We met with him -- State Department officials met with him in Pakistan on January 19, a Saturday, period. Next paragraph, at his request, and because he has assumed (ph) the Privacy Act, we can't give you more information.

TUCHMAN: However, State Department and FBI sources said he would not talk to them about any details of what happened. Instead, telling the FBI he would talk when he came back home.

His wife is in seclusion away from their home, but has consistently defended her husband's integrity.

A. BOWERS: Easy to take shots at somebody when they're not here to talk, you know, to defend themself. So there again, I hope you will give him that opportunity when he gets back.

TUCHMAN: And that, she says, could happen later this week.

Gary Tuchman, CNN, Limestone County, Alabama.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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