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American Morning

Bush Calls Murder of 'Wall Street Journal' Reporter Criminal, Barbaric Act

Aired February 22, 2002 - 07:09   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.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Now we move on to the tragic death of Daniel Pearl. President Bush calls the murder of the "Wall Street Journal" reporter a "criminal, barbaric act" and the U.S. attorney general vows to bring the killers to justice while "Wall Street Journal" managing editor Paul Steiger mourned the loss of an outstanding colleague, a great reporter and a dear friend.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL STEIGER, MANAGING EDITOR, THE "WALL STREET JOURNAL": His murder is an act of barbarism. It makes a mockery of everything that Danny's kidnappers claim to believe in. They claim to be Pakistani nationalists but their actions must surely bring shame to all true Pakistani patriots. We will, in coming months, find ways, public and private, to celebrate the great work and good works that Danny did. But today is a day to grieve.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZAHN: For the latest now on the investigation to try and bring those responsible for the killing to justice, let's go to Chris Burns in Karachi for the very latest -- good morning, Chris.

CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Paula.

Of course the investigation naturally in part turns toward trying to retrieve the body of Daniel Pearl. Where is it? Perhaps it could have something to do with that videotape that they found, that videotape and those who gave the videotape to authorities. Now, the videotape itself is in question, as well, because a source close to the investigation tells CNN that the tape is not complete. It is a jump cut version of a longer version.

It has three parts, one showing Daniel Pearl speaking in captivity, the second showing his brutal murder in which his throat was slit, the third showing his body. But where is the rest of that? Where is the rest of that video and where are those who gave that video to authorities? That is part of the investigation.

The second major part of the investigation is, according to a source we spoke to, they are requestioning some of those already in captivity, including the man believed to be the ringleader or mastermind, Sheikh Omar Saeed, as well as the man who spoke to a judge just yesterday, Fahad Naseem, who admitted to the judge that he, indeed, did send the e-mail with the pictures of Daniel Pearl with the gun pointed to his head; also, the e-mail demanding that the U.S. release Pakistani prisoners held in Guantanamo Bay. And he said also that he was acting under the instruction of Sheikh Omar Saeed.

Now, there are others that remain at large and President Pervez Musharraf has vowed to track them down. He also says that he will continue with his crackdown against militants. That's a month old crackdown now. He's banned five groups, including some which the United States identifies as terrorists. He's arrested more than 2,000 suspects and he wants to continue with that. He says he will continue with that, even though some see the kidnapping and killing of Daniel Pearl as being backlash to that crackdown -- Paula.

ZAHN: So, Chris, you talked about some of the very important questions being raised around this videotape. Have any investigators been able to confirm to you when they believe Daniel Pearl was killed?

BURNS: Well, that's a very good question, and the more questions we pose about that, the more questions the sources come back and say well, the less we tell you about this the better, because this could actually compromise the investigation. When was he killed, when was the videotape given, who gave the videotape? They're being extremely murky about that and purposefully because they say that they are still, these, perhaps, are providing some clues in trying to get to the bottom of the investigation and finding those who actually kidnapped and killed Daniel Pearl -- Paula.

ZAHN: Chris Burns, thank you very much for that update.

And after so much hope and so many promising leads, what went wrong in the investigation of Daniel Pearl's kidnapping?

Joining us now from Karachi, a Pakistani investigator, Jamil Yusef (ph), who was the last person to speak with Pearl before his abduction.

Let's go back to Karachi and see if we can bring Jamil Yusef on camera. We're trying to get him hooked up. In a moment or two we will also be joined from Islamabad by Zahid Hussain of "Newsweek," a friend of Daniel Pearl's.

Mr. Yusef, are you with us now?

JAMIL YUSEF: Yes, I am.

ZAHN: Do you have any faith that the men responsible for Danny Pearl's killing will be brought to justice?

YUSEF: Oh, yes, because the sequence of events is so this thing that on the fifth day one of the persons who introduced Daniel Pearl to Sheikh Omar was identified and on the tenth day three more people were apprehended who had sent the e-mail with the help of FBI. And then finally the main suspect was also picked up.

So 60 percent of the gang has been already apprehended and now only the ones who had kept Daniel Pearl are the ones remaining.

ZAHN: And Chris Burns just reported that potentially you're looking at some 2,000 suspects out there.

YUSEF: No, that is not the actual figure. There have been a manhunt all over the country. All possible leads are being used and the three other suspects have also been identified and their names have been known. The government has gone out of the way, they've raided the houses in the interiors, in the villages, and they have taken into custody a lot of people. And a lot of questioning is going on.

So there is a lot of hope that this thing should be wrapping up much quicker.

ZAHN: Jamil, you were the last person to talk with Danny Pearl on the day of his kidnapping. What did the two of you talk about?

YUSEF: Danny Pearl before going back to India and coming back, he wanted to do a bit on police reforms, how the police is going to be improvised in Pakistan to combat international terrorism, what is the support being given by foreign countries in assisting the police to enhance its capabilities towards detection, forensics, DNA and the capabilities at an international stand and level.

He was more concerned about that as he was doing a story on that.

ZAHN: Did he mention to you who he was going to be meeting with later that night?

YUSEF: No, sadly he did not discuss that despite the fact that he was sitting one hour with me. He did not discuss that. He only asked me about Richard Reid, the shoe bomber, if I knew more about anything. And I said no, that didn't concern us. And that is all that we discussed on that fateful day.

ZAHN: Daniel Pearl is described by his colleagues at the "Wall Street Journal" as a cautious man, a man who wouldn't take unnecessary chances, a man who didn't even want to go to Afghanistan because of his concerns not only about his own safety, but the fact that his wife was pregnant. Did he express to you that day, the day you had that hour long conversation with him, any concerns about being there in Pakistan?

YUSEF: No. He was not. He was quite a docile, very soft-spoken person. And he had no concern. He was quite cheerful. He was doing a story bit on combating international terrorism after the September 11 incident. And I think he was doing it in a general context. He was quite comfortable and very poised. He showed no concern and no anxiety.

ZAHN: All right, now on camera we're seeing to your right Jamil Zahid Hussain, who is a friend of Daniel Pearl's, a man who works for "Newsweek." Good morning Zahid.

Describe to us your friendship with Danny Pearl. ZAHID HUSSAIN, "NEWSWEEK": Good morning.

ZAHN: Good morning.

HUSSAIN: Good morning. I met Daniel Pearl some time in December while we were both in Peshawar. We were covering Afghanistan and some other stories in Peshawar. And we, I met him at the evening. We sat together. We chatted. And after the first meeting, we got along very well.

And I found him a very likable person. He was bright. It was obviously a very investigative mind. And later on we met several times and we discussed about the situation in Pakistan. We used to discuss about the future in Afghanistan and that lost more about it.

One thing I, you know, which may, first of all, is very interesting about him, he was very enthusiastic and always a very curious mind. And probably that must have led him to this investigative report on al Qaeda connection in Pakistan.

But one thing is very clear, that he was not reckless. He was a very cautious person. He would not actually take unnecessary risks and one of the incidents I remember, actually, some friend told me that he checked twice with his friend's house, if it was in Peshawar, before he came there. Similarly, he would not go to Afghanistan until it was clear that he would be provided security.

So he, so in this situation, whatever happened, it cannot be seen as recklessness from his own part, from his part, and definitely the kidnappers have, they built up some kind of confidence in him and that led to him, led him to some kind of trap. And he fell into it.

And I think he's one of the few journalists I've met over the last few months, particularly so many journalists who are coming to Pakistan to cover Afghanistan and the war on terrorism, that, one of the brightest of them.

ZAHN: Zahid, we only have about 10 seconds left on the satellite. What is the impact of his death on those of you that still have to do your work in Pakistan?

HUSSAIN: Yes, actually that has, that's very sad for all the journalists who have been covering Pakistan and Afghanistan, and obviously it has brought forth the risks involved in covering this part of the world. And but actually, the journalists, I have always said that journalists are the most courageous people. I have seen people working in the same way in the hardest of the situation. I still remember people crossing over the border a day after when six bodies of journalists were brought from Afghanistan.

Definitely it's a time, definitely there is a risk involved and the terrorists who have taken action against Pearl may try to strike again.

ZAHN: All right, gentlemen, we're going to have to...

HUSSAIN: But this is basically because we're proficient.

ZAHN: Zahid, we're going to have to leave it there because we're running out of satellite time.

Zahid Hussain of "Newsweek" and Jamil Yusef, who is a Pakistani investigator, thank you both for sharing your memories with us this morning of "Wall Street Journal" reporter Daniel Pearl.

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