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American Morning

What Drives Those Journalists Who Continually Put Their Lives on the Line?

Aired February 22, 2002 - 09:09   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: Nine journalists, including Pearl, have been killed covering the war on terror. Thirty-seven journalists have been killed around the world over the past year. The risk of reporting from the frontlines are very clear.

So what drives those who continually put their lives on the line? CNN's Nic Robertson, in Kandahar, knows firsthand.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There are days when as a journalist, things seem to be going pretty well, like this day the Muslim celebration of Ede in Kandahar, a day likened by some to Christmas. The large number of armed men around an indication, however, we should be on our guard. On the streets, all but official weapons are banned. One can't help feeling those left to enforce it might struggle if push comes to shove. It's clear if you're in trouble you will likely be on your own.

Everyday judgments of whom to follow or trust when they say they have a story for you are magnified the further from safety you feel. In Afghanistan, in the months since September 11th, eight journalist have been killed, three when caught in a nighttime ambush as they traveled with advancing anti-Taliban troops. A Norwegian robbed and shot in a hotel. In the northern town of Talican, four more experienced reporters murdered in broad daylight as they drove along a major highway.

No one will argue the risks are not there. The question is: how to minimize them? Veteran war reporter Curt Shork (ph) and seasoned combat photographer Miguel Gill thought they had done just that by taking armed guards with them on dangerous drive in Sierra Leone the summer before last. They were killed in ambush on the road.

During the breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s, journalist who could took to traveling in armored cars as they appeared to become targets of opportunity for snippers, although many news men and women feared that as purveyors of truth, those bent on doing evil saw them as getting in the way.

Each conflict is different in it's latent threats and how to deal with them. Each day a different sense of vulnerability. And each time a valued colleague is killed, doubt and an apprehension rush to fill the void left by confidence. We honor them by doing what we all enjoyed, finding and telling the truth.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Kandahar, Afghanistan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ZAHN: We are going to talk more now about the danger reporters can face on foreign terrain. Journalist Elizabeth Rubin just recently returned from working in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

She joins us now. Good to see you.

Now, you were doing not only work for "The New Republic," but also reporting for "The New York Times" magazine.

So you were in Kashmir, at about the same time "Wall Street" reporter Daniel Pearl was there. And this was the time when the Pakistani government was cracking down on militants. Describe the atmosphere at that time for us.

ELIZABETH RUBIN, JOURNALIST: It was very difficult for journalists to work, because obviously, we were trying to meet with a lot of these militant groups, and obviously, the Pakistani intelligence services and the army were very apprehensive of us meeting with them because of the pressure on Musharraf to crackdown on these groups, and because of the history of involvement between the militant groups and the army and the intelligence services. And so they would follow you everywhere you went, and basically created an atmosphere in which you had to organize clandestine meetings with these people, which made it very difficult and dangerous for journalists to get investigate these groups.

ZAHN: How would you break away from your military escort, because you did this on one occasion, did you not, so you could have move interaction with local people.

RUBIN: There is a misunderstanding. They sort of say, you can work freely, and it's no problem. But of course they want a military escort with you, so we decided to just go into another car and go meet some people on our own. This caused great problems for the people I worked with who were later arrested after I left.

ZAHN: How vulnerable were you at that time?

RUBIN: I don't think I necessarily was, but it's interesting that all of the Pakistanis who I worked with and Kashmiris were taken into custody after I left. One of them disappeared in the hands of the intelligence services for about eight days.

ZAHN: What happened to him?

RUBIN: Ask questions what were you doing with. What questions was she asking. Who meet, why? And I don't actually know the details because he was so afraid when he was released, that he didn't really want to talk about it too much.

ZAHN: What does this suggest to us, that there is this cooperation you were talking about, between the Pakistani military and the militants that still exist?

RUBIN: I think that's an open secret. Everybody knows about it. I think Musharraf is trying to change that, and it's going to be very hard, because it's been for years, you know, two decades of this kind of policy, and it's not something you can change overnight. So these groups, there will be offshoots who will be against Musharraf who will try to destabilize him, who will try to undermine his government, and I think that's what we see today.

ZAHN: It's staggering to see the number of lives lost in the war on terrorism -- among journalist. What kind of a chilling effect does Danny Pearl's death have on those of you who choose to put yourselves in these extremely dangerous situations? And I think we need to make it clear that everybody who talked about Danny Pearl this morning said he was a man who did exercise caution, he was not the kind of guy to take chances.

RUBIN: Yes, I think, you know, it makes one pause, and you have to be a little bit more circumspect, but I don't think it's going to stop journalists from doing what they do, or from pursuing these stories, and I don't his he took unnecessary risks. But the Pakistani government has made it difficult for journalist to work in this environment. But I think journalist will continue to do what they've done. It's sort of hard to stop them.

ZAHN: We wish you continued good luck. You still writing for "The New Republic," or you're freelancing?

RUBIN: Yes.

ZAHN: You're working for great people who produce very great journalism. Thanks for your time this morning. Good luck.

RUBIN: Thank you.

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