Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2009
| Subscribe to Newser's RSS feeds RSS | Follow Newser on Twitter Twitter


2

Times Reporter Planned Escape for Weeks

Newspaper was prepared to pay $5M ransom to Taliban

Share

(Newser) – David Rohde escaped from the Taliban only after weeks of planning, taking advantage of a length of rope to aid his descent down a 20-foot wall, the New York Times reports. The journalist and his Afghan colleague waited until a night when the city had electrical power, so the sound of their falls would be muffled by whirring air conditioners.

The two journalists walked 15 minutes to a Pakistani militia point, where they were stripped at gunpoint before being transferred to Islamabad. The reporters say they planned their escape after growing despondent that their captors were not negotiating. But a source told CQPolitics that the Times' insurers, AIG, were ready to bribe the guards, and that their escape story "sounded fishy." The Times was reportedly ready to pay a $5 million ransom.

This Nov. 10, 1995 file photo shows New York Times reporter David Rohde at Boston's Logan Airport.
This Nov. 10, 1995 file photo shows New York Times reporter David Rohde at Boston's Logan Airport.   (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)
New York Times reporter David Rohde interviews Afghans in Helmand province in 2007.
New York Times reporter David Rohde interviews Afghans in Helmand province in 2007.   (AP Photo/The New York Times, Tomas Munita)
Canadian soldiers patrol in Kandahar, Afghanistan on Sunday, June 21, 2009.
Canadian soldiers patrol in Kandahar, Afghanistan on Sunday, June 21, 2009.   (AP Photo/Allauddin Khan)
An Afghan woman carries watermelons and mangoes in the city of Jalalabad the provincial capital of Nangarhar province east of Kabul, Afghanistan on Sunday, June 21, 2009.
An Afghan woman carries watermelons and mangoes in the city of Jalalabad the provincial capital of Nangarhar province east of Kabul, Afghanistan on Sunday, June 21, 2009.   (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
OFF THE GRID
11.24.09
Murdoch and Microsoft: The Mice Are Trying to Roar
11.23.09
Books Are Bad for You
2 comments
VIEWING:
 
Reader64481089
Jun 22, 09 7:30 AM CDT
Now go write a book about your harrowing experience and rake in the profits..........but never report about a politician who has done wrong if he be the one with the most clout. Reply
Vote up! Vote down!
+4
ack
Jun 22, 09 7:56 AM CDT
He looks like the consummate geek... but I bet Schwarzenegger plays him in the movie. "Edit this, asshole!" [blam blam blam] Reply
Vote up! Vote down!
+6
LEAVE A
COMMENT Comment Policy
Facebook ConnectPost this comment to Facebook?

After connecting you will have the option to post your comment on your Facebook profile.

 

Related Newser Stories

530 Stories

Fresh Troops to Target Afghanistan's Troubled South

Kandahar key in coming Afghan surge

Nov 25, 09 7:54 AM CST
(Newser) - Though President Obama has yet to announce his plan for finishing the job in Afghanistan, military commanders say the bulk of the fresh troops—regardless of their number—will be sent to the country's volatile south to reverse Taliban gains, specifically targeting the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar. The coming surge... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Afghanistan • Taliban • Kandahar • Helmand province • Afghanistan war • Afghanistan exit strategy

 US, Afghans Recruit 
 Taliban With Jobs 

Drive will be similar to the 'Sons of Iraq' program

Nov 23, 09 10:49 AM CST
(Newser) - Afghanistan has launched an initiative to convert Taliban foot soldiers with the promise of jobs and protection. Backed by the US military, the plan is modeled on its “Sons of Iraq” program; Stanley McChrystal even lured a key architect of that program out of retirement to help with it.... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Afghanistan • Taliban • insurgents • Hamid Karzai • Sons of Iraq • counterinsurgency • Stanley McChrystal

 US Backs 
 Afghan Militias 
 Against Taliban 

Supporting local resistance, as in Iraq, is a delicate equation

Nov 22, 09 9:38 AM CST
(Newser) - The US is actively supporting local militia groups against the Taliban as American and Afghan officials move to encourage a demoralized Afghan population to re-engage in the war, reports Dexter Filkins of the New York Times . Tapping into the militias’ resources could fill the manpower gap as a... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Afghanistan • Taliban • tribal elders • Special Forces • Afghan militias

530 Stories


Hillary Clinton thanks Pakistan for aiding release
Pak Tribune

Former US ally suspected of kidnapping
Christian Science Monitor


Media  •  World 
TwitterFollow @NewserMedia on Twitter

 
Afghanistan • Taliban • Pakistan • New York Times • Islamic militants • ransom • hostage • David Rohde

from our news partners

PopEater.com