Reporter Jere Van Dyk: Held Captive

Reporter Jere Van Dyk discussed his many years of experience reporting in Afghanistan, and told the story of being ambushed and kidnapped by the Taliban in the tribal areas of Pakistan, where no Westerner had ventured for years.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• wnyc
• leonard
• lopate
• jere
• van
• dyk
• captive
• afghanistan

[tonepoems]

@9DragonMaster He knew how to speak Arabic, but didn't specifically know the Pashto dialect which is what outed him. He actually got far passing as a northern Afghani. He had also already lived among the Afghan people in the 80s when they were US allies against the Soviet and had many contacts with influential people. Also important to know there's a difference between Taliban and Al Queda. Al Queda would have killed him, but not necessarily Taliban.

[9DragonMaster]

@9DragonMaster he basically faked his own captivity with large amounts of money to some idiots near the border. Look if you had the chance to catch some terrorist fuckhead in the act, you snatch his ass and his bomb or whatever, well leave the bomb!!!! but yea call the bomb squad too! but take the terrorist back to your garage and do wierd shit to him, like threating with no intent of course, spraying him with water or talking about different tortures in front of him.... but yea dont do it.

[9DragonMaster]

i have a gut feeling this doochbag reporter only faked his captivity. Think about it, it said he prepared for this journey for weeks or even months, but didn't know any arabic???  But he was granted food and pen and paper? WTF was the taliban doing??? If anything the talaban would have tapped this guy getting his throat cut at worst, and at least his notes of fear of death would have been brodcatsted, "I feel like such a american coward, the torture of good food and no sunlight or air sux"