Missing In Action

The arrests yesterday of three men believed to be connected to the kidnapping of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl gives us great hope that he may soon be found.

A group calling itself the National Movement for the Restoration of Pakistani Sovereignty has claimed responsibility for his abduction. Among other demands, the kidnappers have called for the return of Pakistani nationals who were detained by U.S. forces in Afghanistan and sent to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The group has also called for the release of the Taliban’s former ambassador to Pakistan and the departure of American journalists from Pakistan. The Bush administration has rightly refused to negotiate with the kidnappers or accede to their demands. We deplore the kidnapping and offer our sympathy to Pearl’s friends and family, especially his wife, Mariane Pearl, during this traumatic and difficult time.

The kidnapping of journalists is a well-known, if uncommon, terrorist tactic. But like all terrorism, kidnapping hurts the cause of those employing it more than it helps. The group holding Pearl should realize that the best way to get out its message—and its grievances with America—is not to capture journalists but to talk to them.

Reporters are essential in war zones to inform the public at home about the progress of the conflict and allow citizens to understand the actions that their government is taking on the other side of the world. In addition to the invaluable service that journalists provide to their readers, they put their lives on the line in order to talk to people on all sides of a conflict, even those who embrace terrorism. They try to give the full picture of a conflict in a way an official government update cannot. Dealing with dangerous people is part of the job, and Pearl certainly knew as much when he arranged for an interview with Sheik Mubarak Ali Shah Gilani, who leads a Pakistani Muslim group. The interview apparently was the trap that the terrorists used to lure in Pearl.

We urge other news agencies not to give in to the demands of the kidnappers by withdrawing their reporters from Pakistan. To do so would undermine the ability of news organizations to provide crucial information to the public on the continuing struggle in Pakistan between the government and militant Islamic groups. But even more, it would give extremists a victory in their attempt to intimidate America. Journalists are not legitimate targets because they do not have any control over American policy and are not backed by the U.S. government in any way. We agree wholeheartedly with the Associated Press Managing Editors, who have called for Pearl’s immediate release and have denounced the targeting of journalists by militant groups for any reason.

We extend our thanks to those in the Muslim world who have called for Pearl’s release. The Pakistani police have named members of Islamic militant groups as the primary suspects, and we are heartened by the news of yesterday’s arrests. We hope that the voices of moderate Muslim clerics sway Pearl’s captors to release him. The Pakistani police have been working feverishly on this case, but have so far reported little success. We hope the U.S. uses every intelligence capability at its disposal to aid the Pakistanis in their efforts to find and rescue him.

American soldiers are courageously fighting terrorism abroad, and American journalists are diligently working to inform the nation’s citizens. Their jobs are different, but they are both crucial. Daniel Pearl has been lost in the line of duty, and we fervently hope that he is rescued as soon as possible.