CNN Reporting Kidnapped Journalist Killed ...

CNN Live

[Howlin]

People should have listened to Rumsfeld yesterday. And people should be very, very afraid.

IMO, though, it's going to be interesting to watch the liberal WSJ lament that the government did nothing to save their man.

[DJ88]

Can you imagine how his family must feel??? Watching this and then finding out that it might not be true? Sweet Jesus. His wife is lucky if she is able to carry that baby to full term.

[nocommies]

eventually, they will get justice.... but if we react immediately, dont you see how a few thugs could dictate our entire war? NO NEGOTIATIONS with terrorists. trust me, im for killing in the most ruthless fashion these kidnappers, but we need to do it on OUR TERMS.

[concerned about politics]

Of course he KNEW he was at risk in Pakistan.

I think that's the point the other posters are trying to get across. He didn't CHOSE to be kidnapped, of course. But he did agree to meet with terrorists, alone. That was a big mistake.

[Cinnamon Girl]

By tracking down Daniel Pearl, the military will be tracking down the terrorists involved, and they all need to be found and punished.

[Norb2569]

It was more like she was "aloof" and uninvolved.

I know of this woman from a personal friend. She has prayed considerably on this matter and wants only for her husband to be released. She is doing a fabluous job keeping her head about her. Can you imagine the inner strength it takes to not appear a blubbering victim in front of the world? That only plays into the kidnappers hands.

I would hope that my wife could be that disciplined and focused if I were in his shoes.

She is not aloof whatsoever, she is composed and focused on doing her part to help win his release.

[DJ88]

Yes, they ARE reporting it. MSNBC just had someone on from Pakistan (a journalist) who read the first email which said that "Mr. Bush could find (Daniel Pearl's) body in the pits of Karachi." So they are reporting BOTH stories..

[SmartBlonde]

Haven't you been watching FOX? Steve Harrigan has been doing an excellent job on this story. He said they were alive but in bad condition, but he also said the administration was making every effort to get them back.

Unfortunately, the kidnappers don't want to deal with the government. They want cash from the parents or the church - I think he said $ 1 million.

It's hard to have one-sided negotiations.

[nocommies]

cnn is the only network recognized by the arabs because they remember its coverage of the gulf war. probably never heard of fox or the others. i dont think many of them watch bloomberg tv at 500am est!

[mystery-ak]

Well, unfortunately its going to take a picture of Pearl dead to confirm this stoy.

[FresnoDA]

IT IS TIME, LET'S ROLL!!!

FresnoDA

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BLU-82B

The BLU-82B/C-130 weapon system, nicknamed Commando Vault in Vietnam and Daisy Cutter in Afghanistan, is a high altitude delivery of 15,000 pound conventional bomb, delivered from an MC-130 since it is far too heavy for the bomb racks on any bomber or attack aircraft. Originally designed to create an instant clearing in the jungle, it has been used in Afghanistan as an anti-personnel weapon and as an intimidation weapon because of its very large lethal radius (variously reported as 300-900 feet) combined with flash and sound visible at long distances. It is the largest conventional bomb in existence but is less than one thousandth the power of the Hiroshima nuclear bomb.

Frequent press reports to the contrary, the Daisy Cutter is not a fuel-air explosive (FAE). It is a conventional explosive incorporating both agent and oxidizer. In contrast, an FAE consists only of agent and a dispersing mechanism, and takes its oxidizer from the oxygen in the air. FAEs generally run between 500 and 2000 pounds; it would be difficult to make an FAE the size of Daisy Cutter because the correct uniform mixture of agent with ambient air would be difficult to maintain if the agent were so widely dispersed. Thus, the conventional explosive technique of Daisy Cutter is more reliable than that of an FAE, particularly if there is significant wind or thermal gradient.

This system depends upon the accurate positioning of the aircraft by either a fixed ground radar or onboard navigation equipment. The ground radar controller, or aircrew navigator as applicable, is responsible for positioning the aircraft prior to final countdown and release. Primary aircrew considerations include accurate ballistic and wind computations provided by the navigator, and precision instrument flying with strict adherence to controller instructions. The minimum altitude for release due to blast effects of the weapon is 6,000 feet AGL. The BLU-82 was originally designed to clear helicopter landing zones and artillery emplacements in Vietnam. The warhead contains 12,600 pounds of low-cost GSX slurry (ammonium nitrate, aluminum powder, and polystyrene) and is detonated just above ground level by a 38-inch fuze extender, optimized for destruction and ground level without digging a crater. The weapon produces an overpressure of 1000 psi [pounds per square inch] near ground zero, tapering off as distance increases.

Eleven BLU-82s were dropped during Desert Storm, all from Special Operations C-130s. The initial drops were intended to test the ability of the bomb to clear mines; no reliable bomb damage assessment exists on mine clearing effectiveness. Later, bombs were dropped as much for their psychological effect as for their antipersonnel effects.

 

Specifications
Class	15,000 lb. Blast
Guidance	Ballistic
Control:
Autopilot:	None
Propulsion:	None
Weight (lb.)	15,000
Length (in)	141.6
Diameter (in)	54
Warhead (lbs.)	15,000
Explosive	Aluminum Powder (12,600 lbs.)
Fuze	M904 (Nose); M905 (Tail)
Unit Cost	$27,318
Aircraft	MC-130

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http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/dumb/blu-82.htm

[concerned about politics]

As much I despise CNN, they are much closer to this story than the other news outlets.

Kinda makes me wonder what info CNN is sending back to them.

[phasma proeliator]

Can you imagine how his family must feel??? Watching this and then finding out that it might not be true? Sweet Jesus. His wife is lucky if she is able to carry that baby to full term.

Exactly. this is totally inexcusable as far as I'm concerned. But, unfortunately, not surprising.

[monkeywrench]

Remember how elite media went after geraldo for carrying a gun? How jennings or brokaw said they'd be neutral in a conflict? Maybe some in the media really believed you could make a deal with thugs and pay no price.

[hammerdown]

Pearl's Kidnappers Won't Win

[crystalk]

I am afraid the oh so cosmopolitan and oh so civilised westerner forgot some elemental facts of life:

a. He was a westerner and a Jew.

b. These people he was going to see were neither, in fact were Islamic and thus mindless animals if they confront someone of different culture;

c. Pakistan is in the 14th century, and Islam is mostly still in the 7th. He should have set his watch back 700 to 1400 years when he landed, and he put it off thinking it unimportant.

[Eva]

Evidently, that is exactly what Pearl thought he was going to do. He knew where he was going and with whom he was going to meet. He had an appointment with his kidnapper to discuss the other side of the Pakistani story.