frontline: roots of terror: email from the field (22 aug)

On Aug. 12, FRONTLINE producer Martin Smith, his co-producer Marcela Gaviria, and cameraman Scott Anger set out on a two-month journey that will take them from London to the Persian Gulf to Pakistan and Afghanistan in an effort to find out what has become of Osama bin Laden's terrorist network, Al Qaeda, since the U.S. launched its war on terrorism. In the weeks ahead, we'll be posting regular email dispatches from Smith and Gaviria as they report back to us on their progress, offering an unprecedented behind-the-scenes perspective on a FRONTLINE documentary in the making. Smith's report will air in mid-November.

"Old Hash"
22 August, Islamabad
from Marcela Gaviria


	For over a decade Gaviria has field produced documentaries for PBS, BBC, National Geographic, and CBS News. Currently working with Martin Smith on FRONTLINE programs, they co-produced "Medicating Kids" and she field produced two post-9/11 reports: "Looking for Answers" and "Saudi Time Bomb?"

I'm caught up again in the misinformation campaign. This time I'm sitting in front of Hamid Mir, the only journalist in the world to have interviewed Osama bin Laden post-Sept. 11. And he's spinning his story in many directions.

Our chat takes place in a makeshift newsroom in the basement of a modern Islamabad high rise. A fly buzzes about, resting every few seconds on my hand or on my knee. Initially Mir seems a bit distracted -- we are just another bunch of Western journalists making the pilgrimage to the man who has trumped us all with his Nov. 8 interview of bin Laden. But after we hand him a copy of FRONTLINE's "Hunting bin Laden," he seems to warm up.

He tells us that roughly 2,000 to 3,000 Al Qaeda are still in the Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran area. " You can find them in Shiraz (Iran) and in Karachi. They are everywhere. Driving cabs. Selling newspapers." He also tells us that the jihadists that have been detained in Pakistan aren't the real deal. "They were security guards or drivers for Al Qaeda, but not real Al Qaeda."

And Osama bin Laden? "I am 101% sure that he is still alive. He was seen at a wedding in Khost last March, and there haven't been any major operations since then. The American troops are very restricted. They are not in a position to operate in the Tribal Areas."


	(Photo by Scott Anger)

It's all old hash. And I'm not sure I trust much of what he is saying. Who is this man? Why did bin Laden choose him three times to convey his message to the rest of the world? Even though I don't ask these questions, Mir knows what I'm thinking. He spends an inordinate amount of time explaining how he came to meet bin Laden in the first place. It's an odd tale about taunting the Taliban for being too pro-American, and how the Taliban wanted to prove him wrong so they introduced him to their infamous guest of honor. There is a saying in Spanish that roughly translates, "Only a guilty man would defend himself before he is asked to."

The meeting ends with Mir pulling from his wallet the business card of Daniel Pearl, the slain Wall Street Journal reporter. "I told Danny not to meet with Sheikh Omar. I told him, you are Jewish and you're living in India. I now tell you, not only don't meet with the Sheikh. Don't go to Karachi." On that note we say goodbye. Mir takes my business card and I ask him not to put it in his wallet.

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