November 17, 2009  The Taliban who kept New York Times journalist David Rohde ’90 captive for more than seven months in Pakistan were generally antagonistic with him – except when it came to singing, the Pulitzer-prize winning author said during a talk on campus this week.

Rohde taught his guards to sing the Beatles’ “She Loves You” – which they adored – and they shared their favorite Pashto-language tunes with him – which included the lyrics “they have atomic bombs but we have suicide bombers.”

“This was the human side of my guards,” Rohde said during his talk, titled "The Rise of The New Taliban," which was sponsored by the Nonfiction Writing Program. But the remainder of the picture Rohde depicted of Taliban extremism, of the US role in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and of his detention was bleak. “I’d much rather be talking about another topic today,” he said. 

English Prof. Tracy Breton introduced Rohde, who is currently on leave from the Times to write a book, saying he has built “a reputation as a fearless reporter.” Rohde then wove his own narrative into the wider context of the volatile region during the speech, and linked it to the evolution and centrality of journalism, but steered away from policy prescriptions for the region. 

The journalist was kidnapped by the Taliban while traveling from his base in Kabul to Lugar Province, lured by the promise of an interview with a Taliban commander in November 2008. Rohde, a fellow Afghan journalist, and his driver were then detained in the notoriously dangerous, tribal Waziristan region of Pakistan, from which he and his fellow journalist escaped in June. 

During his seven months of captivity, Rohde said he experienced US drones exploding on a neighboring house, was permitted two phone calls with his wife, and was awed by the breadth of Taliban control. 

“I was amazed to find a Taliban mini-state” that was “alive and thriving,” Rohde said of Waziristan. “I do believe there is a serious and very immediate threat posed to the US.” 

The virulent beliefs of his guards are not representative of the majority of the Muslim world, of most Afghanis or Pakistanis, or even of the Taliban – Rohde stressed that he encountered “sort of the worst of the worst.” His guards, young Afghanis, spent hours watching videos that lampooned the alleged war waged by the US against Islam and the only book they owned described the paradise awaiting suicide bombers. “They created an alternate reality,” he said of the guards, who posited themselves as victims of the United States and of a wider conspiracy against Islam. 

Captivity
His guards were initially engaging and considerate, though Rohde said they grew increasingly hostile and discriminatory towards him. At first, he was nicknamed the “golden hen” by a guard. But as it became clearer that the United States would neither free Guantanamo Bay prisoners in exchange for Rohde’s release nor pay the millions of dollars the Taliban were hoping for, their resentment grew. 

Actions that initially pleased the guards – like cleaning the dishes or reading an English-language version of the Koran – morphed into problems. His captors eventually prevented him from washing plates out of belief that the non-Muslim was dirty. And “when I didn’t immediately convert (after reading the Koran), they thought I was playing with their faith,” Rohde said.  “It got more and more ugly.” 

As the tensions spiraled, Rohde and his fellow captive and journalist, Tahir Luddin, also realized that the guards’ promises of release were increasingly flimsy. “They kept telling us these crazier and crazier agreements,” he said, like that the US government agreed to trade every remaining Afghani prisoner in Guantanamo in exchange for Rohde’s release. So “we began to plot,” Rohde said. 

Escape
After they were moved to a new house, that Luddin said was close to a Pakistani militia base, the two decided to attempt escape. Rohde found a car tow rope, which he hid under old clothes, and a wrench. If caught trying to flee, Rohde said, the guards would probably have killed him, and definitely would have slain Luddin, whom they already considered a traitor.  

On the night the men had chosen to escape, Rohde awoke to go to the bathroom – creeping past the guards without asking for the standard permission. “I stood in the bathroom, I waited for Tahir,” who was sleeping in a different room. Unsure if his companion still wanted to attempt escape, Rohde pried open a window into Luddin’s room with the help of a bamboo stick and Luddin climbed out of the window. 

Rohde and Luddin took the stashed rope, went up on the house’s roof and slid down the 15 foot wall to freedom. “Then we walked five minutes to a Pakistani militia base,” Rohde said. When they arrived, Luddin invoked an ancient tribal code particular to Pashtuns that states that strangers in distress must be protected – and the commander of the base agreed to shelter them. 

Ironically, Rohde added, Osama bin Laden is said to have raised the same tribal code in the past to assure his protection. 

The Region
“I apologize for painting such a stark picture of the situation there but it was alarming,” Rohde told the audience. The Afghan Islamic militancy that sprouted in the 1980s – funded in part by the US – now wants to expel America from its territory and attack it in its homeland, he said. 

“They are very confident, they feel they are winning,” Rohde added of the young Taliban he met. The starkest losers of the war, Rohde said, are Afghans and Pakistani who have died battling these Taliban – at a rate five times higher than that of American soldiers. 

There is a firm belief that the US controls everything in Afghanistan and Pakistan, said Rohde, who added that he thought America and its allies are not as powerful in the region as they are deemed to be by their enemies. During the two-day journey to Pakistan, for instance, Rohde did not see a single Afghan soldier or policeman. “I was shocked at how easy it was for the Taliban to move us,” he said. Once the convoy crossed into Pakistan, Rohde said, every checkpoint had been abandoned by the government and replaced by Taliban forces. 

Though he veered away from political commentary, Rohde did say that this absence of strong and accountable governments in either country was a severe stumbling block. “I think there are no easy answers here,” he added. 

Journalism
Precisely due to this complexity, journalism is ever more crucial, Rohde stressed. “A free press helps stabilize a country,” he said. “There is a need for more reporting in the field than ever.” But, Rohde added, “I’m not recommending that you go to Afghanistan or Iraq.” 

Despite the economic challenges that the field is facing, Rohde was optimistic about the emergence of new business models and certain that investigative journalism would not disappear. But writing his personal narrative for his upcoming book, however, is novel to Rohde. 

“Every goods story has to be about a character the reader can identify with,” Rohde said. But this time, “it’s odd that it’s me.”

By Watson Institute Student Rapporteur Alexandra Ulmer ’11