Daniel Pearl, In Memoriam
by Flak Staff

Cui bono?

When attempting to explain the world's man-made tragedies, this little piece of Latin is a good place to start. It means: Who gains? Who benefits? Who profits from the event?

The most senseless and horrific thing about the abduction and killing of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl may be that no one benefits. His killers, presumed to be a militant Islamic group in Pakistan, have brought nothing but sadness to the world.

The relationship between the Muslim world and the West is messy and complicated. There are many who generate and exploit hostility between the civilizations, taking advantage of ill will for their own political or ideological gains. But there are few with the courage and intelligence to explain, clarify and speak honestly about the situation.

Daniel Pearl was one of the good guys. His articles for the Wall Street Journal looked at the nuances of world events in South Asia: a "third solution" for Kashmir, a battle of words between public and private news stations in India and Pakistan, the future of microcredit loans in a poor but bustling region of the world.

You could read Pearl's articles and learn about the world.

And if Pearl's killers hoped to set off a war between the West and Islam, they will be disappointed to see that no B-52s will carpet-bomb Pakistan. No CIA men will line up and execute militants in retaliation. No US troops will occupy the airport at Karachi. And if they hoped to frighten off the Western media, they will be disappointed — eight journalists were killed in Afghanistan, but reporters are still risking their lives to bring out news from Herat, and Kabul, and Kandahar.

Pearl leaves behind a wife — also a journalist — who loved him, and believed in the same mission of truth. He leaves behind an unborn child, three months away from birth. And he leaves behind a coterie of friends who will miss his professionalism, his kindness and his spirit.

The killers' actions accomplished two things: They killed a bright, curious, principled reporter and they have deadened a little bit of the crucial dialogue between Pakistan and the West. Cui bono? Nobody.

E-mail Flak at letters at flakmag dot com.