[.ca] Who Killed Daniel Pearl? (ISBN 0971865949)

From Amazon.com:
Bernard-Henri Levy's Who Killed Daniel Pearl? offers a harrowing look at Pearl's life and tragic death wrought with a unique blending of journalism, novelist's imagination, and autobiography. Levy--an acclaimed French philosopher and bestselling author in Europe--in 2002 launched a one-year journey to understand Wall Street Journal reporter Pearl and the circumstances that led to his murder in Pakistan; the briskly paced result traces a thread from Pearl's killers through Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence and, possibly, to Al-Quaida. In building his case, Levy takes none of the news stories on face value. At great personal risk, he follows the same steps that Pearl walked to the very farm house where the journalist was killed. He seems to question everything and provides bearing witness as the truth-telling reportage required in a nation like Pakistan that "has lost even the very idea of what a free press could be." But Levy does not let his interrogative mind crush the emotional weight of his subject. He questions himself frequently, undermines his own assumptions, and continually returns to the man, Pearl: "a man who was ordinary and exemplary, normal and admirable." Ultimately, the book is a powerful work of compassion as much as a valuable bit of detective work. It is about a good man who died too soon as well as the terrible alliances that could perform such an act against him. Levy does not want Pearl's lessons to be lost to the world. He, like Pearl, seeks a "gentle Islam" that will resist the ring of blood and hate in what Levy calls "the beginning of the grand struggle of the century." --Patrick O'Kelley

Something is Rotten....:
There is perhaps no better example of the extreme brutality inherently tied to the worldwide War on Terror than the final images of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. Pearl was the lead story all around the world when, on assignment in Pakistan, he was kidnapped by Islamic militants. Despite appeals by various international groups and a nationwide search carried about he Pakistani authorities, Pearl was found dead, cut to pieces. The gruesome video of Pearl being decapitated was also found on the internet, a trophy of victory for his killers. On the face of it, the death of Daniel Pearl seems to be a fairly easy case. Pearl, an American Jews, was sucked into a web of lies constructed by Islamic fanatic Omar Sheikh. Because of his nationality and religion, Pearl was the perfect target. Indeed, famously, Pearl died with the words "I am a Jew" on his lips. What seemed like a simple violent murder is complicated by this intriguing new book, written by Bernard Henri Levy. Levy writes of a far more shadowy storyline, in which Pearl's death was a result of a complex and wide ranging conspiracy. Who Killed Daniel Pearl presents a challenging case to a story once thought so simple and understandable. Levy begins his book with a well detailed description of the crime as we know it. To his credit, Levy has done a wonderful job piecing together the often fragmented time line. While he describes the crime, he raises structural questions. These questions such as times and phone calls, have been covered over by the Pakistani investigators, who seem comfortable with their incomplete order of events. Levy uses this description in order to segue to our two principals. Daniel Pearl is described as a loving, caring man who had a deep seated loyalty to his profession and his paper. He was willing to take foreboding risks in order to pursue the story. Supposedly, he traveled to Pakistan in order to track down a shadowy Pakistani militant, tied to various Kashmiri paramilitaries and Al Qaeda. Pearl met, instead, with Omar Sheikh, a young jihadist with an interesting past, outlined by Levy. Born and raised in London, Omar seemed to be the perfect Westernized Muslim, living in harmony with his English friends. He attended the prestigious London School of Economics, cementing his reputation as a brilliant student. Form there, what we know about Omar is veiled in mystery. He apparently became obsessed with the light of Muslims in Bosnia, a warzone to which he traveled to in order to fight. Omar apparently became part of the militant Muslim underground which was gaining power worldwide. He appears here and there, around the world, an elusive man who was also in an out of various prisons. Levy questions many of the suppositions people have concerning Omar and his profile, painting a more complicated figure, who may have been chosen because of intelligence by a "hidden hand." The hidden hand is presumably the ISI, Pakistan's feared and powerful internal and external security service. As Levy travels to Pakistan, his pursuit of the Pearl story brings him to the attention of the ISI. When ISI gets in your way, you are on to something. What is Levy on to, is it something similar to Pearl's line of research? That is hard to say, and I found the explanation a bit hazy. Apparently, Pearl may have been investigating the strange connections between ISI and various terrorist groups, such as the Taliban and Al Qaeda. This investigation takes on a further importance when one realizes that Pakistan is a nuclear power. This possible nuclear-terrorist-ISI connection is very relevant because of the recent revelations about the Dr. Khan nuclear network. Others have complained of a bad translation but I found the story lucid and intriguing. Levy is an excellent story teller, and I loved how the tale is woven together. One must also admire the globe hopping journeys of Levy himself, which brings a definite real world flavor to the story. His descriptions of life in Pakistan and the insanely complicated and dangerous political situation there made for great reading. I wish the case had been a bit more concise, but Levy does a great job raising relevant questions with what he had. Very good reading on an extremely important topic.

A complicated web of alliance,politics,and murder.:
There is no doubt the U.S. has picked unsavory friends. This book explores the connectivity between the Pakistani ISI, Al Qaeda, and other Jihadist groups through the ghastly murder of a Wall Street Journal Reporter. Bernard Henri Levy has presented his material in a sensitive exploratory fashion, inviting the reader on the journey and leaving them with as many questions as there are answers.

a difficult but essential book:
I must echo much of what has been said above... the translation is awful... it desperately needs a good editor and there are few references to anyone else's work or ideas but the author's. However, Levy has done a tremendous job of trying to feret out connections between the PAkisatani intelligence service and al-Quida, and is especcialy scary depicting the connections between al-Quida and the nuclear scientists in Pakistan. In light of recent announcements about their chief scientist selling nuclear technology to the Koreans, you must wonder that th3ese allegations are founded on a rela issue. The book is written in a conversationist tone with frequent asides and digressions that make it hard to follow the names of the various people Levy meets, interviews and quotes. It would have been far more compelling if he had used a straight forward investigatory style. Nevertheless, there is enough here to scare me and I am glad I read the book. On the other hand, books like this are difficult to know what to do with.... if accurate, our entire policy and intelligence structure in the area is seriously flawed... but if a French citizen could develop this thesis in a few months, surely our governmenthas far better resources and can do a far better job.

Very informative, bad translation though:
This book with so much earth-shattering information on ISI and al-Qaida has had little publicity in the mainstream American media. Surprising ! Maybe, the establishment here does not want the ugly facts to be discussed much. Excellent book ! It was difficult to follow the narrative many times with a poor translation though. Still, 5 stars , for the bold expose !

Totally Absorbing, very honest, eye-opening:
This is a Wake-up call. Danny Pearl emerges as a likeable, liberal American whose decency simply did not permit him to understand the depths of hatred and xenophobia that Islamist Thinking inculcates in his would-be Pakistani "subjects". America also does not seem to get what Pakistan (the land of the "pure") and its intellegence ISI & military are really up to: Saddam Hussein looks very passe compared to these dangerous entities. Ultimately, it looks like the Pakistani Government and ISI had Pearl killed to prevent him finding out about their Nuclear dealings with Al Qaida. Chilling. The book is well researched, honest and ties in well with what I have been reading in many reputable European and South Asian newspapers and Journals. It is sad indeed that our newspapers (with the exception of the Washington Post)rarely cover Pakistan with any depth. The style is a bit strange, but if you imagine a frenchman (a smart, articulate, erudite voice) trying to speak English without abandoning his native idiom, you can quite start to enjoy the narration.