FRONTLINE Site Announcement In Search of Al Qaeda PBS FRONTLINE offers web-exclusive online diary of an investigative reporter in search of Al Qaeda http://www.pbs.org/frontline/roots/dispatches/ PBS's flagship documentary public affairs series FRONTLINE is offering web visitors an unprecedented behind-the-scenes perspective on the making of a FRONTLINE documentary and the life of an investigative journalist attempting to uncover what has become of the remnants of the Al Qaeda terrorist network. Web surfers can follow veteran FRONTLINE producer Martin Smith and his production team's journey through email dispatches and photos posted on the FRONTLINE Web site. Working on a FRONTLINE documentary scheduled to air on PBS in November, the FRONTLINE investigative team set out two weeks ago on a two-month trip that will take them from the United States to London, the Persian Gulf, across Afghanistan and Pakistan, and points beyond in search of Al Qaeda operatives. Along the way, the team will continue to send regular email dispatches and photos that capture both the intriguing and the mundane aspects of investigative reporting-from interviewing Muslim sheiks in London to accompanying Canadian sailors as they search a rat-infested Chinese fishing trawler for stowaway terrorists. One dispatch details Smith encounter with a former spy for India's foreign intelligence. "He is a firehose of information. But as interesting as it is, I interrupt often and ask him how he knows what he says he knows. 'What is your source for that?' He is sometimes evasive in a way that doesn't seem so. He also admits it when he is just guessing, which I find refreshing. As the interview goes on I conclude, rightly or wrongly, that much of what he knows comes from sources inside or around various madrassas (religious schools) operating throughout Pakistan. He even repeats a sighting he reported in one of his articles that bin Laden is hiding out at the Binori Madrassa in Karachi. He says his source for this bit of information is credible. Others have mentioned this madrassa to us already. I think this is a door we should knock on, though I wonder how I'll feel when I get there." Regular dispatches "In Search of Al Qaeda" from Smith and Gaviria will continue to post on the FRONTLINE web site throughout the filming. When the documentary is completed the site will include the latest information and broadcast times. Eric Ward Alerts of Educational and Useful Web Content Since 1994 http://www.urlwire.com/headlines/ eric@ericward.com ------------- http://www.ericward.com Top