[For those needing a refresher, see Gunga Din by Rudyard Kipling.]

Dan Rather, CBS's Man in Afghanistan Braving Media Flak, Anchor Heads to Kabul

By Howard Kurtz Washington Post Staff Writer Saturday, December 1, 2001; Page C01

Gunga Dan is back.

Two decades after a disguised Dan Rather slipped into Afghanistan during a war Americans cared little about, he started reporting yesterday from Kabul on what he called "the most important story in the world right now."

In doing so, the 70-year-old CBS newsman won the anchor bake-off -- Tom Brokaw is still angling to get into the country and Peter Jennings is staying put -- even as some rivals scoffed at his arrival.

"As a reporter, I've long been dedicated to the idea that you need to walk the ground, be there, hear, feel, see for yourself," Rather said by satellite phone. "If you're going to be credible talking about the events of this war, you need to be a first-hand eyewitness. Frankly, I could not be comfortable with myself without going and seeing for myself.

"I know there are other views, but those are my views."

Some reporters head off to war to make a name for themselves, as Peter Arnett and "Scud Stud" Arthur Kent did during the Gulf War and Christiane Amanpour did during Bosnia and Kosovo. But for those who are already world famous, such as Geraldo Rivera, who abandoned punditry to be a Fox war correspondent, it's about earning new respect and finding the media epicenter.

"For TV journalists, the prestige lies in being at the big story," said Robert Lichter of the Center for Media and Public Affairs. "If an anchor is in Afghanistan, he must know more than if he was sitting in New York. It's the optical illusion of television."

Steve Friedman, senior executive producer of CBS's "Early Show," said: "It's the major leagues, it's the World Series. It's when people are watching, and it's when lots of reputations are being made."

ABC defended Jennings's decision to stay in New York. "Peter has traveled extensively in the region and his expertise is well established," said spokesman Jeffrey Schneider. "That said, there are real complications in having the anchor in one remote location when there are so many developments in so many places."

Brokaw is said to be seeking permission to travel with the Marines. "If he can't be some place where he can advance the story, he's not going to go," said spokeswoman Alex Constantinople. "We have a lot of good reporters on the ground already who are very strong."

Rivera recently told Newsday that his new assignment "may be the worst folly of my career. On the other hand, maybe I can do a great job and bring more eyeballs to an important story that have already drifted off to 'Friends' or 'Survivor.' "

Rather, who first drew national attention covering a hurricane, likes being in the eye of the storm. After he sneaked into Afghanistan in 1980 dressed as a bearded resistance fighter in peasant togs, an Afghan newspaper accused him of participating in the murder of three villagers -- a charge he dismissed as "sheer, unadulterated nonsense."

On Thursday, the trench-coated anchor, reporting from Bahrain, did little more than narrate some dated war footage. But last night he began: "Good evening from Kabul, Afghanistan, where larger numbers of American troops are on the ground and on the move in an all-out move to root out terrorism." He interviewed the Northern Alliance's foreign minister, Abdullah Abdullah, and later tossed to a report on George Harrison's death.

Rather said by phone that he's chatted up local residents and learned that the Russian presence in the country is far greater than he had realized.

Is it wise to enter a war zone after eight journalists have been killed in the past few weeks and many others have pulled out? Rather responded in his patented macho-man style:

"On some days in some ways, danger is my business. But let me underscore in italics, all caps: Whatever danger journalists are in is nothing to compare with the moment-by-moment danger faced by young people in uniform."

-- Anonymous, December 01, 2001