Lessons From a Captive  Posted Nov. 08, 2009, at 6:10 p.m.  A
New York Times reporter’s account of being kidnapped and held
captive by the Taliban for more than seven months is a tale of
personal courage, determination, skill and ultimately successful
escape. Beyond that, he has helped Americans and their military
leaders understand the enemy that now controls increasing areas
of Afghanistan and Pakistan.  David Rohde, who had been
reporting in the region for seven years, was in Afghanistan on a
three-week reporting trip for a book he was writing. Impressed
with the rising public support for the Taliban, he decided he
needed to get its side of the story. Through a journalistic
colleague, he arranged for an interview with a Taliban
commander. Instead of getting an interview, he and his Afghan
interpreter and their driver were kidnapped and carried off into
the tribal region of adjoining Pakistan.  Before the kidnapping,
he had underestimated the Taliban and had not realized how
extreme were many of its members