The BBC and several others refuse to purchase it. Al Jazeera Arabic allegedly buys it for an undisclosed amount. Michael Semple and I are now in daily contact. He tells me not to panic—this is most likely what he refers to as “a midterm fund-raising effort.” Most likely the captors have raised a few thousand dollars from the sale of the video footage, he says. Kidnapping is a group endeavor and the individuals guarding and feeding David, Tahir, and Asad need to be compensated for their time and effort. Michael has been the one consistent presence in this experience—in advice and in manner. For this reason, I have come to trust his opinion above the others. A colleague of David’s in Kabul, Dexter Filkins, tracks down an Al Jazeera representative and asks to see a copy of the video. While he isn’t permitted to copy it, he and his translator are allowed a viewing and type up notes. His transcript serves as a preview for Lee and me. We are struck by a few observations he makes, namely that David looks old and “his shoes are not his own.”
