DEBKA scoops big media
on Mideast

The groundbreaking, military intelligence reports of DEBKAfile are familiar to regular WorldNetDaily readers. But many ask, just who or what is DEBKA and how does it come up with stories nobody else has?

The Jerusalem-based Internet news gatherer has stayed ahead of the mainstream media's coverage of the war on terrorism with a staff of eight and a vast network of sources that include top intelligence officers and political experts.

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DEBKAfile was the first to report Osama bin Laden's apparent flight from Afghanistan.

"The service goes where most reporters today fear to tread," said Joseph Farah, editor and CEO of WorldNetDaily. "Many people ask me: Why don't other news services report what DEBKA reports? The answer is that good reporting always breaks new ground – covers territory others are not covering."

What makes DEBKAfile's analysis different, according to Editor Giora Shamis, is its reliance "on what is happening on the ground" and not on the future policies and plans announced by decision-makers.

"We reverse the usual order," said Shamis, a former foreign affairs reporter for the Economist magazine. "We start out by covering the field, then look at the policies, place them against what is happening in the field, and only then draw conclusions about the validity of those policies."

The name DEBKA reflects the complexities of the Middle East region. It is derived from the name of a popular dance common to each culture, but interpreted by each in a different way. Likewise, Shamis notes that the whole region is preoccupied with war and peace but each entity has its own take on the subject.

Farah pointed out that "it sometimes takes weeks or even months to see that DEBKA was right. But its track record is excellent."

He cites as an example the Dec. 8 story reporting that bin Laden had left Afghanistan.

"At the time, the conventional wisdom was that he was still in the country," Farah noted. "Only recently have many other news media reported the likelihood that he got out."

DEBKAfile also was the first to report evidence that bin Laden had nuclear weapons in Afghanistan, Farah recalled.

Farah pointed out that last spring the intelligence service reported that bin Laden was joining in Yasser Arafat's Intifada to launch strikes against Israel.

One of DEBKAfile's biggest scoops did not gain currency until Sept. 11. Prior to the New York and Pentagon attacks, DEBKA reported on the possibility of a terror strike by bin Laden inside the United States, along with details of his North American network.

DEBKAfile was the first to expose al-Qaida's senior operations officer Ali Mohammad and his penetration of the U.S. Special Forces base at Fort Bragg, N.C., where he served as a sergeant.

Often stories involve characters that DEBKA's editors have been tracking for up to two decades, according to Shamis.

"We've had our eye on Ali Mohammad since he took part in the 1981 Sadat assassination," he said.

DEBKA has developed specialized investigative reporting techniques that take advantage of its network of sources related to international terrorism and conflict, Shamis pointed out. A careful system of cross-checking invariably brings out more detail, he said.

But being on top of a story right away often sets DEBKA apart.

"We report a discovery the instant it comes in from our sources in place," Shamis said. "Most media hold stories back for confirmation from their official sources or someone in authority."

From intelligence sources, DEBKA made the prediction that "after Afghanistan, Bin Laden's gang would turn to assassinations of national leaders," he said. "It was picked up by Australian TV a few days later."

"Our rule of thumb," he said, "is never to follow the lead of official sources, who always have an axe to grind, but seek out sources in the field – the doers rather than the shakers, and experts rather than political figures."

Other significant stories Shamis cited include "the Bush-Putin global understanding reached after Sept. 11, on the eve of Afghan War," which gave the U.S. a strategic presence in Central Asia.

"The U.S. mainstream media gave this extensive treatment only last week," he said.

In December, DEBKAfile reported on Chinese military aid to al-Qaida and the Taliban.

DEBKA also was far ahead of the media on "the Arafat-Hezbollah partnership," Shamis said, "both of which surfaced long after our exposes," when Israel intercepted a shipment of arms in January believed to be headed for the Palestinian Authority.

Shamis acknowledges that the mainstream media often has an edge in its ability to delve deeply into a story.

"But their conclusions are often wrong," he said, "because they don't take into account the forces in the field."

Editor's note: Many of DEBKA's best scoops are picked up exclusively -- through a special arrangement -- by WorldNetDaily. However, DEBKA also produces a wealth of information available only by subscription at the WorldNetDaily online store, ShopNetDaily.