Taliban Wanted $25 Million for Life of New York Times Reporter

June 22, 2009— -- The Taliban leader who held New York Times reporter David Rohde hostage for seven months initially demanded a ransom of $25 million and the release of 10 prisoners from Guantanamo, according to people involved in subsequent negotiations.

Rohde's captor was reportedly identified by the FBI and CIA as Siraj Haqqani, the son of a senior Taliban leader Jalaluddin Haqqani who is considered to be close to al Qaeda. He and his Taliban associates reportedly referred to the American journalist as their "golden rooster."

Haqqani demonstrated his violent ways by reportedly killing a messenger sent to establish that Rohde was still alive, according to people familiar with the FBI criminal investigation of the kidnapping.

The U.S. posted a $5 million reward for Siraj Haqqani's capture during the time he held Rohde.

New York Times executive editor Bill Keller said "no ransom was paid" for Rohde's release, during an appearance on the ABC News program "This Week With George Stephanopoulos."

A New York Times spokeswoman declined to comment on whether the paper had considered paying any ransom for Rohde's release.

People familiar with the case say there were heated and contentious debates in The New York Times executive offices on the issue, with some of Rohde's colleagues arguing no ransom should be paid for fear it could set a precedent.

"They didn't want to turn every New York Times reporter into an ATM machine for terrorists," said one of the people who was apprised of the discussions.

In the end, the newspaper did not have to confront the issue, as Rohde was able to escape from the compound where he was being held in a Pakistani town in North Waziristan.

Keller said he would not disclose many of the details of what happened for fear of "helping write the playbook for the next kidnapping.

"I can't even tell you what the circumstances were that created the opportunity at the end" for his escape, he said.

In a memo to The New York Times staff over the weekend, Keller urged staffers not to talk about "understandable questions about who did what to make this happen."