Ken Hechtman
Encyclopedia
Ken Hechtman is a freelance journalist from Canada
who achieved brief international prominence in late 2001. Afghanistan's
Taliban government captured him as a suspected United States
spy while he researched a story for the Montreal Mirror. Afghanistan tried, acquitted, and released him after a short time in jail.
In 1986, Hechtman was a freshman at Columbia University
. Immediately he founded an underground group of tunneling students called AD HOC (Allied Destructive Hackers of Columbia). Though AD HOC existed for only a few months, it became well known for wreaking havok around campus. Members of AD HOC blacked out buildings, stole papers, chemicals and equipment, conducted elaborate pranks, damaged university infrastructure and created graffiti throughout the tunnel system. In one notable incident, AD HOC constructed an 8 feet (2.4 m) snowman on top of a dorm. The members of AD HOC were also the first students known to have reached the Low Library roof.
In 1987, Hechtman was expelled from Columbia for keeping stolen chemicals, including uranium-238, chloroform and pure caffeine, in his dormitory room. While exploring the Columbia University Tunnels
, he had obtained this uranium from a forgotten part of Pupin Hall
that had remained essentially untouched since its involvement in the Manhattan Project
. The other chemicals were obtained from Havemeyer Hall
. The 1992 edition of Lisa Birnbach's College Book named him as a campus legend for the exploit.
After leaving Columbia, Hechtman spent time as an anarchist squatter on the Lower East Side, broke into the Yucca Flat Test Site in Nevada, the Ethan Allen firing range in Vermont and Area 51
, and was present at the execution of Timothy McVeigh
. After some time, he got a job as a journalist.
After the September 11 attacks, Hechtman travelled to Pakistan
with the goal of eventually gaining entry to Afghanistan
. While in Pakistan, he interviewed pro-Taliban militants generally inaccessible to western journalists. After over a month of failing to obtain a visa to get into Afghanistan, Hechtman crossed the border illegally. His initial experiences interviewing Taliban officials were largely positive, but when the war with the United States began and an airstrike targeted the city Hechtman was in at the time, the Taliban became convinced that he was an American spy and arrested him. Canadian diplomats Paul Gareau and Phillipe de Varenne were able to prove he was a journalist, securing his release on December 1, 2001. His editor at the time said "because his prime interest lay in exposing a different side of the war, his reports, though written with humour, offered a distinct and valuable perspective."
Hechtman has since returned to school at McGill University
and studied computer science.
He later became a professional political operative working on numerous campaigns at the federal, provincial and municipal levels. His specialties are database handling, voter contact support and mapping.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
who achieved brief international prominence in late 2001. Afghanistan's
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
Taliban government captured him as a suspected United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
spy while he researched a story for the Montreal Mirror. Afghanistan tried, acquitted, and released him after a short time in jail.
In 1986, Hechtman was a freshman at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
. Immediately he founded an underground group of tunneling students called AD HOC (Allied Destructive Hackers of Columbia). Though AD HOC existed for only a few months, it became well known for wreaking havok around campus. Members of AD HOC blacked out buildings, stole papers, chemicals and equipment, conducted elaborate pranks, damaged university infrastructure and created graffiti throughout the tunnel system. In one notable incident, AD HOC constructed an 8 feet (2.4 m) snowman on top of a dorm. The members of AD HOC were also the first students known to have reached the Low Library roof.
In 1987, Hechtman was expelled from Columbia for keeping stolen chemicals, including uranium-238, chloroform and pure caffeine, in his dormitory room. While exploring the Columbia University Tunnels
Columbia University Tunnels
Columbia University has an extensive tunnel system connecting most buildings on campus and acting as conduits for steam, electricity, telecommunications, and other infrastructure. The oldest tunnels are from the mental asylum that existed before the Morningside Campus was built...
, he had obtained this uranium from a forgotten part of Pupin Hall
Pupin Hall
Pupin Physics Laboratories, also known as Pupin Hall is home to the physics and astronomy departments of the Columbia University in New York City and a National Historic Landmark...
that had remained essentially untouched since its involvement in the Manhattan Project
Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project was a research and development program, led by the United States with participation from the United Kingdom and Canada, that produced the first atomic bomb during World War II. From 1942 to 1946, the project was under the direction of Major General Leslie Groves of the US Army...
. The other chemicals were obtained from Havemeyer Hall
Havemeyer Hall
Havemeyer Hall is an historic academic building located in Columbia University in New York City.-History:It was built between 1896 and 1898 under the direction of Charles Frederick Chandler and named after Columbia graduate Frederick Christian Havemeyer. The building is one of six original...
. The 1992 edition of Lisa Birnbach's College Book named him as a campus legend for the exploit.
After leaving Columbia, Hechtman spent time as an anarchist squatter on the Lower East Side, broke into the Yucca Flat Test Site in Nevada, the Ethan Allen firing range in Vermont and Area 51
Area 51
Area 51 is a military base, and a remote detachment of Edwards Air Force Base. It is located in the southern portion of Nevada in the western United States, 83 miles north-northwest of downtown Las Vegas. Situated at its center, on the southern shore of Groom Lake, is a large military airfield...
, and was present at the execution of Timothy McVeigh
Timothy McVeigh
Timothy James McVeigh was a United States Army veteran and security guard who detonated a truck bomb in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995...
. After some time, he got a job as a journalist.
After the September 11 attacks, Hechtman travelled to Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
with the goal of eventually gaining entry to Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
. While in Pakistan, he interviewed pro-Taliban militants generally inaccessible to western journalists. After over a month of failing to obtain a visa to get into Afghanistan, Hechtman crossed the border illegally. His initial experiences interviewing Taliban officials were largely positive, but when the war with the United States began and an airstrike targeted the city Hechtman was in at the time, the Taliban became convinced that he was an American spy and arrested him. Canadian diplomats Paul Gareau and Phillipe de Varenne were able to prove he was a journalist, securing his release on December 1, 2001. His editor at the time said "because his prime interest lay in exposing a different side of the war, his reports, though written with humour, offered a distinct and valuable perspective."
Hechtman has since returned to school at McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
and studied computer science.
He later became a professional political operative working on numerous campaigns at the federal, provincial and municipal levels. His specialties are database handling, voter contact support and mapping.
External links
- A Pravda report on Hechtman's captivity in Afghanistan.
- A CBC story about Hechtman and the Taliban.
- Ken Hechtman's Taliban story for the Montreal Mirror.
- A Columbia Spectator article.
- An article by The Blue and White, Columbia University's undergraduate magazine: http://www.bwog.net/publicate/index.php?page=post&article_id=211
- The Montrea Mirror 25th anniversary tribute to Ken