Robert Young Pelton
Encyclopedia
Robert Young Pelton is an author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...

, journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...

 and documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...

 filmmaker. Pelton is considered an adventurer and a "witness" to conflict. Pelton is known for overcoming extraordinary obstacles in his search for the truth. He has made a career of bypassing the media, border guards and the military in his goal of getting to the heart of the story. In his travels to and through the world’s most dangerous places, Pelton has shared risks with his hosts and often has become the sole surviving witness to history-shaping events. His reputation is built on his interest and ability to enter forbidden, deadly and violent places and emerge with a stunning story. Pelton is also known for accurately predicting the course of conflicts and even future wars.

Pelton has been present at conflicts such as the Battle of Qala-i-Jangi
Battle of Qala-i-Jangi
The Battle of Qala-i-Jangi took place between November 25 and December 1, 2001, in Northern Afghanistan. It began with the uprising of foreign Taliban prisoners held at Qala-i-Jangi fortress, and escalated into one of the bloodiest engagements of the War in Afghanistan...

 in 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...

, the Battle of Grozny (1999-2000) in Chechnya
Chechnya
The Chechen Republic , commonly referred to as Chechnya , also spelled Chechnia or Chechenia, sometimes referred to as Ichkeria , is a federal subject of Russia . It is located in the southeastern part of Europe in the Northern Caucasus mountains. The capital of the republic is the city of Grozny...

, the rebel campaign to take Monrovia
Monrovia
Monrovia is the capital city of the West African nation of Liberia. Located on the Atlantic Coast at Cape Mesurado, it lies geographically within Montserrado County, but is administered separately...

 in Liberia
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...

 and approximately 40 other conflicts. He survived an assassination attempt in Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...

 He spent time with the Taliban and the Northern Alliance
Northern Alliance
The Afghan Northern Alliance is a military-political umbrella organization created by the Islamic State of Afghanistan in 1996.Northern Alliance may also refer to:*Northern Alliance , a Canadian white supremacist group...

 pre 9/11, the CIA during the hunt for Bin Laden and also with both insurgents and Blackwater security contractors during the war in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

 Pelton's regularly published survival and political guide The World's Most Dangerous Places
The World's Most Dangerous Places
Robert Young Pelton's The World's Most Dangerous Places is a frequently updated handbook written by Pelton and an unusual crew of contributors. Although it is not meant to be used as an actual travel guide, like Frommer's, the book's advice to staying alive and the facts about the world's most...

, provides practical and survival information for people who work and travel in high risk zones, and is a best seller. With the book's best seller status Pelton has become an expert on work and travel in "high-risk" environments. He was also host of the Discovery Travel Channel
Travel Channel
The Travel Channel is a satellite and cable television channel that is headquartered in Chevy Chase, Maryland, US. It features documentaries and how-to shows related to travel and leisure around the United States and throughout the world. Programming has included shows in African animal safaris,...

 series Robert Young Pelton's The World's Most Dangerous Places
The World's Most Dangerous Places
Robert Young Pelton's The World's Most Dangerous Places is a frequently updated handbook written by Pelton and an unusual crew of contributors. Although it is not meant to be used as an actual travel guide, like Frommer's, the book's advice to staying alive and the facts about the world's most...

 from 1998 to 2003. Now residing in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...

, Pelton currently writes books, produces documentaries on conflict-related subjects and even operates Cultural Engagement Journeys into the World’s Most Dangerous and forbidden places.

He is also a frequent television and magazine interview subject, often appearing as a raconteur of his various adventures and safety tips on shows as diverse as Oprah, Conan O'Brien, CNN, Fox, BBC, ABC, CBS, NBC and others. Pelton is a regular commentator for Shepard Smith's on Fox News, providing insight and background on breaking news.

In August 2010, Robert Young Pelton and Babel Travel teamed up to create the first organized entries into the World’s Most Dangerous and forbidden places. Their offerings, called Cultural Engagement journeys were created to give socially focused individuals an insight into the root problems of conflict and to help create pragmatic and sustainable solutions. Journeys in 2011 include; 11-45 day adventures to Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, North Korea and Iran, with trips in Colombia, Burma, Yemen Liberia, Sierra Leone, Southern Philippines, Haiti, Cuba, Eastern Congo and Gaza coming soon

Bio

Pelton was born July 25, 1955, in Edmonton
Edmonton
Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...

, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

, Canada
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...

. At age ten, he became the seventh youngest student ever to attend Saint John's Cathedral Boys' School
Saint John's Cathedral Boys' School
Saint John's Cathedral Boys' School was founded in Selkirk, Manitoba, Canada in the early 1960s by Ted Byfield and Frank Wiens, who believed that boys were not challenged by the education system or by society in general. The two started an Anglican lay order called the Company of the Cross,...

 a Canadian survival school in Selkirk, Manitoba. Pelton claims to have been a lumberjack, boundary cutter, tunneler, driller and blaster's assistant before getting his first job as a copywriter when he was 17 in Toronto, working for the ad agency BBDO
BBDO
BBDO is a worldwide advertising agency network, with its headquarters in New York City. The agency began in 1891 with George Batten's Batten Company, and later in 1928, through a merger of BDO and Batten Co. the agency became BBDO...

, having originally been working in the mailroom. He moved to the United States where he worked for various multimedia companies that did product launches like working directly with Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs
Steven Paul Jobs was an American businessman and inventor widely recognized as a charismatic pioneer of the personal computer revolution. He was co-founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Apple Inc...

 with the Lisa
Apple Lisa
The Apple Lisa—also known as the Lisa—is a :personal computer designed by Apple Computer, Inc. during the early 1980s....

 launch and Macintosh
Macintosh
The Macintosh , or Mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced by Apple's then-chairman Steve Jobs on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a...

 launch. In his mid thirties he retired from the business world and focused his time on understanding conflict. Pelton quickly made a name for himself traveling and reporting from the dirty wars, rebel camps and war zones. He got his break as a writer while reporting on the Camel Trophy
Camel Trophy
The Camel Trophy was a vehicle oriented competition that was held between 1980 and 2000, and was best known for its use of Land Rover vehicles over challenging terrain.- The Events :...

, an annual event in which teams from around the world competed by overcoming some of the world's most hostile natural environments in Land Rovers. He was with the U.S. team and published his account in Soldier of Fortune
Soldier of Fortune (magazine)
Soldier of Fortune , The Journal of Professional Adventurers, is a periodical monthly magazine devoted to world-wide reporting of wars, including conventional warfare, low-intensity warfare, counter insurgency, and counter-terrorism...

.

He licensed his content to companies like Microsoft and sold his businesses to turn full time to conflict coverage in the mid 90's. He began with a two book deal from Random House, a television series from Discovery and a major web event with ABC News
ABC News
ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...

.

While in Uganda he missed a bomb assassination attempt against him by the ADF, an Islamic group, by 10 minutes at the Kampala Speke Hotel
Kampala Speke Hotel
-Location:The hotel is located in the heart of Kampala, at 7-9 Nile Avenue, on Nakasero Hill, close to the Grand Imperial Hotel and the Kampala Sheraton Hotel. This location is close to banks, shopping arcades and offices, in the middle of Kampala's central business district...

. In January 2003, Pelton was assigned by Discovery and National Geographic to do a television special and article on the Darien Gap. Pelton and two 22 year old travelers were ambushed, killing one Kuna Indian and injuring one other. The group was then kidnapped and marched at gunpoint through the Darien Gap
Darién Gap
The Darién Gap is a large swath of undeveloped swampland and forest separating Panama's Darién Province in Central America from Colombia in South America. It measures just over long and about wide. Roadbuilding through this area is expensive, and the environmental toll is steep. Political...

 by the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia
United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia
The United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia was created as an umbrella organization of regional far-right...

 (AUC) and across the 90 mile jungle trail over the 10 days before being released.

When AUC leader Carlos Castano
Carlos Castaño
Carlos Castaño Gil was the founder of the Peasant Self-Defense Forces of Córdoba and Urabá , an extreme right paramilitary organization in Colombia...

 finally learned of the identity of the hostages, he ordered Pelton and his companions released and issued a press release to Reuters stating that they were being held for their safety. Castaño had remembered Pelton's name from a meeting they'd arranged years before, and put in the order for the hostage's release.

Pelton contributed to National Geographic Adventure
National Geographic Adventure
National Geographic Adventure, formerly known as Adventure One but now commonly known as Nat Geo Adventure, is a subscription TV channel part of National Geographic Channels International and News Corporation...

 as both a Contributing Editor and a long running Columnist from January 2001 to 2007. In December 2007 he released his article on Blackwater Worldwide
Blackwater Worldwide
Xe Services LLC, better known by its former names, Blackwater USA and Blackwater Worldwide, is a private military company founded in 1997 by Erik Prince and Al Clark.. Xe is currently the largest of the U.S. State Department's three private security contractors...

. He was involved in negotiations with the President of Equatorial Guinea
Equatorial Guinea
Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea where the capital Malabo is situated.Annobón is the southernmost island of Equatorial Guinea and is situated just south of the equator. Bioko island is the northernmost point of Equatorial Guinea. Between the two islands and to the...

 regarding the early release of coup plotters, Nick du Toit
Nick du Toit
Nick du Toit is a former South African arms dealer, former mercenary and former army officer of 32 Battalion and the 5th Reconnaissance Commando. He was implicated in the plot to overthrow Teodoro Obiang of Equatorial Guinea....

 who had worked for Executive Outcomes
Executive Outcomes
Executive Outcomes was a private military company founded in South Africa by former Lieutenant-Colonel of the South African Defence Force Eeben Barlow in 1989. It later became part of the South African-based holding company Strategic Resource Corporation....

 in the mid-1990s. The story behind the coup and his efforts to free Nick du Toit
Nick du Toit
Nick du Toit is a former South African arms dealer, former mercenary and former army officer of 32 Battalion and the 5th Reconnaissance Commando. He was implicated in the plot to overthrow Teodoro Obiang of Equatorial Guinea....

 and Simon Mann
Simon Mann
Simon Francis Mann is a British mercenary and former British Army officer. He had been serving a 34-year prison sentence in Equatorial Guinea for his role in a failed coup d'état in 2004, before receiving a presidential pardon on humanitarian grounds on 2 November 2009.Mann was extradited from...

 are documented in the May 2008 Men's Journal
Men's Journal
Men's Journal is an American men's lifestyle magazine focused on outdoor recreation and comprising editorials on the outdoors, environmental issues, health and fitness, style and fashion, and "gear". It is owned by Jann Wenner of Wenner Media....

 "How to Stage a Coup".

In December 2008 Pelton was researching and traveling the Horn of Africa with pirates and with an anti-piracy crew researching the piracy
Piracy
Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence at sea. The term can include acts committed on land, in the air, or in other major bodies of water or on a shore. It does not normally include crimes committed against persons traveling on the same vessel as the perpetrator...

 and anti-piracy
Anti-piracy
Anti-piracy is a term used to describe countermeasures against maritime piracy but moreoften by some to describe the attempt to prevent copyright infringement, counterfeiting, and other violations of intellectual-property rights....

 industry. In January 2009 Pelton resumed his classic immersion style coverage by going inside the Army's controversial Human Terrain System
Human Terrain System
The Human Terrain System is a United States Army program utilizing experts from social science disciplines such as anthropology, sociology, political science, regional studies and lingustics to provide military commanders and staff with an understanding of the local population...

.

In a return to his background doing licensed products for Lucasfilm, Disney, Marvel and others Pelton has also released his first signature survival product, a 3 inch knife called the RAT DPx H•E•S•T (Hostile Environment Survival Tool) at DPxGear. The knife is featured along with some of Pelton's favorite gear in a profile in the October 2009 Men's Journal
Men's Journal
Men's Journal is an American men's lifestyle magazine focused on outdoor recreation and comprising editorials on the outdoors, environmental issues, health and fitness, style and fashion, and "gear". It is owned by Jann Wenner of Wenner Media....

. According to a 2009 radio, TV interviews and newspaper articles Pelton has spent a year as an advisor to the commander of ISAF
International Security Assistance Force
The International Security Assistance Force is a NATO-led security mission in Afghanistan established by the United Nations Security Council on 20 December 2001 by Resolution 1386 as envisaged by the Bonn Agreement...

 and U.S. Forces-Afghanistan (USFOR-A) in Afghanistan.

Projects

Pelton has built a career around his own unique experiential style of reportage and documentary filmmaking, spending time with many different terrorist, rebel or insurgent groups around the world, often returning with exclusive and unique footage. Pelton began the "SoJo" concept or solo journalist concept for ABC News
ABC News
ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...

 in 1996. Pelton filed copy, photos and video as he went to the world's longest running hotspots. The series called ABC News 'Dangerous Places' had a viewership of 800,000 people per day (second highest rated web event at the time after the death of Diana). Peter Jennings' documentary crew tried to document Pelton's to Bougainville, Afghanistan and the Southern Sudan but Bob Woodruff and Jay Ananai eventually deemed the assignment too risky and abandoned their attempts to follow Pelton.

Somalia Report

In his efforts to bring information from war zones directly to the people, Pelton created Somalia Report in 2011. Hiring local Somali's and his unusual access he provides ground coverage of al Shabaab, pirates, governments, contractors, intelligence groups and regular people on a 24/7 information website. Pelton views this as a natural extension of his best selling book and TV series.

Cultural Engagement Trips

In 2010, Babel Travel partnered Robert Young Pelton to create a series of Cultural Engagement trips - the first organized entries into the world’s most dangerous and forbidden places. These unique itineraries have been developed to challenge the intellectual, emotional, participatory and educational needs of a very select group of individuals. These trips are about breaking down barriers, giving back to local communities and travelling responsibly and sustainably. All Cultural Engagement trips maintain the highest level of personal and physical safety based on Robert Young Pelton’s 30 years in conflict zones and Babel Travel’s experience in the adventure travel business.

These Cultural Engagement journeys are educational experiences and are, in no way, voyeuristic trips. Babel Travel aims to foster cross-cultural understanding and encourage you to help make a difference, especially in areas experiencing humanitarian crises. In every country they visit, they have formed links with local communities and NGOs. On every itinerary, group members lend assistance at between 5-12 aid agencies, women and children's centres, hospitals, schools and refugee camps. A portion of the trip payment is donated directly (in person) to the local charities Babel Travel visits. The goal of every Cultural Engagement trip is to listen, learn and help. Robert Young Pelton and Babel Travel have developed these itineraries to give travelers first-hand experience in understanding the root problems of conflict and to help create pragmatic and sustainable solutions. These trips are designed to challenge how these countries are viewed. Being face-to-face with people who are changing our world is an unforgettable experience

These Cultural Engagement trips are about bringing the truth of oppressed and abused people to the world. Sylvie Brunel, former director and president of Médecins Sans Frontières
Médecins Sans Frontières
' , or Doctors Without Borders, is a secular humanitarian-aid non-governmental organization best known for its projects in war-torn regions and developing countries facing endemic diseases. Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland...

 and Action Against Hunger
Action Against Hunger
Action Against Hunger is an international humanitarian organization with a focus on ending world hunger. Action Against Hunger specializes in responding to emergency situations of war, conflict, and natural disaster...

, believes that tourism helps developing regions affected by war and that tourism represents a message of hope for the local people

All participants in the Cultural Engagement program are issued with a mini travel guide complete with suggested questions and discussion points and a do-it-yourself travel guide creation kit modelled on Robert Young Pelton's best-selling book The World's Most Dangerous Places
The World's Most Dangerous Places
Robert Young Pelton's The World's Most Dangerous Places is a frequently updated handbook written by Pelton and an unusual crew of contributors. Although it is not meant to be used as an actual travel guide, like Frommer's, the book's advice to staying alive and the facts about the world's most...

.

Participants in this program will also update the sixth edition of The World's Most Dangerous Places (due out in late 2011) and carry on Pelton’s two-decade legacy of safely penetrating and making sense of the world’s least understood regions

Babel Travel’s Cultural Engagement trips are insured through Ingle Insurance special risk policy.

Writing projects

Pelton began in publishing as a publisher having purchased and later sold the Fielding travel guide concession named after Temple Fielding
Temple Fielding
Temple Harndon Fielding was a noted travel writer who was also a former psyop operative in Europe in World War II under OSS Moral Operations Unit, 2677th Regiment OSS . MO Rome was headed by Eugene P...

. Pelton had worked as a copywriter at age 17 for BBDO
BBDO
BBDO is a worldwide advertising agency network, with its headquarters in New York City. The agency began in 1891 with George Batten's Batten Company, and later in 1928, through a merger of BDO and Batten Co. the agency became BBDO...

 in Toronto but has no formal education. He has a high school degree from Mount Douglas Senior Secondary in Victoria, B.C.

Robert Young Pelton's first major writing project was his breakthrough guide to conflict; The World's Most Dangerous Places
The World's Most Dangerous Places
Robert Young Pelton's The World's Most Dangerous Places is a frequently updated handbook written by Pelton and an unusual crew of contributors. Although it is not meant to be used as an actual travel guide, like Frommer's, the book's advice to staying alive and the facts about the world's most...

  The massive 1000 page plus book was disguised as a travel guide and written in a humorous and apolitical style. The first edition was written in 1993 and it currently is in its fifth edition. The sixth edition is due out in late 2011. The mascot of the book is Mr DP. Mr DP, a laughing skull that has been seen stickered on AK-47
AK-47
The AK-47 is a selective-fire, gas-operated 7.62×39mm assault rifle, first developed in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Kalashnikov. It is officially known as Avtomat Kalashnikova . It is also known as a Kalashnikov, an "AK", or in Russian slang, Kalash.Design work on the AK-47 began in the last year...

s, Burmese RPGs
Rocket propelled grenade
A rocket-propelled grenade is a shoulder-fired, anti-tank weapon system which fires rockets equipped with an explosive warhead. These warheads are affixed to a rocket motor and stabilized in flight with fins. Some types of RPG are reloadable while others are single-use. RPGs, with the exception of...

 and in bars around the world. Mr DP can be seen at the History Bar in Djibouti and the Gandamack Lodge in Kabul.

Hunter, Hammer and Heaven is a 2002 book on his journey into three wars in three tiny countries Chechnya
Chechnya
The Chechen Republic , commonly referred to as Chechnya , also spelled Chechnia or Chechenia, sometimes referred to as Ichkeria , is a federal subject of Russia . It is located in the southeastern part of Europe in the Northern Caucasus mountains. The capital of the republic is the city of Grozny...

, Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...

 and Bougainville were examples of a jihad against the Russians, a mercenary war for resources and an eco war to preserve a native lifestyle.

Pelton has written about contemporary private military contractors (Licensed to Kill, Hired Guns in the War on Terror), as well as his experiences with US Special Forces
Special forces
Special forces, or special operations forces are terms used to describe elite military tactical teams trained to perform high-risk dangerous missions that conventional units cannot perform...

 in the opening weeks in the war on terror. Of Licensed to Kill, one reviewer summarized: "His is a journalistic story-quilt of characters engaged as private security contractors and mercenaries in a variety of settings from Afghanistan to Equatorial Guinea.... The pages turn... because Pelton’s stories are intrinsically interesting." He has also written a fictionalized account of his early life, entitled Raven, as well as an autobiography entitled The Adventurist.

Magazines

Pelton began writing feature stories for National Geographic Adventure
National Geographic Adventure
National Geographic Adventure, formerly known as Adventure One but now commonly known as Nat Geo Adventure, is a subscription TV channel part of National Geographic Channels International and News Corporation...

 and then continued writing a column entitled, "Pelton's World" for National Geographic Adventure
National Geographic Adventure
National Geographic Adventure, formerly known as Adventure One but now commonly known as Nat Geo Adventure, is a subscription TV channel part of National Geographic Channels International and News Corporation...

. His feature stories covered his journeys into Afghanistan, Iraq and Colombia.

National Geographic Adventure columns

"Pelton's World" column from National Geographic Adventure Magazine
National Geographic Society
The National Geographic Society , headquartered in Washington, D.C. in the United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational institutions in the world. Its interests include geography, archaeology and natural science, the promotion of environmental and historical...



Pelton has been profiled The World's Most Dangerous Friend by Tim Cahill
Tim Cahill
Timothy Filiga "Tim" Cahill is an football player of Australian nationality who plays for Everton and the Australian national football team...

, currently writes for Men's Journal
Men's Journal
Men's Journal is an American men's lifestyle magazine focused on outdoor recreation and comprising editorials on the outdoors, environmental issues, health and fitness, style and fashion, and "gear". It is owned by Jann Wenner of Wenner Media....

 covering topics like Blackwater
Blackwater Worldwide
Xe Services LLC, better known by its former names, Blackwater USA and Blackwater Worldwide, is a private military company founded in 1997 by Erik Prince and Al Clark.. Xe is currently the largest of the U.S. State Department's three private security contractors...

, the U.S. military Human Terrain System
Human Terrain System
The Human Terrain System is a United States Army program utilizing experts from social science disciplines such as anthropology, sociology, political science, regional studies and lingustics to provide military commanders and staff with an understanding of the local population...

, South African mercenaries and American mercenaires and volunteers in rebel held Burma. He also has written about his time with Somali pirates and maritime anti-piracy security teams for Business week and security contractors in Iraq for Popular Mechanics
Popular Mechanics
Popular Mechanics is an American magazine first published January 11, 1902 by H. H. Windsor, and has been owned since 1958 by the Hearst Corporation...

.

Popular Mechanics - Running the Gauntlet
http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:Uq4APdgEpW8J:www.privateforces.com/index.php%3Foption%3Dcom_docman%26task%3Ddoc_download%26gid%3D93%26Itemid%3D195+pelton+running+the+gauntlet&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESheQfzwPQPV7ybzeajWDA_SdpjkCIvc08QzT0BB6o0VYZ41bzM6aTcbVzKoMOfQFf00O02WPVwZp5ndtTA8Hgan-tdRQI0p2x62QC8cQeBNfdEJ1gsXjQaUGqMTXQpVpa9HobLe&sig=AHIEtbQfjksMP5xn12ODChvhW5cJNFF_qg April 2005

Men's Journal - Inside Blackwater http://paultullis.net/Paul_Tullis/Blackwater.html December 2007

Men's Journal - My Friend, The Mercenary From Hell http://current.com/news/88921453_my-friend-the-mercenary-from-hell.htm April 2008

Men's Journal - The New War For Hearts and Minds
http://www.mensjournal.com/new-war-for-hearts-and-minds January 2009

Men's Journal - My Gear
http://www.mensjournal.com/my-gear-robert-young-pelton October 2009

NY Daily News - Too Many Obstacles
http://articles.nydailynews.com/2009-12-02/news/17943073_1_president-hamid-karzai-afghans-taliban December 2009

Men's Journal - An American Commando In Exile - http://www.mensjournal.com/an-american-commando-in-exile November 2010

Business Week - Somali Pirate's Rich Returns
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/11_21/b4229064090727.htm?campaign_id=rss_null May 2011

Interviews by Robert Young Pelton

One of the cornerstones of Pelton's quests has been to track down, meet up with and interview some of the world's most dangerous and wanted men. In some cases his unique access on the battlefield has led to troops or insurgents bringing him to interview high profile prisoners.

A partial list of Pelton's interviews:
  • John Walker Lindh
    John Walker Lindh
    John Phillip Walker Lindh is a United States citizen who was captured as an enemy combatant during the United States' 2001 invasion of Afghanistan. He is now serving a 20-year prison sentence in connection with his participation in Afghanistan's Taliban army...

     "The American Taliban" (Captured by Northern Alliance
    Northern Alliance
    The Afghan Northern Alliance is a military-political umbrella organization created by the Islamic State of Afghanistan in 1996.Northern Alliance may also refer to:*Northern Alliance , a Canadian white supremacist group...

     forces and rescued by Pelton)

  • Al Qaeda, in both Europe and Afghanistan, documented in his book Hunter, Hammer and Heaven and his TV special on Afghanistan

  • Taliban leadership in Afghanistan in their first television interview (including Mullah Omar
    Mohammed Omar
    Mullah Mohammed Omar , often simply called Mullah Omar, is the leader of the Taliban movement that operates in Afghanistan. He was Afghanistan's de facto head of state from 1996 to late 2001, under the official title "Head of the Supreme Council"...

     who would only allow his voice to be recorded)

  • Ahmed Shah Massoud
    Ahmed Shah Massoud
    Ahmad Shah Massoud was a Kabul University engineering student turned military leader who played a leading role in driving the Soviet army out of Afghanistan, earning him the name Lion of Panjshir. His followers call him Āmir Sāhib-e Shahīd...

     and the Northern Alliance
    Northern Alliance
    The Afghan Northern Alliance is a military-political umbrella organization created by the Islamic State of Afghanistan in 1996.Northern Alliance may also refer to:*Northern Alliance , a Canadian white supremacist group...

     leadership in the Panjshir Valley
    Panjshir Valley
    The Panjshir Province is a valley in north-central Afghanistan, 150 km north of Kabul, near the Hindu Kush mountain range. Located in the Panjshir Province it is divided by the Panjshir River...


  • Abdul Rashid Dostum
    Abdul Rashid Dostum
    Abdul Rashid Dostum is a former pro-Soviet fighter during the Soviet war in Afghanistan and is considered by many to be the leader of Afghanistan's Uzbek community and the party Junbish-e Milli-yi Islami-yi Afghanistan...


  • Erik Prince
    Erik Prince
    Erik Dean Prince is the founder and formerly the sole owner of the private military company Xe Services LLC, formerly Blackwater Worldwide. On March 2, 2009, Prince announced that he was stepping down as CEO of Xe. He is currently living abroad in the United Arab Emirates, where he is creating a...

    , former owner of Blackwater USA
    Blackwater USA
    Xe Services LLC, better known by its former names, Blackwater USA and Blackwater Worldwide, is a private military company founded in 1997 by Erik Prince and Al Clark.. Xe is currently the largest of the U.S. State Department's three private security contractors...


  • "Mono Jojoy", Manuel Marulanda
    Manuel Marulanda
    Pedro Antonio Marín Marín , known by his "nom de guerre" Manuel Marulanda Vélez, was the main leader of the FARC-EP...

    , Alfonso Cano
    Alfonso Cano
    Guillermo León Sáenz Vargas , more commonly known by his nom de guerre Alfonso Cano was the commander of the militant group known as Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia...

     and the top FARC leadership in Colombia
    Colombia
    Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...


  • Hashim Salamat leader of the MILF
    Moro Islamic Liberation Front
    The Moro Islamic Liberation Front is an Islamist group located in the southern Philippines. It is one of two Islamic militant groups, the other being the Abu Sayyaf, that are fighting against Government of the Philippines...

     in the Southern Philippines

  • Aleksey Galkin
    Aleksey Galkin
    Alexey Viktorovich Galkin is a former Russian GRU officer. A senior lieutenant of the GRU, Alexei Galkin said, whilst being tortured by Chechen separatists, commanded by Abu Movsaev, that the apartment bombing in Buynaksk were organized by a team of twelve GRU officers and ordered by GRU director...

     of the Russian GRU (captured by Chechen rebels and implicated Russia in the bombing of apartment buildings that led to the second war in Chechyna)

  • Imprisoned South African mercenary Nick du toit
    Nick du Toit
    Nick du Toit is a former South African arms dealer, former mercenary and former army officer of 32 Battalion and the 5th Reconnaissance Commando. He was implicated in the plot to overthrow Teodoro Obiang of Equatorial Guinea....

     and President Obiang
    Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo
    Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo is an Equatoguinean politician who has been President of Equatorial Guinea since 1979. He ousted his uncle, Francisco Macías Nguema, in an August 1979 military coup and has overseen Equatorial Guinea's emergence as an important oil producer, beginning in the 1990s...

     of Equatorial Guinea
    Equatorial Guinea
    Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea where the capital Malabo is situated.Annobón is the southernmost island of Equatorial Guinea and is situated just south of the equator. Bioko island is the northernmost point of Equatorial Guinea. Between the two islands and to the...

     during his attempts to free Nick from a 33 year prison sentence for attempting to overthrow the country

  • The leadership of the AUC
    United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia
    The United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia was created as an umbrella organization of regional far-right...

    . The right wing death squads of Colombia

  • The Chechen
    Chechen mafia
    The Chechen mafia is one of the largest organized crime groups operating in the former Soviet Union next to established Russian mafia gangs, which originally consisted of criminals of Chechen ethnicity who later also tried to recruit former Russian special military forces, police and army officers...

    , Georgian and Turkish Mafia
    Mafia
    The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...


  • Francis Ona
    Francis Ona
    Francis Ona was a Bougainville secessionist leader who led an uprising against the Government of Papua New Guinea, motivated at least initially by his concerns over the operation of the Panguna mine by Bougainville Copper, a subsidiary of Rio Tinto Group...

    , the self proclaimed "King of Meekamui" on the island of Bougainville
    Bougainville Island
    Bougainville Island is the main island of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville of Papua New Guinea. This region is also known as Bougainville Province or the North Solomons. The population of the province is 175,160 , which includes the adjacent island of Buka and assorted outlying islands...


  • Leadership of LURD
    Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy
    The Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy was a rebel group in Liberia that was active from 1999 until after the peace accords that ended the Second Liberian Civil War in 2003...

     in Liberia
    Liberia
    Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...


  • Kamajors
    Kamajors
    The Kamajors are a group of traditional hunters from the Mende ethnic group in the south and east of Sierra Leone...

     in Sierra Leone
    Sierra Leone
    Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...


  • The SPLA
    Sudan People's Liberation Army
    The Sudan People's Liberation Movement is a political party in South Sudan. It was initially founded as a rebel political movement with a military wing known as the Sudan People's Liberation Army estimated at 180,000 soldiers. The SPLM fought in the Second Sudanese Civil War against the Sudanese...

     in Southern Sudan

  • Drug organizations in Colombia
    Illegal drug trade in Colombia
    Illegal drug trade in Colombia refers to the practice of producing and distributing illegal drugs with psychoactive effects in Colombia. Colombia has had four major drug trafficking cartels which eventually created a new social class and influenced several aspects of Colombian culture...

     and Peru
    Illegal drug trade in Peru
    The illegal drug trade in Peru includes the growing of coca and the shipment of cocaine to the United States. In an example of the balloon effect, dramatic falls in coca cultivation in the late 1990s saw cultivation move to Colombia....


  • Leadership of Communist Rebels
    New People's Army
    The New People's Army is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines. It was formed on March 29, 1969. The Maoist NPA conducts its armed guerrilla struggle based on the strategical line of 'protracted people's war'.The NPA exacts so called "revolutionary taxes" from business owners...

     in the Philippines
    Philippines
    The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...


  • General Bwa Khwa of the Karen 5th Brigade
    Karen National Liberation Army
    The Karen National Liberation Army is the military branch of the Karen National Union , which campaigns for the self-determination of the Karen people of Burma. The KNLA has been fighting the Burmese government since 1949....

     of Kawthoolei, Burma

  • “Tha-U-Wa-A-Pa” or the "Father of the White Monkey", the director of Free Burma Rangers
    Free Burma Rangers
    The Free Burma Rangers are a mainly Christian pro-active, pro-democracy humanitarian group who work throughout Burma but concentrate primarily on the heavily forested border region, delivering emergency medical assistance to sick and injured internally displaced people, or IDP's; a consequence of...

    , Burma

  • Asad Abdullahi aka Farah Hirsi Kulan "Booyah" One of the original three pirate "kings", Somalia

  • Abdirahman Mohamud Farole, President of Puntland

Interviews of Robert Young Pelton

Pelton's experience in over three dozen conflicts and independent point of view has made him a sought after and prescient commentator on conflict, the media and key historical events. A selection from the hundreds of interviews shows Pelton's range of expertise and opinions.

















Rebel, Jihadi and Insurgent Groups

In order to gain access Pelton has spent an unusual amount of time living with, traveling with and documenting some of the world's best known insurgent groups. Some of the groups Pelton has lived with and interviewed include, the Northern Alliance
Northern Alliance
The Afghan Northern Alliance is a military-political umbrella organization created by the Islamic State of Afghanistan in 1996.Northern Alliance may also refer to:*Northern Alliance , a Canadian white supremacist group...

 in 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...

, the LURD
Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy
The Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy was a rebel group in Liberia that was active from 1999 until after the peace accords that ended the Second Liberian Civil War in 2003...

 in Liberia
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...

, MILF
Moro Islamic Liberation Front
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front is an Islamist group located in the southern Philippines. It is one of two Islamic militant groups, the other being the Abu Sayyaf, that are fighting against Government of the Philippines...

 in the Southern Philippines, Bougainville Revolutionary Army
Bougainville Revolutionary Army
The Bougainville Revolutionary Army was formed in 1988 by Bougainvilleans seeking independence from Papua New Guinea .BRA leaders argue that Bougainville is ethnically part of the Solomon Islands and has not profited from the extensive mining that has occurred on the island...

, the Sudan People's Liberation Army
Sudan People's Liberation Army
The Sudan People's Liberation Movement is a political party in South Sudan. It was initially founded as a rebel political movement with a military wing known as the Sudan People's Liberation Army estimated at 180,000 soldiers. The SPLM fought in the Second Sudanese Civil War against the Sudanese...

 in Southern Sudan, the Taliban in 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...

, the FARC and AUC
United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia
The United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia was created as an umbrella organization of regional far-right...

 in Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

, the Chechen
Chechen people
Chechens constitute the largest native ethnic group originating in the North Caucasus region. They refer to themselves as Noxçi . Also known as Sadiks , Gargareans, Malkhs...

 rebels and the Karen National Liberation Army
Karen National Liberation Army
The Karen National Liberation Army is the military branch of the Karen National Union , which campaigns for the self-determination of the Karen people of Burma. The KNLA has been fighting the Burmese government since 1949....

, the Karen National Union
Karen National Union
The Karen National Union is a political organisation with an armed wing, the Karen National Liberation Army that represents the Karen people of Burma. It operates in Eastern Burma, and has underground networks in other areas of Burma where Karen people live. In Karen, this Karen area is called...

 and the Free Burma Rangers
Free Burma Rangers
The Free Burma Rangers are a mainly Christian pro-active, pro-democracy humanitarian group who work throughout Burma but concentrate primarily on the heavily forested border region, delivering emergency medical assistance to sick and injured internally displaced people, or IDP's; a consequence of...

 in Burma

His access and interviews initially were to create The World's Most Dangerous Places
The World's Most Dangerous Places
Robert Young Pelton's The World's Most Dangerous Places is a frequently updated handbook written by Pelton and an unusual crew of contributors. Although it is not meant to be used as an actual travel guide, like Frommer's, the book's advice to staying alive and the facts about the world's most...

. His unusual and death-defying efforts to get this access soon then morphed into his TV series and then into a series of other books and film projects.

Pelton has shown how he gets access and world exclusive interviews in his TV series The World's Most Dangerous Places for the Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...

.

Pelton has also investigated from the inside the drug business in Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

 and Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

, mafia
Mafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...

 in Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...

 and Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

, and bounty hunting in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

.

A front page New York Times article in March 2010 and other articles in the independent Mother Jones Magazine and the Washington Post noted that Pelton was involved in providing a significant amount of high level insight, access and advice to the senior ISAF
ISAF
ISAF may refer to:* International Sailing Federation, the world governing body for Olympic and other competitive sailing.* International Security Assistance Force, the NATO-led security mission operating in Afghanistan since 2001....

 command on Afghanistan and Pakistan via a subscription website similar to his IraqSlogger venture in Iraq. In one case Pelton noted that a video he had been given was used to strike insurgents in Pakistan. The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...

 corrected its assertions that Pelton was a contractor two months later with follow up articles about the correction in the Washington Post, Deutsche Welle
Deutsche Welle
Deutsche Welle or DW, is Germany's international broadcaster. The service is aimed at the overseas market. It broadcasts news and information on shortwave, Internet and satellite radio on 98.7 DZFE in 30 languages . It has a satellite television service , that is available in four languages, and...

 and other outlets.

Television Series

Pelton executive produced and hosted seven one hour specials for Discovery from 1998 until 2003. According to the site The World's Most Dangerous Places (which has video clips and a timeline), this was the line up of Pelton's series:

1) "The Crescent and the Cross" - first footage of a new communist rebel group on the island of Negros (New People's Army
New People's Army
The New People's Army is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines. It was formed on March 29, 1969. The Maoist NPA conducts its armed guerrilla struggle based on the strategical line of 'protracted people's war'.The NPA exacts so called "revolutionary taxes" from business owners...

), the MILF
Moro Islamic Liberation Front
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front is an Islamist group located in the southern Philippines. It is one of two Islamic militant groups, the other being the Abu Sayyaf, that are fighting against Government of the Philippines...

, pirates, a Crucifixion and Pelton tracks down the most wanted man in the Philippines, the man who killed Special Forces legend Nick Rowe
James N. Rowe
James Nicholas "Nick" Rowe was a United States Army officer and one of only thirty-four American prisoners of war to escape captivity during the Vietnam War...



2) "The Lion of the Panjshir" - Pelton enters Afghanistan to find Ahmed Shah Massoud
Ahmed Shah Massoud
Ahmad Shah Massoud was a Kabul University engineering student turned military leader who played a leading role in driving the Soviet army out of Afghanistan, earning him the name Lion of Panjshir. His followers call him Āmir Sāhib-e Shahīd...

 and then he enters the war on both sides. First with the Northern Alliance
Northern Alliance
The Afghan Northern Alliance is a military-political umbrella organization created by the Islamic State of Afghanistan in 1996.Northern Alliance may also refer to:*Northern Alliance , a Canadian white supremacist group...

 and then the feared Taliban

3) "Home of the Brave" - A journey through America on a motorcycle to find rebels, revolutionaries and militias. Pelton visits with country & western singer Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...

, native American activist Russell Means
Russell Means
Russell Charles Means is an Oglala Sioux activist for the rights of Native American people. He became a prominent member of the American Indian Movement after joining the organisation in 1968, and helped organize notable events that attracted national and international media coverage...

, motorcycle icon Peter Fonda
Peter Fonda
Peter Henry Fonda is an American actor. He is the son of Henry Fonda, brother of Jane Fonda, and father of Bridget and Justin Fonda...

 and finds an American jihadi Aukai Collins
Aukai Collins
Aukai Collins, born on February 13, 1974 is also known as "Aqil Collins" is an American of Irish descent who converted to Islam and fought with Islamic Chechen irregulars of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria...

 who trained in terrorist training camps run by Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...



4) "Inside Afghanistan" - In his first post 9/11 show Pelton re-enters 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...

, this time he is only outside witness to war with a Special Forces team that fights on horseback with a brutal warlord, General Rashid Dostum
Abdul Rashid Dostum
Abdul Rashid Dostum is a former pro-Soviet fighter during the Soviet war in Afghanistan and is considered by many to be the leader of Afghanistan's Uzbek community and the party Junbish-e Milli-yi Islami-yi Afghanistan...

. He is in the battle of Qali Jangi and finds an American jihadi named John Walker Lindh
John Walker Lindh
John Phillip Walker Lindh is a United States citizen who was captured as an enemy combatant during the United States' 2001 invasion of Afghanistan. He is now serving a 20-year prison sentence in connection with his participation in Afghanistan's Taliban army...

, introducing the world to the first American al Qaeda member ever interviewed on the battlefield

5) "Inside Liberia" - Pelton enters a little known war in which he is surrounded by armed child soldiers in a brutal fight to the death. The rag tag LURD rebels and Pelton's group is surrounded by the violent forces of Charles Taylor. Pelton becomes close to the Small Boys Unit, a group of child soldiers and we meet "Survival" a 5 year old gun toting killer who befriends Pelton

6) "Inside Colombia" - Pelton is the first outside to interview and meets with the leaders Manuel Marulanda
Manuel Marulanda
Pedro Antonio Marín Marín , known by his "nom de guerre" Manuel Marulanda Vélez, was the main leader of the FARC-EP...

, Raúl Reyes
Raúl Reyes
Luis Edgar Devia Silva , better known by his nom de guerre Raúl Reyes, was a Secretariat member, spokesperson, and advisor to the Southern Bloc of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-EP...

, Mono Jojoy, Alfonso Cano
Alfonso Cano
Guillermo León Sáenz Vargas , more commonly known by his nom de guerre Alfonso Cano was the commander of the militant group known as Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia...

 of the deadly left wing FARC rebel group. Barely escaping being kidnapped by Mono Jojoy at a drunken party, Pelton then switches sides and searches for the right wing AUC
United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia
The United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia was created as an umbrella organization of regional far-right...

 death squads. While waiting he provides a rare inside view on the cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...

 trade from growing to picking to processing the final product

7) "Kidnapped" - Pelton intended to be back from vacation to film a show about 9/11 in America but was kidnapped. His footage of the brutal kidnap is interwoven with previous trips to Grozny
Grozny
Grozny is the capital city of the Chechen Republic, Russia. The city lies on the Sunzha River. According to the preliminary results of the 2010 Census, the city had a population of 271,596; up from 210,720 recorded in the 2002 Census. but still only about two-thirds of 399,688 recorded in the 1989...

, Chechnya
Chechnya
The Chechen Republic , commonly referred to as Chechnya , also spelled Chechnia or Chechenia, sometimes referred to as Ichkeria , is a federal subject of Russia . It is located in the southeastern part of Europe in the Northern Caucasus mountains. The capital of the republic is the city of Grozny...

 where he interviews a captured Russian spy Aleksey Galkin
Aleksey Galkin
Alexey Viktorovich Galkin is a former Russian GRU officer. A senior lieutenant of the GRU, Alexei Galkin said, whilst being tortured by Chechen separatists, commanded by Abu Movsaev, that the apartment bombing in Buynaksk were organized by a team of twelve GRU officers and ordered by GRU director...

, then to Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...

 where a young terrorist puts a bomb under Pelton's table at the Kampala Speke Hotel
Kampala Speke Hotel
-Location:The hotel is located in the heart of Kampala, at 7-9 Nile Avenue, on Nakasero Hill, close to the Grand Imperial Hotel and the Kampala Sheraton Hotel. This location is close to banks, shopping arcades and offices, in the middle of Kampala's central business district...

 seriously injuring a number of patrons. Pelton then spends a long bloody night in Kampala, Uganda at other bomb sites trying to save shattered victims before heading to meet the SPLA in Southern Sudan and finally Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

 in which Pelton's journey inside the drug war is cut short when he is hit and seriously injured by a car while riding his motorcycle on a mountain road

Although the WMDP series under Discovery's Mike Cheskin were renewed for another 8 shows, Pelton's series of specials were cancelled by Discovery after Pelton left for Iraq. The DVD versions are available on Come Back Alive

Documentaries

Pelton produced "House of War" with award winning documentary director Paul Yule
Paul Yule
Paul Harris Yule is a photographer and film maker.Born in South Africa his family emigrated to England when he was 8 years old. After studying at Aldenham School and Oxford University he became an acclaimed photojournalist and documentary film maker, founding Berwick Universal Pictures in London in...

 to document the largest and most bloody battle in Operation Enduring Freedom, the Battle of Qala-i-Jangi
Battle of Qala-i-Jangi
The Battle of Qala-i-Jangi took place between November 25 and December 1, 2001, in Northern Afghanistan. It began with the uprising of foreign Taliban prisoners held at Qala-i-Jangi fortress, and escalated into one of the bloodiest engagements of the War in Afghanistan...

. Pelton went to Iraq to cover the war for ABC Investigative and then led a search for a find of chemical tipped rockets for CBS's 60 Minutes
60 Minutes
60 Minutes is an American television news magazine, which has run on CBS since 1968. The program was created by producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation....

. Pelton eventually chose to stay along the Syrian border with insurgents and later document evidence of mass grave
Mass grave
A mass grave is a grave containing multiple number of human corpses, which may or may not be identified prior to burial. There is no strict definition of the minimum number of bodies required to constitute a mass grave, although the United Nations defines a mass grave as a burial site which...

s around the country, traveling in a red Bentley
Bentley
Bentley Motors Limited is a British manufacturer of automobiles founded on 18 January 1919 by Walter Owen Bentley known as W.O. Bentley or just "W O". Bentley had been previously known for his range of rotary aero-engines in World War I, the most famous being the Bentley BR1 as used in later...

 previously owned by Uday Hussein
Uday Hussein
Uday Saddam Hussein al-Tikriti , was the eldest son of Saddam Hussein from his first wife, Sajida Talfah. He was the brother of Qusay Hussein. Uday was for several years seen as the heir apparent of his father; however, Uday lost his place in the line of succession due to his erratic behavior and...

.

Pelton would return to Iraq in late 2004 to live with a Blackwater USA
Blackwater USA
Xe Services LLC, better known by its former names, Blackwater USA and Blackwater Worldwide, is a private military company founded in 1997 by Erik Prince and Al Clark.. Xe is currently the largest of the U.S. State Department's three private security contractors...

 security team running Route Irish in Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...

 while researching his book Licensed to Kill, Hired Guns in the War on Terror.

National Geographic TV hired Pelton to go inside the world of private security contractors for the film Iraq: Guns For Hire.

Pelton continues to be featured in a number of upcoming documentaries on a diverse variety of subjects that range from mercenaries, child soldiers, Private military company
Private military company
A private military company or provides military and security services. These combatants are commonly known as mercenaries, though modern-day PMCs refer to their staff as security contractors, private military contractors or private security contractors, and refer to themselves as private military...

 and conflict. They are a diverse selection including "Iraq for Sale" by Robert Greenwald
Robert Greenwald
Robert Greenwald is an American film director, film producer, and political activist.-Early life:Greenwald was born and raised in New York City, the son of Ruth and Harold Greenwald. He attended the city's High School of Performing Arts...

, Shadow Company
Shadow Company
Shadow Company is a documentary directed by Nick Bicanic and Jason Bourque and narrated by Gerard Butler. It is an introduction to the mercenary and private military company industry, concentrating on the role the industry has been playing in recent conflicts...

 by Nick Bicanic, "Weapons of Mass Deception" by Danny Schechter
Danny Schechter
Danny Schechteris a television producer, independent filmmaker, blogger, and media critic who writes and lectures frequently about the media in the United States and worldwide. He specializes in investigative journalism and producing programming about the interfaces among human rights, journalism,...

, "Children at War" and "Bounty Hunting" by Bobby Williams
Bobby Williams
- External links :* at RollTide.com...

 as well as news documentaries and interviews by Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera is an independent broadcaster owned by the state of Qatar through the Qatar Media Corporation and headquartered in Doha, Qatar...

, CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...

, Dan Rather
Dan Rather
Daniel Irvin "Dan" Rather, Jr. is an American journalist and the former news anchor for the CBS Evening News. He is now managing editor and anchor of the television news magazine Dan Rather Reports on the cable channel HDNet. Rather was anchor of the CBS Evening News for 24 years, from March 9,...

 and many others.

News

Although Pelton has worked as a war correspondent for news organizations (CBS 60 Minutes, CNN and ABC Investigative) and in published and featured by by many others. He does not view himself as a journalist. He has been involved in the creation of three privately funded "ground network" news sites "IraqSlogger" Iraq, "AfPax" Afghanistan and the "Somalia Report" Somalia . His efforts to bring ground truth from war zones directly to readers and bypass the media have been controversial and covered in depth by news organizations and with front page articles in the New York Times (including a retraction by the publication and others for incorrectly accusing Pelton as a government contractor).

Articles about the reporting errors in the New York Times article were published by the Washington Post and other international publications.

Personal Appearances

Pelton has promoted his controversial agenda of experiential education in selected venues like TED
TED (conference)
TED is a global set of conferences owned by the private non-profit Sapling Foundation, formed to disseminate "ideas worth spreading"....

, colleges, television and long form radio like Coast to Coast
Coast to Coast AM
Coast to Coast AM is a North American late-night syndicated radio talk show that deals with a variety of topics, but most frequently ones that relate to either the paranormal or conspiracy theories. It was created by Art Bell and is distributed by Premiere Radio Networks. The program currently...

. His view that people must take responsibility for their own education, safety and insight and form their own opinions outside of the media and political environment has created a following at the Black Flag Cafe.

Adventure and Survival Gear

In 2011 Pelton designed and launched a line of adventure and survival gear starting with the DPx HEST (Hostile Environment Survival Tool) in a fixed version and a folding version called the DPx HEST/F (for folding).

See also

  • House of War - Pelton worked with Paul Yule
    Paul Yule
    Paul Harris Yule is a photographer and film maker.Born in South Africa his family emigrated to England when he was 8 years old. After studying at Aldenham School and Oxford University he became an acclaimed photojournalist and documentary film maker, founding Berwick Universal Pictures in London in...

     to produce this award winning look at the Battle of Qali Jangi
  • Weapons of Mass Deception
    Weapons of mass deception
    Weapons of mass deception is pejorative expression used by some people to describe U.S. President George W. Bush's claim that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction as justification for the war on Iraq....

    - Danny Schechter
    Danny Schechter
    Danny Schechteris a television producer, independent filmmaker, blogger, and media critic who writes and lectures frequently about the media in the United States and worldwide. He specializes in investigative journalism and producing programming about the interfaces among human rights, journalism,...

    's look at the buildup to the Iraq War features Pelton
  • Shadow Company
    Shadow Company
    Shadow Company is a documentary directed by Nick Bicanic and Jason Bourque and narrated by Gerard Butler. It is an introduction to the mercenary and private military company industry, concentrating on the role the industry has been playing in recent conflicts...

    - A feature length documentary by Nick Bicanic with footage and interviews of Pelton on mercenaries and contractors.
  • Iraq: Guns for Hire - Pelton executive produced this National Geographic Explorer
    National Geographic Explorer
    National Geographic Explorer is an American documentary television series that originally premiered on Nickelodeon on April 7, 1985, after having been produced as a less costly and intensive alternative to PBS's National Geographic Specials by Pittsburgh station WQED...

     look at life and death inside the gritty world of private security contractors in Iraq. Blackwater, HART and other companies gave Pelton exclusive access
  • Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers
    Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers
    Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers is a 2006 documentary film made by Robert Greenwald and Brave New Films about the ongoing Iraq War and the behavior of companies with no-bid contracts working in Iraq....

    - A documentary by Robert Greenwald
    Robert Greenwald
    Robert Greenwald is an American film director, film producer, and political activist.-Early life:Greenwald was born and raised in New York City, the son of Ruth and Harold Greenwald. He attended the city's High School of Performing Arts...

     with footage and interviews of Pelton on mercenaries and contractors
  • Time Machine: Child Warriors - In Bill Brummel's History Channel documentary, Pelton discusses his experiences in Liberia with the Small Boys Unit and other child soldiers
  • Bounty Hunters - Robert William's documentary for History Channel about high risk bounty hunters. Pelton details his experience in cross border snatch and grabs of wanted fugitives


Robert Young Pelton has been interviewed and his footage featured in a number of documentaries about battle's he has been witnessed, groups he has lived with and the private military industry

External links

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