Real-Life Decision Making
Sometimes, foreign correspondents have to make split-second decisions about
life-and-death situations.
It is January 1991. You are reporting on an attempted coup in Latvia, a
republic of the Soviet Union which is edging its way towards independence
from Moscow. The Black Berets -- armed troops who started the coup and murdered
Latvians in an attempt to return the country to Soviet control -- have been
defeated.
The coup in Latvia is over, but the Black Berets are still in the country.
The Latvian government has charged them with murder and is planning to send
them back to Russia.
Your editor tells you to do a story on the Black Berets. You arrange some
phone interviews with their official representatives. In order to get some
"color" for this story, you decide to have a look at the Black Beret encampment.
You hear it is safe to go there since the camp is guarded by Latvian police,
and you just want to be able to describe where the Black Berets are staying.
You walk up to the edge of the camp and, much to your surprise, there are
no Latvian police in sight. The first person you see is a man in a black beret
holding a machine gun. You realize this is your opportunity to interview a
Black Beret soldier in person. However, you also know that this man is armed
and dangerous. What do you do?