The Russian resides in southern Russia, the American in southern California. The Russian has earned accolades for his reporting on the war in Chechnya and terrorist activities in neighboring Dagestan, the American for his reporting on the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. They were brought together by Open World on a late-July afternoon in Los Angeles to compare notes and learn from each other.
The two men are Ruslan Gusarov and John Miller. Gusarov is chief of the Dagestan bureau of NTV, one of Russia's top television stations and the first to be privately established. He was visiting Los Angeles in July as part of a rule of law-themed delegation hosted for Open World by Friendship Force International.
Miller who from 1997 to 2002 worked for ABC News as a correspondent and then as a 20/20 co-anchor, now heads the Counter-Terrorism Bureau at the Los Angeles Police Department. Like Gusarov, Miller became on expert on terrorism through his reporting, even co-authoring a best-selling book on the subject called The Cell.
Summarizing their conversation as an "interesting discourse on where the future of terrorism is going," Miller stated, "Ruslan reminded me of a lot of journalists I've known: dedicated, courageous ... goes to dangerous places, and talks to dangerous people. He's succeeded in part through the force of personality and the grit of confidence."
Miller described to Gusarov the mission of his bureau, how it is structured and how it interacts with other agencies, such as the FBI, CIA, and Department of Homeland Security. Apart from the talk on terrorism, following the meeting, Gusarov was also able to ride in an LAPD squad car with regular officers on patrol and see for himself the "straight story on the street."
Reflecting recently on his Open World visit, Gusarov e-mailed from Dagestan, "I think that the Open World Program is a great idea in fostering understanding among countries and peoples. The form and content of the program help you get a rather clear picture of the country you are visiting, of the people, of — at least partially — their culture and way of thinking, the sociopolitical structure of the country, its history and traditions — and all that in just a matter of days." And Gusarov says he plans to keep in touch with Miller.
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