Posted on 03/30/2003 5:16:21 AM PST by Oldeconomybuyer
CAIRO, Egypt, Mar 30, 2003 (AP WorldStream via COMTEX) -- A former CNN journalist told state-run Iraqi TV that U.S. war planners had misjudged Iraq's determination to stand up to the American-led coalition's invasion force.
"Clearly, the American war plans misjudged the determination of the Iraqi forces," Peter Arnett said during the interview aired Sunday by Iraq's satellite television station and monitored by The Associated Press in Egypt.
Arnett, who won a Pulitzer Prize reporting in Vietnam for The Associated Press, garnered much of his prominence from covering the 1991 Gulf War in Baghdad. He is now reporting from the Iraqi capital for NBC.
During his prerecorded Baghdad studio interview, which was translated by a green military uniform-wearing Iraqi anchor, Arnett said the Bush administration had ignored his and other reports about "the determination of the Iraqi armed forces and the government willingness to fight for their country."
It was not immediately clear when the interview was conducted.
Arnett was the on-air reporter of the 1998 CNN report that accused American forces of using sarin gas on a Laotian village in 1970 to kill U.S. defectors. Two CNN employees were sacked and Arnett was reprimanded over the report, which the station later retracted. Arnett ultimately left the network.
Arnett established close contacts with Iraqi government officials during his several visits to Iraq, but was unable to reflect anti-government sentiments through private interviews with Iraqis without the presence of Information Ministry minders.
President George Bush, the current U.S. leader's father, accused Arnett of being a "traitor" over what he considered were pro-Iraqi reports during the 1991 conflict.
"Whenever I gave a report (in 1991) of civilian casualties or civilian installations destroyed and casualties created, the Pentagon and Bush administration got very angry and called me traitor," he said on Iraqi Television.
Of the current conflict, Arnett also said the current U.S. invasion plan had failed and that American military strategists are now "trying to write another war plan."
Arnett got downright sepulcheral in his predictions of 'tragic loss of life', 'there have to be civilian casualties', 'I'll find out the extent of civilian casualties in the morning after daybreak', etc.
There were no civilian casualties. I quit listening to PMSNBC after that drooling bloodthirsty commentary by Arnett...and sadly, haven't read National Geographic since about halfway though the Clinton administration due to the rabid leftist slant.
Once again folks:
SCIENCE AND POLITICS DO NOT MIX!
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Veteran television correspondent Peter Arnett, who has been covering the war with Iraq for NBC News through an arrangement with National Geographic Explorer, went on Iraq's state television network and praised Iraq's treatment of journalists.
In a transcript of Arnett's comments during the interview, he seemed to praise Iraq's Ministry of Information, saying it has "allowed me and many other reporters to cover 12 whole years since the Gulf War with a degree which we appreciate and that is continuing today."
(This story and related background will be available on The Journal's Web site, WSJ.com.)
Arnett's comments are sure to stir controversy since some media outlets, including CNN, Arnett's former employer, have been booted out of Baghdad. Also, two reporters from the Tribune Co.-owned (TRB) newspaper Newsday are missing after being expelled from Baghdad and the paper has said it believes its journalists are being held by the Iraqi government.
After speaking with Arnett, General Electric Co.'s (GE) NBC said in a statement that "Peter Arnett and his crew have risked their lives to bring the American people up-to-date, straight-forward information on what is happening in and around Baghdad." The network said Arnett's "impromptu interview with Iraqi TV was done as a professional courtesy and was similar to other interviews he has done with media outlets from around the world. His remarks were analytical in nature and were not intended to be anything more."
Arnett appeared on MSNBC, the cable news channel NBC owns with Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), Sunday afternoon with coverage of coalition attacks. Arnett isn't employed by NBC but the network struck a deal with National Geographic, whose program "Explorer" airs on MSNBC, for the correspondent to provide war coverage for the network. He is one of the few Western television reporters remaining in Baghdad providing coverage for a U.S. network.
-By Joe Flint, The Wall Street Journal; 646-232-7260; joe.flint@wsj.com Special Offer: $10 off WSJ.com for Yahoo! users. Subscribe now!
Of course, I only saw clips of his interview, as shown on Fox News Channel. So I don't know the entire context. But what I heard and saw, wasn't good.
Even CNN dropped this guy, he works for National Geographic and NBC, both of whom should be getting our emails of outrage.
He's STILL a granstanding, America hating a$$hole.
Maybe Maury and Jerry will join him!
Shock TV...Bah!
YUP and let's hope he runs into the special forces troops who remember the lies he told in the past. I'd suggest he give up his citizenship and immediately contact his buddies in France/Russia/Germany to seek asylum.
What gauls me is the protective way GE is handling all this.
"After speaking with Arnett, General Electric Co.'s (GE) NBC said in a statement that "Peter Arnett and his crew have risked their lives to bring the American people up-to-date, straight-forward information on what is happening in and around Baghdad." The network said Arnett's "impromptu interview with Iraqi TV was done as a professional courtesy and was similar to other interviews he has done with media outlets from around the world. His remarks were analytical in nature and were not intended to be anything more."
Maybe he thinks there really is no BAD press..?
His 15 minutes of fame has repeated itself..stunning, just stunning!
sw
BAH.
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