His gaffe was small compared to Peter Arnett's treasonous tirade. You must be joking! What Arnett did was basically act as a pawn for Saddam! No real damage ....apart from showing himself to be easily susceptible to manipulation from the Iraqis!
What Geraldo did on the other hand is draw, on live TV, current US military positions AND THEN say, with etching on the sand, where the troops would move to in the following hours and what strategy they would follow! That would have easily cost some of those troops their lives, especially when you consider it was live TV and there was a big chance Iraqi generals were watching.
Geraldo, by far, made the bigger error. Through his STUPIDITY he put US lives in jeopardy. Arnett on the other hand just proved he is shifty.
Anyways I lost all respect for Geraldo after the Afghan fiascos where he showed his wrecked thought patterns. For one he carried a gun, and boasted how he would use it (the significance of that is it put other journalists, who are normally not actively shot at, in danger of being viable targets. Remember in most campaigns journalists who die are usually the victims of 'passive' causes like stray bullets, landmines, and other events that are not specifically targeted at them. However armed journalists pretending to be GI Joe can put all in the role of armed combatant).
However the main thing in afghanistan which put me off Geraldo was the whole 'bullets are flying all around me' when the nearest conflict was miles away! That showed him to be unprofessional and petty.
Anyways what geraldo did, even if it was a mistake, was worse than what Arnett did, even if Arnett meant every word.
The mere fact that there is no balance between Geraldo and Arnett tells me that this is still much ado about nothing.
The reason I say that was because there were many reports during the same time that Geraldo came on and gave his little spill. It appeared by all reports that we (the US military) wanted the Republican Guard and paramilitary to come to them, removed from their holes as they did before under the cover of the sandstorm. I, and many more, thought it was a ploy to draw them out. However I did wonder if that were the case, why no one made a big stink at the time of Geraldo giving out the info.
How is it that the info was first reported thru Reuters, CNN and MSNBC. If there is a possible security breach I would have to say it's within Centcom or DOD. That was one positive that came from this ordeal. To see where the security holes are.
What Arnett did was, from my viewpoint, more a concern due to the fact of his statements during the operational pause. There could have been negotiations in the works of widescale surrenders. But instead after that interview we heard of terrorists and busloads of individuals coming back to fight for Saddam against the Coalition. Now who really put our troops in harms way? They have both made a mistake one was traitorous in that he went on the enemy's propaganda tool and incited the enemy against us. And confessed that his writings were meant to engage those who were dissatisfied in America to continue their anti-war efforts.
But this is still much ado about nothing and to take the edge off of the Left's mouthpiece, Arnett.