Peter Arnett, who in 1991 covered the war for CNN from Baghdad and who is covering this war from Baghdad for National Geographic TV and NBC, has appeared on Iraqi state TV trashing the US. He said,” The first war plan has failed,” Iraqi resistance fighters are galvanizing anti-war protesters in the US, and so on. Basically, he is giving “independent” foreign verification for Saddam’s propaganda. In my book, that’s “aid and comfort.”
In my outrage, I sent the following email to National Geographic:
I am writing to express my outrage at Peter Arnett’s interview on Iraqi television. As a journalist, I think Arnett has crossed the line in criticizing the US on Iraqi TV in wartime. He has given “aid and comfort to the enemy,” the dictatorial regime of Saddam Hussein. Sure, he has a right to his opinion, but his appearance shows a lack of judgment and a lack of professional ethics that tell me I don’t want to read or listen to any of his reporting, and his continued employment by the National Geographic Society would show a similar lack of judgment and ethics. He has crossed the line. I hope the Society shows good judgment by terminating his employment. I hope so because otherwise I would have to reconsider my further association with the Society.
If anyone’s interested in registering their opinion, especially Society members, I sent my email to:
National Geographic TV and National Geographic News.
Update: Here’s more from The Command Post. And here’s the Associated Press’s watered-down version of it on the Fox News site.
