And Arnett is a good echo. He also told Iraqi TV, “the Pentagon keeps saying that the civilian casualties, particularly in Baghdad…well they are [caused by] Iraqi missiles that land amongst the people. They keep saying that, but of course the Iraqi government says they are clearly [caused by American] cruise missiles that hit the population.”
It’s healthy for a reporter to be skeptical. However, here Arnett is skeptical of the Pentagon, but not of the Iraqis. That attitude may win him support in the Iraqi Information Ministry, but it won’t win him any journalism awards.
Arnett tried to save his broadcasting job by saying he was sorry. “I want to apologize to the American people for clearly making a misjudgment,” he said on the Today show. It didn’t work. Maybe because NBC realized Arnett didn’t really mean it – as his subsequent statements proved.
On April 1 he started his new gig with the Mirror by writing, “I am still in shock and awe at being fired. And why? Because I stated the obvious to Iraqi television; that the U.S. war timetable has fallen by the wayside.” And why did he speak to the Iraqi propaganda group? “I gave an impromptu interview to Iraqi television feeling that after four months of interviewing hundreds of them it was only professional courtesy to give them a few comments.” How’s that for contrition?
Sadly, Arnett doesn’t seem to understand why he lost another TV news job. It brings back memories of 1998, when Arnett voiced the controversial, and inaccurate, “Tailwind” story for CNN. He tried to save his job then by claiming he hadn’t contributed as much as “one comma” to the report, which incorrectly accused U.S. troops of using nerve gas in Vietnam. But incompetence was not an acceptable defense, and his contract wasn’t renewed.
What’s next for Arnett? He says he’s not sure whether he’ll remain in Baghdad, or cover the war from elsewhere for the Daily Mirror. He’d do better to look in his own mirror, admit his failings as a journalist, and retire. Because at this point, the only network that’s likely to put him on the air again is Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi TV.