Honesty: The Worst Policy
Doug Ireland, April 1, 2003
When NBC -- which is owned by General Electric, a prime
military-industrial complex contractor -- decided to fire Peter Arnett
for the thought crime of plain speaking, it was undoubtedly
responding both to pressure from the White House (which accused Arnett of
"pandering" to the Iraqis) and to the imperatives of its MSNBC
ratings chase against the gung-ho, pro-war frothers of Fox News.
What provoked Arnett's defenestration? In an interview he accorded on
Sunday to Iraqi television (which an MSNBC spokesperson initially
described as a "professional courtesy"), Arnett allowed
as how media reports of civilian casualties in Iraq "help" the
"growing challenge to President Bush about the conduct of the war
and also opposition to the war. The first war plan has failed because of
Iraqi resistance. Now they are trying to write another plan." [read
the full transcript here]
"The Americans don't want the independent journalists in Iraq."
http://www.guerrillanews.com/media/doc1452.html
THIS WAR IS NOT WORKING
Apr 1 2003
By Peter Arnett
I am still in shock and awe at being fired. There is enormous sensitivity
within the US government to reports coming out from Baghdad.
They don't want credible news organisations reporting from here because
it presents them with enormous problems.
I reported on the original bombing for NBC and we were half a mile away
from those massive explosions. Now I am really shocked that I am no
longer reporting this story for the US and awed by the fact that it
actually happened.
That overnight my successful NBC reporting career was turned to ashes.
And why?
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