Peter Arnett

Peter Arnett (born 1934) is a New Zealand-born journalist and naturalized US citizen. Arnett worked for National Geographic magazine, and then for television. He is well known for his coverage of war, including the Vietnam War and the Gulf War. He was awarded the 1966 Pulitzer Prize in International Reporting for his work in Vietnam, where he was present from 1962 to 1975, most of the time reporting for the Associated Press news agency. He became respected as someone who did not trust anything he had not seen with his own eyes, but made several missteps in the last fifteen years that hurt his reputation and ended his American television career.

The Gulf War

Arnett worked for CNN for 18 years ending in 1999. During the Gulf War he became a household name worldwide when he became the only reporter with live coverage directly from Baghdad. Together with two other CNN journalists, Bernard Shaw and John Holliman, Arnett brought continuous coverage from Baghdad for the 16 initial intense hours of the war (January 17 1991). Even though 40 foreign journalists were present at the Al-Rashid Hotel in Baghdad at the time, only CNN possessed the means to communicate to the outside world. Very soon the other journalists left Iraq, including the two CNN colleagues, which left Peter Arnett as the sole reporter remaining there. His reports on civilian damages caused by the bombing were not received well by the coalition war administration, who by their constant use of terms like smart bombs and surgical precision had tried to project an image that civilian casualties would be at a minimum. On January 25 the White House said Arnett was used as a tool for Iraqi disinformation, while CNN received a letter from 34 Members of Congress accusing Arnett of unpatriotic journalism.

Related Topics:
CNN - 1999 - January 17 - 1991 - January 25 - White House - Congress

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The week after that start of the war, Arnett was able to obtain an uncensored interview with Saddam Hussein.

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The Gulf War became the first war seen truly live on TV, and Arnett was in many ways the sole player reporting from the "other side" for a period of five weeks.

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In March 1997, Arnett was able to interview Osama bin Laden, as the first western journalist to do so.

Related Topics:
1997 - Osama bin Laden

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