Arnett.

Peter Arnett falls into the Mirror's tub of margarine, and spends his first column crying about being fired.

THIS WAR IS NOT WORKING

At least not for Peter. Heh.

I am still in shock and awe at being fired.

Obligatory and yet ill-advised play on words.

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 am an enormous threat to the US government because I am a shining beacon of truth and light." Right. The US government didn't fire you, Pete.

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?

Because you lent yourself to a despotic regime for propaganda purposes like the whore you are?

Because I stated the obvious to Iraqi television; that the US war timetable has fallen by the wayside.

Like you were privy to the timetable.

I have made those comments to television stations around the world and now I'm making them again in the Daily Mirror.

I'm not angry. I'm not crying. But I'm also awed by this media phenomenon.

You are angry. You are whining. And you have surpassed your shocknawe quota. Knock it off.

The right-wing media and politicians are looking for any opportunity to be critical of the reporters who are here, whatever their nationality. I made the misjudgment which gave them the opportunity to do so.

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.

That was my Waterloo - bang!

I have not yet decided what to do, whether to pack my bags and leave Baghdad or stay on.

I'll decide what to do today, right now I'm chewing on what has happened to me.

And chewing. And chewing. And chewing. Because for Arnett, that's what the entire exercise is about--what has happened to him, and how unfair it is. Not what he did, not what repercussions what he did might have, just his Christlike persecution--by the government, implicitly--for trying to enlighten the rest of us.

There's more. I don't have the energy to slog through it. Arnett sucks more as a writer than he does as a talking head.

[Link via LGF. I don't read the Mirror. Really. I do have some standards.]