Peter Arnett is a Scumbag

JU,

No, I don't work at Fermi or Argonne... I fly R/C model airplanes at both sites. It was mostly a dig about the IRAQI drone aircraft; I fly bigger models than that. There drones are made out of balsa wood and a chain saw engine, which is very similar to what our models use.

Fermi's R/C field is on Government Land, the field at Argonne is a Forest Preserve.

Your entertainment is completely privately funded, I can’t stand cable news coverage of the war. It's more like sportscenter than war coverage. The way the reporters are embedded with the troops.

 

Well, whatta ya know, we definitely agree on that!

 

Wot a tool.

 

why are you guys getting so pi$$ed with those comments...

BFD....maybe you should boycott the producers and TV station which carried it.... they have the editoral power over everything which was broadcast, including everything which arnett said...

 

ROTFLMAO!

Dude! I about fell out of my chair!

That damn near made my day! (And it's been a shitty one...)

Word!

 

FYI, that's me saying "Word." I traded a picture of "Frankie the Finger" with "Mr. Daytona" to Dean Adams for that picture of me with Tony G.

 

"why are you guys getting so pi$$ed with those comments..."

If the comments Arnett made cause a single Iraqi soldier to fight harder, the result could be increased Coalition casualties. You don't say things in wartime that could cause harm to your own soldiers. You just don't.

There may be some trouble on some people's part with the concept of the word "enemy". It is an old term but it means the people TRYING TO KILL OUR PEOPLE.

If there is just one additional Coalition soldier killed or hurt because of his comments then he is a criminal in my eyes. I believe the crime is treason.

 

Damn your lost, how did the NBC/MSNBC/NGEO producers have editorial control over statements made by Arnett to Iraqi state TV then broadcast on Arab networks?

And for those that say the comments have no consequence, they give false hope and embolden the opposition to fight harder “SEE WE ARE WINNING” the opposition commanders will use this to convince their troops they are somehow actually winning, if they fight one additional day or hour AMERICANS WILL DIE AS A RESULT OF WHAT HE SAID.......

He is a slug, he apologizes on NBC admitting it was an egregious error, then states the opposite to the Mirror when they hire him, that truly defines him and his opinion.

WHEN was it said by anyone that the war would be over in 12 days? When in the history of war has so many been in conflict with such a lopsided result? Less than 100 coalition killed (50% in non-combat related deaths). Those conducting this war only said that we would win and that we would do so decisively, it has been intimated that it might go quickly depending on the actions of the Iraqi people and their assistance. Considering the scope of this operation and the numbers of troops in battle what is quickly?

This "slowed pace rumor" is nothing more than a perception generated by the press and those opposed to the war in order to have an issue to harp about. If we were pushing ahead at a faster pace they would be "raising questions" about the wisdom of such a strategy and that it is endangering the whole operation. It is absolutely a “damned if you do damned if you don’t scenario”.

It is an attempt to exert their opinions as a controlling influence, these talking heads cannot stand to be excluded from the front position in this war. What qualifies any of them to comment? That is why we have the leaders in the position to run this war, they have trained for this their whole lives, let the professional soldiers do their jobs and the rest of you shut the hell up.

Those that attack the progress and are un-supportive of this war and will undermine it no matter what the plan or how successful result. When it is over watch them look for the negatives rather than attempt to support or build the positives.

For those of you that cannot understand the true nature of this, just imagine the same people that are micro analyzing this war taking an oversight of our racing. They would outlaw it because it is to dangerous, has no socially redeeming quality and is a waste of your (our) discretionary income. Our racetracks should be closed down and the land used to build low income housing. Races would be decided by a Dynamometer contest.

Ever notice that the questions of the war strategy are posed from invisible ""some have said" "our experts tell us" who are these invisible sources? If they are experts why do you not put them on and let them present the case? It is likely that some are private hypothesis about what could go wrong that are "converted or corrupted" and presented as facts, these are very different things.

I am not in favor of war, but there are times it HAS TO HAPPEN. If it takes 30,45 days or 60 days this is SHORT decisive war. If careful execution saves even one civilian or coalition troop it is worth any additional time.

 

WELL PUT!

 

I agree that Arnette made some stupid and shortsighted comments but its not treason. There's no law against saying something stupid and inappropriate in Arnette's case or for Al Jazeera to broadcast this chump to support their position. Didn't Trent Lott recently commit the same type of professional suicide? Heck, our stateside TV does the same thing on local issues. The reality is that as long as Arnette didn't give any sensitive data (anything deemed "Secure") then he's done nothing criminal. That certainly doesn't mean that he can't be taken out behind the woodshed though.

 

Did you catch Vince's performance last night? Rousts all of the press out of their bunks at 3:00 AM and announces only what reporters have already leaked (after the Pentagon specifically asked the press to keep a lid on the breaking news), leaving out the details of the POW capture. I bet they were PO'ed.

 

Morris, you aren't reading what several are trying to say to you. If Arnett is telling the Iraqi's that we are in trouble then the case can be made that he is helping them and harming us. I am no expert on treason, but I'd say that is pretty damn close.

The actual aid to them is miniscule. Whether 100 Iraqi soldiers fight a little harder or a LOT harder will not make any difference to the grand outcome. The harm to us is real, though, and will be felt in every individual casualty we take.

The enemy's moral is an important part of how long this war takes and of how many casualties we take in winning. It could be over now if there were a general mutiny. The quicker they realize that further resistance is pointless, the quicker this will be over, and the fewer people on BOTH sides hat will be killed or hurt.

Again, if there is just one additional Coalition soldier killed or hurt because of his comments then he has helped the enemy and hurt us. That is treason.

 

Joss, I don't disagree with you on a moral level but on a legal level he has not committed treason. As egregious his errors are, they pale in my mind to "Hanoi" Jane Fonda who has never suffered from more than the fury of veterans. So like it or not, Arnette will be free to walk among us if he dares.

 

Joe, I'm a fleet manager and you are an engineer. How can we argue about the legal specifics of treason?

 

Agreed! Its just intellectual debate and I've got thick skin. I spent 4 years in the Air Force and enjoyed a summer in Saudi Arabia as part of my duties. I've had an interest in the middle east ever since and try to stay pretty informed. This is what draws me into these discussions but, as you point out, I'm no lawyer. Its just that, engineering wise, there ain't much to talk about!

 

Come on now, at least make some logical correlation in your analogy, Yes Mr. Lott said some things that were ruinous to his career, and yes what Mr. Arnett said was also ruinous to his.

Your analogy is like comparing what the terrorist did on 911 “crashing the planes” to a mechanic “crashing a plane” by making an improper or faulty repair. They both crashed the plane but they are WORLDS apart as far as any analogy. This is what I find most disturbing in how many people see things, there seems no attempt to weigh the true gravity of an issue.

 

I ASSumed that readers of my post would relate the two situations by the fact that both men played to their audience when they made their fatal remarks/mistakes. I was speaking of both instances in a professional sense. Sorry if my line of reasoning was unclear. I bet both got alot of smiles and praise while they were speaking. But in the aftermath both must realize their mistakes. Arnette made a concilliatory apology before satisfying his next master who is staunchly anti-war. It seems he hasn't learned. I'll quit making analogies to show I've learned.

BTW, my friends with email access that are doing the dirty work don't know anything about this. Here's one pissed off letter that is pertinent from my friend who is an EA-6B pilot:

Its not so much our own media that we need to worry about but the way the Arab media is publicizing the war. They glorify suicide bombers and will show file footage of a B-52 either taking off or dropping its payload which may actually be from as far back as the Vietnam war and then cut to a picture of dead/injured civilians as if to permeate the idea that we purposefully targeted the civilians. You couldnt put that idea past any other group of people on the whole fucking planet and yet these jackasses readily believe that we would do such a thing. They are brainwashed which makes it difficult for me to to just write them off. One thing is for certain though, the Kuwati's are stoked about us disposing of this little tick to the North.

 

I did not mean to come over to harsh, I get frustrated with at times with analogies/comparisons that seem to say "its ok because someone else did tghis or that"

I do believe strongly what Mr. Arnett did was far beyond poor judgement