Peter Arnett, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who worked with The Associated Press and CNN, passed away on 17 December in Newport Beach, California, at the age of 91. Arnett’s daughter, Elsa, confirmed that he died of prostate cancer, The New York Times reported.
All about Peter Arnett
Arnett had a glorious career in journalism for more than 45 years. He covered 17 wars in Asia, made television documentaries, and wrote several books, including Saigon Has Fallen: A Wartime Recollection and We’re Taking Fire. Arnett also interviewed Al Qaeda’s leader, Osama bin Laden, and the former President of Iraq, Saddam Hussein.
Arnett was given the prestigious Pulitzer Prize in 1966 for his detailed coverage of the Vietnam War for The Associated Press. Following his departure from AP, Arnett covered conflicts for CNN.
Peter Arnett’s Vietnam coverage
Arnett’s courage and integrity are revered in the field of journalism. Veteran journalist Robert D. McFadden has defined Arnett as a “renegade who defied authority, took calculated risks, distrusted officials and reached battlefields to see things for himself”.
McFadden recalled that Arnett was often accused of producing stories that “sympathized with America’s enemies in Vietnam and Iraq”.
Arnett’s Vietnam stories were so influential that even President Lyndon B. Johnson and Gen. William Westmoreland, commander of the American forces in Vietnam, “tried unsuccessfully to have him removed” from the battlefield, as per The New York Times.
However, journalists like David Halberstam, Neil Sheehan, and Malcolm W. Browne defended Arnett and lauded his contributions. They hailed his original writing, eloquently simple language, and sincere analyses.
Osama bin Laden warned Peter Arnett of the 9/11 attack
In 1997, as a CNN correspondent, Arnett interviewed bin Laden somewhere in Afghanistan. He questioned the Al Qaeda leader about his jihad against the United States.
“You have declared a jihad against the United States. Can you tell us why?” Arnett asked. “The US government has committed acts that are extremely unjust, hideous, and criminal through its support of the Israeli occupation of Palestine,” bin Laden had told him.
Speaking of the jihad, bin Laden warned Arnett of the 9/11 attack. “You’ll see them and hear about them in the media, God willing,” he told Peter, as per The New York Times report.
Arnett lost his CNN job due to a ‘stupid misjudgment’
Arnett joined CNN in 1981, when the house was a start-up. He covered wars in El Salvador, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Grenada and Angola for the organization. Arnett anchored a documentary titled Operation Tailwind, which claimed the United States used poison sarin gas to kill American defectors in the Vietnam War. CNN fired him in 2003. Arnett branded the decisions as “a stupid misjudgment”.
FAQs
What was Peter Arnett’s cause of death?
Arnett died of prostate cancer.
When did Peter Arnett receive the Pulitzer Prize?
Arnett received the Pulitzer Prize in 1966.
