The Associated Press Monday, March 31, 2003; 2:37 PM Geraldo Rivera is denying reports that he's been kicked out of Iraq by U.S. military officials for giving out too much information about troop locations. Meanwhile NBC fired journalist Peter Arnett on Monday, saying it was wrong for him to give an interview with state-run Iraqi TV in which he said the American-led coalition's initial plan for the war had failed because of Iraq's resistance. Reporting on the Fox News Channel, Rivera said he's actually further inside Iraq than he'd been before. He was standing alongside U.S. troops in a building he identified as Iraq's ruling party headquarters in a city south of Baghdad. Rivera said it sounds like the rumors that he'd been kicked out were spread by people he described as "rats" at NBC, where he used to work. He said his rivals "can't compete fair and square on the battlefield" - so they try to stab him in the back. But in the end, he insists, "quality journalism wins out." Rivera said he has a "great relationship" with the troops in the 101st Airborne - and that he plans to "march into Baghdad alongside them." Sources at U.S. Central Command have said that Rivera was asked to leave because he revealed tactical information. Arnett, on NBC's "Today" show on Monday, said he was sorry for his statement but added "I said over the weekend what we all know about the war." "I want to apologize to the American people for clearly making a misjudgment," the New Zealand-born Arnett said. He said he would try to leave Baghdad now, joking "there's a small island in the South Pacific that I've inhabited that I'll try to swim to." |
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That scares the shit out of me |
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That scares the shit out of me" Hey, at least he's not slouching towards Bethlehem. |
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