Judgment call

Jack Shafer weighs in on the sacking of Peter Arnett. He thinks it was perfectly right that Arnett be dropped by NBC (and National Geographic), but not because Arnett voiced his opinions, or even that he talked with Iraqi officials, but because he’s a credulous idiot. It’s not that he did something ethically and morally wrong, but that he showed he’s an incompetent journalist, and shouldn’t be on the payroll.

If we are to construct a case for Arnett’s dismissal, let’s use his advanced stupidity and gullibility as the posts and beams, and not the fact that he, like most of us, has opinions and spoke his mind.