This Media Life

Saving Private Arnett

And then there's the competition. In the first moments of the Afghanistan war, Roger Ailes poached CNN's man in Afghanistan -- did the deal over a satellite phone. Kept upping the price. It is possible, of course, that Arnett could be bought -- which is sort of the point.

His expectation is that, out of fear and practicality and Pentagon pressure, the U.S. news networks will flee Baghdad -- reporters will relocate to U.S. press camps (last week, CNN was being threatened with expulsion from Iraq) -- leaving Arnett's as one of the few recognizable American voices and him as one of the few talking heads who can walk the walk. "One reason I can do this," he told me, "is that I've done it enough to make a reasonable assessment of survivability." Then CameraPlanet will retail Arnett out to domestic and international news outlets.

Or it will happen in an entirely different way. Nothing like anyone expects -- except for some new, idiotic, blithering news-channel heads. You don't really get the sense from Arnett that he thinks war and media will fall into his hands so perfectly again.

Still, he obviously has to go back. He's not only the last war reporter but inexorably linked to Iraq -- just the way the Bushes are. It's ritual.