esire to circle the ramparts of war seeking adventure and the potent embrace of destiny.
Though less than revolutionary. even in his very first assignment in Laos, Arnett realized that the military conflict in this case not as of clash ideologies but the privileged versus the impoverished (50). Often placed in situation above his head, he proved a quick learner (55-56). He made it his ultimate mission to avoid entangling relationships with entrepreneurs and politicians, as well as to stay clear of both business enterprises and the mistresses of the power elite that would compromise his position (57).
Global politics is a strange place inhabited by super-powers like the United States locked in anaconda grips with legions of carnival-like military strongmen, often from the most impoverished places known to man. The manipulation of the press through dissemination of false information by such disparate groups as CIA and pro-communist insurgency groups is commonplace. For a journalist such as Arnett, it is a seductive world where misrepresentation and subterfuge are snares for unwitting pacts with the devil. In the past, such pacts were very necessary means to an end (covering a story) (57).
Whereas the neophyte could be seduced by political passions and tropical intrigues, early on, while others worked in tandem with governmental agencies, Arnett established a pattern of out-hustling, out-thinking other reporters to get to the story. His lack of caution and adversarial relationship with officials were all but unheard of. Also unheard of was Arnett's guerilla news gathering methods required aggressiveness and resourcefulness - methods that sometimes mimicked professional intelligence gathering. For example, when army captain Kong Lee led a short-lived military coup in Laos and shut down all forms of communication, the chain-smoking Arnett swam the mile wide Mekong River to deliver his story in Thailand (55).
Such ten...