Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and war correspondent Peter Arnett has died at the age of 91, US media has reported.
Arnett won the international reporting prize in 1996 for his Vietnam War coverage at the Associated Press (AP). But he was also well known for his work at CNN, having become a household name while reporting on the first Gulf War.
His career spanned decades and covered several conflicts in countries including Iraq, Vietnam, and El Salvador.
The New Zealand-born journalist died on Wednesday surrounded by family and friends in California, his son told reporters. He was receiving hospice care for prostate cancer.
Arnett first worked for AP as a wire-service correspondent in Vietnam from 1962 until the war’s end in 1975, often accompanying troops on missions. At a talk in 2013, he recalled witnessing the aftermath of a soldier being shot in Vietnam as he paused to read a map.
As the colonel peered at it, I heard four loud shots as bullets tore through the map and into his chest, a few inches from my face, Arnett recounted. He sank to the ground at my feet.
He left AP in 1981 to join US outlet CNN, known for his coverage during the Gulf War. He was one of the few Western reporters to remain in Baghdad, making headlines with live broadcasts interrupted by sounds of war.
Arnett made history in 1997 as the first Western journalist to interview Osama Bin Laden in Afghanistan, just a few years before the 9/11 attacks. His reporting was characterized by incisive questioning and a commitment to truth, regardless of circumstances.
After his controversial dismissal from NBC for his critical remarks on Iraqi state television, he quickly found a new platform with the Daily Mirror, where he promised to continue reporting the reality in Baghdad: I report the truth of what is happening here in Baghdad and will not apologize for it, Arnett stated.
Born in 1934 in Riverton, New Zealand, Arnett later became an American citizen and resided in southern California since 2014. His remarkable legacy is commemorated by peers who described him as one of the greatest war correspondents of his generation.
He is survived by his wife Nina Nguyen and their children, Andrew and Elsa.
