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Arnaud de Borchgrave, a Journalist Whose Life Was a Tale Itself, Dies at 88 Arnaud de Borchgrave, a Journalist Whose Life Was a Tale Itself, Dies at 88
(about 1 hour later)
Arnaud de Borchgrave, the son of a Belgian count and a storied foreign correspondent who cabled back bell-ringing scoops throughout the Cold War decades, often from the battlefield, died on Sunday in Washington. He was 88.Arnaud de Borchgrave, the son of a Belgian count and a storied foreign correspondent who cabled back bell-ringing scoops throughout the Cold War decades, often from the battlefield, died on Sunday in Washington. He was 88.
His wife, Alexandra Villard de Borchgrave, said the cause was bladder cancer.His wife, Alexandra Villard de Borchgrave, said the cause was bladder cancer.
Twice a best-selling novelist, Mr. de Borchgrave led a life that rivaled fiction. A teenager when he enlisted in the British Navy, he was wounded on D-Day. He was wounded again, as a Newsweek reporter, in Vietnam (where he lobbed a grenade at North Vietnamese soldiers). He covered, by his estimate, at least 18 wars. At 58, he was named editor-in-chief of a daily newspaper, though he had never worked for one before. Twice a best-selling novelist, Mr. de Borchgrave led a life that rivaled fiction. A teenager when he enlisted in the British Navy, he was wounded on D-Day. He was wounded again, as a Newsweek reporter, in Vietnam (where he lobbed a grenade at North Vietnamese soldiers). He covered, by his estimate, at least 18 wars. At 58, he was named editor in chief of a daily newspaper, though he had never worked for one before.
After decades as a correspondent and editor at Newsweek, Mr. de Borchgrave was fired by the magazine in 1980, after his increasingly conservative political bent found its way into his dispatches, climaxing in his likening the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan to Hitler’s pre-World War II grab of Czechoslovakia. A correspondent and editor at Newsweek for decades, Mr. de Borchgrave was fired by the magazine in 1980, after his increasingly conservative political bent found its way into his dispatches, ending in his likening the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan to Hitler’s pre-World War II grab of Czechoslovakia.
He found a more hospitable place to work in 1985. He was hired to direct the news coverage and the editorials of The Washington Times, the daily newspaper launched with the financial support of the Unification Church and its founder, the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, the conservative Korean evangelist who led a worldwide spiritual movement. He found a more hospitable place to work in 1985. He was hired to direct the news coverage and the editorials of The Washington Times, the daily newspaper started with the financial support of the Unification Church and its founder, the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, the conservative South Korean evangelist who led a worldwide spiritual movement.
For conservatives in the nation’s capital, Mr. de Borchgrave fashioned The Times into a must-read, if money-losing, alternative to what he viewed as the biased liberal media, even if the paper was branded a mouthpiece for Mr. Moon. For conservatives in the nation’s capital, Mr. de Borchgrave fashioned The Times into a must-read, if money-losing, alternative to what he viewed as the biased liberal news media, even if the paper was branded a mouthpiece for Mr. Moon.
Mr. de Borchgrave insisted that he was no saffron-robbed Moonie, as the movement’s followers were derisively known. As editor, he said, “I have never received a single editorial suggestion, let alone a directive, from any representative of the owners.” Mr. de Borchgrave insisted that he was no saffron-robed Moonie, as the movement’s followers were derisively known. As editor, he said, “I have never received a single editorial suggestion, let alone a directive, from any representative of the owners.”
As a foreign correspondent, he told Esquire magazine in 1981, he kept “the starched combat fatigues of 12 different nations” in a closet of his pied-à-terre, conveniently located near the Geneva airport.As a foreign correspondent, he told Esquire magazine in 1981, he kept “the starched combat fatigues of 12 different nations” in a closet of his pied-à-terre, conveniently located near the Geneva airport.
Wearing an Egyptian general’s camouflage suit and facing six Israeli tanks during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, he cabled his Newsweek editors: “I burrowed my head into the sand like a mole — a little deeper with each shell until my mouth was full of sand.” Wearing an Egyptian general’s camouflage suit and facing six Israeli tanks during the Yom Kippur War in 1973, he cabled his Newsweek editors: “I burrowed my head into the sand like a mole — a little deeper with each shell until my mouth was full of sand.”
Arnaud de Borchgrave (pronounced AH-no deh-BOAR-grahv) was born in Brussels on Oct. 26, 1926. His father, Count Baudouin de Borchgrave d’Altena, was head of military intelligence for Belgium’s government in exile in Britain during World War II. His mother, Audrey Townshend, was the daughter of a British general.Arnaud de Borchgrave (pronounced AH-no deh-BOAR-grahv) was born in Brussels on Oct. 26, 1926. His father, Count Baudouin de Borchgrave d’Altena, was head of military intelligence for Belgium’s government in exile in Britain during World War II. His mother, Audrey Townshend, was the daughter of a British general.
When he was 14, Arnaud, his mother and his sister fled the Nazi invasion by boarding a freighter from southwest France, bound for England. When it changed course for Hamburg, Germany, as part of a plot by the captain, the three were rescued by a British destroyer, which had been alerted and took them to England. When he was 14, Arnaud, his mother and his sister fled the Nazi invasion by boarding a freighter from La Gironde in southwest France, bound for England. When it changed course for Hamburg, Germany, as part of a plot by the captain, the three were rescued by a British destroyer, which had been alerted and took them to England.
There he attended King’s School, Canterbury, as well as the H.M.S. Worcester Nautical Training College. When he was 15 or 16, he persuaded his grandmother to claim that he was 17 so that he could enlist in the Merchant Navy. He was wounded on D-Day — shot in the leg and knee, by one account — when, trying to fix a jammed ramp, he leapt off a landing craft carrying Canadian troops to Juno Beach.There he attended King’s School, Canterbury, as well as the H.M.S. Worcester Nautical Training College. When he was 15 or 16, he persuaded his grandmother to claim that he was 17 so that he could enlist in the Merchant Navy. He was wounded on D-Day — shot in the leg and knee, by one account — when, trying to fix a jammed ramp, he leapt off a landing craft carrying Canadian troops to Juno Beach.
After the war, the United Press news agency in London hired him as a writer, and in 1949 Mr. de Borchgrave succeeded Walter Cronkite as the agency’s bureau chief in Belgium. Two years later he joined Newsweek in Paris, where he helped hire an American Embassy information officer named Ben Bradlee. Mr. Bradlee would succeed Mr. de Borchgrave in Paris and later become editor of The Washington Post, while Mr. Cronkite became the anchor of CBS News.After the war, the United Press news agency in London hired him as a writer, and in 1949 Mr. de Borchgrave succeeded Walter Cronkite as the agency’s bureau chief in Belgium. Two years later he joined Newsweek in Paris, where he helped hire an American Embassy information officer named Ben Bradlee. Mr. Bradlee would succeed Mr. de Borchgrave in Paris and later become editor of The Washington Post, while Mr. Cronkite became the anchor of CBS News.
Debonair, perpetually tan and diminutive (he was called “the short count”), Mr. de Borchgrave cut a distinctive figure at Newsweek, where he served as foreign editor, roving senior editor and chief European correspondent. His exploits in corralling heads of state for exclusive interviews and insinuating himself into the front lines of battle were legendary, even if a few of the accounts might not have survived today’s microscopic scrutiny. (Did he parachute into Dien Bien Phu with French troops in 1954 or step off a helicopter?)Debonair, perpetually tan and diminutive (he was called “the short count”), Mr. de Borchgrave cut a distinctive figure at Newsweek, where he served as foreign editor, roving senior editor and chief European correspondent. His exploits in corralling heads of state for exclusive interviews and insinuating himself into the front lines of battle were legendary, even if a few of the accounts might not have survived today’s microscopic scrutiny. (Did he parachute into Dien Bien Phu with French troops in 1954 or step off a helicopter?)
To some, he evoked Sir Jocelyn Hitchcock, Evelyn Waugh’s portrait of Sir Percival Phillips in the comic novel “Scoop.”To some, he evoked Sir Jocelyn Hitchcock, Evelyn Waugh’s portrait of Sir Percival Phillips in the comic novel “Scoop.”
“Arnaud once told me that all he needed to bring when he traveled on assignment was a tuxedo and a safari suit,” Dorinda Elliott, a former Newsweek correspondent, told The New Yorker magazine in 2013. Peter Greenberg, another former Newsweek correspondent, said, “Back then there were three reporting budgets: foreign, domestic and Arnaud.”“Arnaud once told me that all he needed to bring when he traveled on assignment was a tuxedo and a safari suit,” Dorinda Elliott, a former Newsweek correspondent, told The New Yorker magazine in 2013. Peter Greenberg, another former Newsweek correspondent, said, “Back then there were three reporting budgets: foreign, domestic and Arnaud.”
Mr. de Borchgrave renounced his aristocratic title and became an American citizen in 1957. “He believed in the values our country represented,” his wife said. He died in a Washington hospice.Mr. de Borchgrave renounced his aristocratic title and became an American citizen in 1957. “He believed in the values our country represented,” his wife said. He died in a Washington hospice.
Besides his wife, a journalist and photographer, he is survived by a sister, Marina Bayliss; a daughter from a previous marriage, Trisha de Borchgrave (his first two marriages ended in divorce); and two granddaughters.Besides his wife, a journalist and photographer, he is survived by a sister, Marina Bayliss; a daughter from a previous marriage, Trisha de Borchgrave (his first two marriages ended in divorce); and two granddaughters.
After he received death threats for identifying terrorists responsible for planning the murders of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympics in Munich, Mr. de Borchgrave hid out in the English countryside. There, with Robert Moss of The Economist, he wrote a bestselling novel, “The Spike,” about a Soviet scheme to manipulate the Western press. After he received death threats for identifying terrorists responsible for planning the murders of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympics in Munich, Mr. de Borchgrave hid out in the English countryside. There, with Robert Moss of The Economist, he wrote a best-selling novel, “The Spike,” about a Soviet scheme to manipulate the Western press.
“Together the authors have cranked out the journalist’s standard dream novel,” The New York Times Book Review said in 1980. The authors’ 1983 novel “Monimbo,” about plans by Fidel Castro to provoke racial conflict in the United States, was also a best-seller. “Together the authors have cranked out the journalist’s standard dream novel,” The New York Times Book Review said in 1980. The authors’ 1983 novel, “Monimbo,” about plans by Fidel Castro to provoke racial conflict in the United States, was also a best seller.
Mr. de Borchgrave later became director of the Transnational Threats Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank.Mr. de Borchgrave later became director of the Transnational Threats Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank.
His editorship at The Washington Times gave him a platform to torment his former bosses. (Newsweek was owned by The Washington Post, which he accused of “incredible arrogance.”) As he had at Newsweek, when typically outnumbered in the trenches by Time magazine correspondents, Mr. de Borchgrave took the opportunity to play David to, in his mind, a smug Goliath.His editorship at The Washington Times gave him a platform to torment his former bosses. (Newsweek was owned by The Washington Post, which he accused of “incredible arrogance.”) As he had at Newsweek, when typically outnumbered in the trenches by Time magazine correspondents, Mr. de Borchgrave took the opportunity to play David to, in his mind, a smug Goliath.
“The fewer the men, the greater the glory,” he said.“The fewer the men, the greater the glory,” he said.
Sometimes at night, Mr. de Borchgrave presided over The Washington Times from a mezzanine overlooking the newsroom, dispensing lemon-colored index cards bearing news tips. Reporters called them “yellow rain.” In blue silk pajamas, he was known to occasionally sleep at the newspaper office on a foldaway bed. Sometimes at night, Mr. de Borchgrave presided over The Washington Times from a mezzanine overlooking the newsroom, dispensing lemon-colored index cards bearing news tips. Reporters called them “yellow rain.” Sporting blue silk pajamas, he was known to occasionally sleep there on a foldaway bed.
Mr. de Borchgrave doled out bonuses for scoops, offered rewards for information leading to Nazi war criminals, mounted a fund-raising drive for Nicaraguan rebels, dismissed as “twaddle” the notion that the Unification Church interfered with editorial policy and lost or fired Times editors who made that claim. Mr. de Borchgrave doled out bonuses for scoops, offered rewards for information leading to Nazi war criminals, mounted a fund-raising drive for Nicaraguan rebels, dismissed as “twaddle” the notion that the Unification Church had interfered with editorial policy and lost or fired Times editors who made that claim.
He gave up editorial control in 1991, rejoined what had been renamed United Press International as president in 1998 and stayed on in 2000 when Mr. Moon’s News World Communications bought the news service to rescue it. He became editor at large in 2001 and continued writing a column.He gave up editorial control in 1991, rejoined what had been renamed United Press International as president in 1998 and stayed on in 2000 when Mr. Moon’s News World Communications bought the news service to rescue it. He became editor at large in 2001 and continued writing a column.
In the last one, dated Dec. 21, 2014, he urged the United States to extricate itself from Middle East quagmires and “to look inward and prioritize long overdue and neglected domestic crises, from collapsing infrastructure coast to coast, to the rapid erosion of America’s backbone — i.e., the middle classes — and alarming growth of poverty.”In the last one, dated Dec. 21, 2014, he urged the United States to extricate itself from Middle East quagmires and “to look inward and prioritize long overdue and neglected domestic crises, from collapsing infrastructure coast to coast, to the rapid erosion of America’s backbone — i.e., the middle classes — and alarming growth of poverty.”
Last July, France named him to its Legion of Honor. In July, France named him to its Legion of Honor.
If he could have, Mr. de Borchgrave, who boasted of his prescience, might have drafted his own obituary. According to Harlan Ullman, a fellow columnist at UPI, he came close. “He once joked with me,” Dr. Ullman said, “that his tombstone would read: ‘I knew this would happen.’ ” If he could have, Mr. de Borchgrave, who boasted of his prescience, might have drafted his own obituary. According to Harlan Ullman, a fellow columnist at U.P.I., he came close. “He once joked with me,” Dr. Ullman said, “that his tombstone would read, ‘I knew this would happen.’ ”