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CNN's Chief News Executive Resigns Over Iraq Comments Remarks at Davos Economic Forum About Journalists' Deaths Sparked Outcry By JOE FLINT and MARTIN PEERS Staff Reporters of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL February 11, 2005 6:54 p.m. NEW YORK -- CNN Chief News Executive Eason Jordan resigned late Friday in the wake of a controversy over remarks he made at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, about deaths of journalists in Iraq. Mr. Jordan said in a resignation note that he was stepping down to "prevent CNN from being unfairly tarnished by the controversy" over his remarks. During a panel presentation in Davos late last month, Mr. Jordan made remarks that were interpreted by some people present as suggesting the U.S. military in Iraq had deliberately targeted journalists to be killed. Mr. Jordan subsequently clarified his remarks to emphasize that he didn't mean to imply the U.S. military had targeted journalists. In his resignation note, he said his comments during the Davos panel discussion "were not as clear as they should have been." "I never meant to imply U.S. forces acted with ill intent when U.S. forces accidentally killed journalists," he said in the note. Mr. Jordan is a former president of news gathering at network, a unit of Time Warner Inc., but he hasn't held day-to-day responsibilities for editorial direction or news content since September 2003, a CNN spokeswoman said.