Why do so many hold 'journalists' in contempt?

Take a look.

Because Rosen didn't just embed with the Taliban on an operation - he used his journalistic credentials to help them get past an Afghan army guard.

i did not say i deceived the afghan soldier. on the contrary, both i and the taliban commanders i was with told the afghan soldiers that i was a journalist and in fact i showed him my passport. of course there is nothing wrong with deceiving anybody if its going to protect you, but it wasnt necessary in this case, and i did not claim to deceive them. i in fact had to persuade them that i was a journalist and not a suicide bomber, which is what they suspected at first.

I'd like to be speechless; instead what comes to mind is a string of invective that will get the blog blocked in corporate firewalls for quite some time.

At the least. If I ever meet this clown, I agree: the contents of my glass would be the least this traitor could expect.