Muhammad Saeed al-Sahhaf

Muhammad Saeed al-Sahhaf
Foreign Minister of Iraq
In office 1992–2001
President	Saddam Hussein
Preceded by	Tariq Aziz
Minister of Information
In office 2001 – May 2003
President	Saddam Hussein
Preceded by	Humam Abd al-Khaliq Abd al-Ghafur
Personal details
Born	1940 Hilla, Kingdom of Iraq
Nationality	Iraqi
Political party	Ba'ath Party
Alma mater	Baghdad University
Profession	Diplomat
Religion	Shia Islam

Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf (Arabic: محمد سعيد الصحاف‎; born 1940) is a former Iraqi diplomat and politician. He came to wide prominence around the world during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, during which he was the Iraqi Information Minister under Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, acting as the mouthpiece for the Baath Party and Saddam's regime. He is best known for his grandiose and grossly unrealistic propaganda broadcasts prior to and during the war, extolling the invincibility of the Iraqi Army and the permanence of Saddam's rule. His announcements were intended for an Iraqi domestic audience subject to Saddam's cult of personality and total state censorship, and were met with widespread derision and amusement by Western nationals and others with access to up-to-date information from international media organizations.

Before the Iraq war

Al-Sahhaf was born in Hilla, near Karbala to a Shi'ite Arab family. After studying journalism^[1] at Baghdad University he graduated with a Masters degree in English literature.^[2] He planned to become an English teacher^[1] before joining the Ba'ath Party in 1963. In the early days of the Ba'athist regime he read out regular announcements of recently executed Iraqis on state television.^[3] He served as Ambassador to Sweden, Burma, the United Nations and Italy, before returning to Iraq to serve as Foreign Minister in 1992.^[4] The reasons for his removal as Foreign Minister in April 2001 are unclear, but his achievements in the position were often claimed to be less satisfactory than that of his predecessor, Tariq Aziz. At least one report suggests that Uday Hussein, son of the President Saddam Hussein, was responsible for the removal.^[5]

During the Iraq war

Al-Sahhaf is known for his daily press briefings in Baghdad during the 2003 Iraq War. His colorful appearances caused him to be nicknamed Baghdad Bob^[6] (in the style of previous propagandists with geographical aliases - some of them alliterative, such as "Hanoi Hannah" and "Seoul City Sue") by commentators in the United States and Comical Ali (an allusion to Chemical Ali, the nickname of former Iraqi Defence Minister Ali Hassan al-Majid) by commentators in the United Kingdom; commentators in Italy similarly nicknamed him Alì il Comico.

Al-Sahhaf said that Americans and British were attacking civilians: "They bombed civilian neighborhoods and those cowards used cluster bombs." ^[7] He denied that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, which is consistent with what later investigations concluded.

On April 7, 2003, two days before Baghdad fell to US forces, al-Sahhaf claimed that there were no American troops in Baghdad, and that the Americans were committing suicide by the hundreds at the city's gates. His last public appearance as Information Minister was on April 8, 2003, when he said that the Americans "are going to surrender or be burned in their tanks. They will surrender, it is they who will surrender".

He gained something of a cult following in the West, appearing on T-shirts, cartoons, and from internet phenomena came satirical websites. One such site featured sound bites of the minister, as well as photoshopped pictures of him on the Star Wars Death Star, at The Battle of Waterloo and at the D-Day landings, in all cases maintaining that "everything is just fine."^[8]

Post-war life

On June 25, 2003, the London newspaper The Daily Mirror reported that al-Sahhaf had been captured by coalition troops at a roadblock in Baghdad.^[9] The report was not confirmed by military authorities and was denied by al-Sahhaf's family through Abu Dhabi TV. The next day al-Sahhaf himself recorded an interview for the Dubai-based al-Arabiya news channel.^[10] Al-Sahhaf said that he had surrendered to US forces, had been interrogated by them and released.^[11] He was reportedly paid as much as $200,000 for the television interview, during which he appeared very withdrawn in contrast with the bombastic persona he projected during the war. Many of his answers consisted of a simple "yes" or "no". He refused to speculate on the causes of the downfall of the Iraqi government and answered only "history will tell" when asked if video clips purporting to prove that Saddam Hussein was alive were genuine, amid speculation at that time that Hussein had been killed during the war.

His fame quickly evaporated as the war continued into the insurgency phase; from the middle of 2003 onward, he faded from the public spotlight, and was no longer a figure in the war.

Although questioned by American authorities, al-Sahhaf was released, and there has been no suggestion of charging or detaining him for his role in the Saddam Hussein government. He is now living in the United Arab Emirates with his family.^{[citation needed]}

When asked where he had got his information he replied, "authentic sources—many authentic sources".^[12] He pointed out that he "was a professional, doing his job".

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Profile: Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf". BBC News. 2003-06-27. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2927031.stm. Retrieved 2008-03-19. 
2. ^ Alderson, Andrew (March 2003). "'True lies' make web star out of Saddam's mouthpiece". London: The Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/04/13/wirq213.xml. Retrieved 2008-03-19. 
3. ^ Robert Fisk (2006). The Great War For Civilisation. London: Harper Perennial. pp. 187. ISBN 1-84115-008-8. 
4. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2927031.stm
5. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2927031.stm
6. ^ "Report: U.S. Bags 'Baghdad Bob'". Fox News Channel. 2003-06-25. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,90355,00.html. Retrieved 2003-06-25. 
7. ^ "Iraq: Coalition may use WMD". CNN. 2003-03-28. http://edition.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/03/28/sprj.irq.iraq.sahaf/index.html. Retrieved 2010-05-23. 
8. ^ "We Love the Iraqi Information Minister". 2003-05-30. http://welovetheiraqiinformationminister.com/mss_history.html. Retrieved 2011-04-08. 
9. ^ "Report: U.S. Bags 'Baghdad Bob'". London's Daily Mirror, Fox News, The Washington Times. 2003-06-25. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,90355,00.html. Retrieved 2003-06-25. 
10. ^ Kaplan, Don (2003-04-30). "Ex-Iraqi Information Minister Could Be a TV Star". New York Post, Fox News. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,85572,00.html. Retrieved 2003-04-30. 
11. ^ "Ex-minister detained, released". Associated Press, June 27, 2003.
12. ^ "'Comical Ali' resurfaces". BBC News. 2003-06-26. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3024046.stm. Retrieved 2009-08-15. 

External links

• Video compilation of press conferences - from YouTube
• Profile of Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf (BBC News)
• We Love the Iraqi Information Minister.com - parody fan site with quotes and pictures
• Comical Ali at the Internet Movie Database
• We miss you (German)

Political offices
Preceded by Tariq Aziz	Foreign Minister of Iraq 1992–2001	Succeeded by Naji Sabri
Preceded by Humam Abd al-Khaliq Abd al-Ghafur	Iraqi Information Minister 2001–2003	Succeeded by Ministry Dissolved

Persondata
Name	al-sahhaf, Muhammad Saeed
Alternative names	al-Sahhaf, Mohammed Said
Short description	Diplomat
Date of birth	1940
Place of birth	Hilla, Iraq
Date of death
Place of death