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Fri 12 Sep, 2003 09:03 pm
Two reports, I couldn't find the article indicated from Al Jazeera's site, on their site, but their search function wouldn't work for me.
Sahhaf will say things he never said before: TV
CAIRO, July 12: Iraq's former information minister left Baghdad filled with "sadness and hope," he said in an interview televised on Friday with an Arab station that plans to chronicle the last days of Saddam Hussein's regime as seen through the eyes of the one-time spokesman for Iraq's deposed president.
Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf arrived in Abu Dhabi late Thursday to take part in a series of interviews with the Abu Dhabi satellite station.
The channel on Friday aired a short interview with Mr al- Sahhaf, who received wide attention during the US-led invasion of Iraq for hurling anti-American insults and transparently false claims of stunning Iraqi military victories over coalition forces.
Mr al-Sahhaf "will say things he never said before" about the last days of the regime and the days following its fall, the commentary accompanying Friday programme's said. It was unclear when any further interviews would be aired.
In the clips of an interview conducted aboard Mr al-Sahhaf's plane as it left Baghdad, the former Iraqi official said: "This departure is accompanied with mixed feelings. It has sadness and hope."
"I have many issues that are conflicting in my mind, my consciousness and my thoughts. My only solace is to be optimistic and remain faithful and to side completely with the truth to stay alive and continue working," he said.
Mr al-Sahhaf disappeared the day Baghdad fell on April 9 and was reportedly hiding in a relative's home in the Iraqi capital fearing revenge from angry Iraqis. Last month, he said he had turned himself over to coalition forces but was set free. He is not on the list of 55 Iraqi wanted officials. Mr al-Sahhaf, aged in his early 60s, conducted his first TV interviews in Baghdad late last month following Saddam's ouster.
Abu Dhabi TV's Baghdad correspondent, Jabir Obeid, said now that Mr al-Sahhaf was out of Iraq, he could speak freely.
"The man was in Baghdad, and Baghdad is still unsafe, and Saddam is still a free man. Al-Sahhaf may say things that might not please Saddam or others of the previous regime," Obeid said during Friday's programme. -APP
Second article.
Friday, Sept. 12, 2003
Baghdad Bob Speaks: Saddam Sought Nukes
Al Jazeera reports on its Web site that Abu Dhabi television has interviewed the infamous Mohammed Saeed Al Sahhaf, the former Iraqi information minister known to Americans as "Baghdad Bob."
Al Jazeera wrote that Al Sahhaf will "reveal part of the war secrets and how ousted president Saddam Hussein felt he would lose the war."
"He was more frank and direct than previous interviews after the war ... he revealed many secrets before and during the war ... it was an exciting interview," his interviewer, Jaber Obaid, told Gulf News.
"You will notice that he has changed since the end of the war, both in style and appearance ... he speaks freely, looks lively and is well dressed. ... "
Baghdad Bob reportedly admitted, during the five-hour interview, that "Saddam believed that he will lose the war if it erupts," that Iraq did indeed seek nuclear weapons, and that King Hussein of Jordan sponsored secret talks between Iraq and the U.S. in a European capital long before the war.
Regarding Saddam himself, the Al Ittihad newspaper wrote, "Sahhaf apologized for being unable to answer some questions directly related to Saddam ... he also refused to blame him for what happened."
I hope we can get the full interview, it should be very interesting, unless he is too afraid to speak freely, or is a complete nut.
Baghdad Bob should do stand-up.
It will be interesting to hear what he has to say about nukes. But, credibility may be a slight problem...
Sofia wrote:Baghdad Bob should do stand-up.
It will be interesting to hear what he has to say about nukes. But, credibility may be a slight problem...
Ya think? He only went through how many years of brain washing.
Sorry, Brand X. No sarcasm emoticon. I thought the dots would do it for me...
He cracks me up.
I've missed him since he disappeared.
Sofia wrote:Sorry, Brand X. No sarcasm emoticon. I thought the dots would do it for me...
He cracks me up.
I've missed him since he disappeared.
I wasn't being snipey, just agreeing with you. :wink:
'Comical Ali' criticises Saddam
Al-Sahhaf gained cult status for his deluded accounts of the war
Former Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf has said Saddam Hussein made tactical mistakes in fighting the US-led coalition and never considered stepping down to avoid a war.
Mr Sahhaf, who became famous for his unrealistic accounts of Iraqi "victories" during the war, told Abu Dhabi Television nobody was brave enough to suggest to the former dictator he should go into exile.
The former minister reiterated his belief that Iraq had not possessed any weapons of mass destruction since the early 1990s.
The programme was part of a series called "Al-Sahhaf's War", which is due to run four more interviews with Mr Sahhaf.
'Fatal mistakes'
Appearing relaxed, Mr Sahhaf criticised Saddam Hussein's decision to divide Baghdad into four military zones days before the war began in March.
Al-Sahhaf said no one dared suggest Saddam should leave
He said military experts were relegated to secondary positions.
"It was a direct mistake of the president and the leadership," Mr Sahhaf said, adding that it "led to fatal mistakes".
Mr Sahhaf said he prepared his information ministry for the onset of war by switching to mobile radio and television stations which used small antennas, rather than larger ones which made highly visible targets.
He said the technology was downloaded from the internet and developed by an Egyptian scientist.
Officials scared
Mr Sahhaf, who became the public face of Saddam Hussein's regime during its dying days, said Saddam Hussein never contemplated leaving office.
"No-one dared tell him [to leave]," he said.
The programme showed previously unseen footage of the ousted leader in which he is heard to call Arab leaders "agents" for suggesting he go into exile.
The idea, which was backed by Saudi Arabia and some Gulf states, was discussed at a summit in Doha about two weeks before the start of the war.
Mr Sahhaf denied Saddam Hussein possessed banned weapons of mass destruction, which the United States ostensibly went to war to destroy.
"Chemical weapons and missiles were destroyed in the 1991 [Gulf] war," Mr Sahhaf said.
Mr Sahhaf - who was nicknamed Comical Ali for his wildly exaggerated claims about Iraqi successes in the face of defeat - disappeared from public view on 9 April, the day Baghdad fell to coalition forces.
He resurfaced in June when he said he had surrendered to US forces and released after being questioned.
But US forces in Iraq denied the claim, saying they had never questioned Mr Sahhaf.
Mr Sahhaf is not on the US list of 55 most wanted Iraqis.
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