Reply
Fri 2 May, 2003 06:46 pm
Looks like the Iraqi Information Minister is having more than his fifteen minutes of fame!
Quote:LONDON (Reuters) - Iraq's former Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf, whose colorful daily briefings earned him cult status during the Gulf War (news - web sites), is to take Britain's night clubs by storm.
Record producers are planning to record a dance track sampling some of his most popular catch-phrases.
"It is set to be massive," one of the track's backers Les Molloy told The Sun newspaper on Friday. "There has already been a lot of interest from record stations and club DJs."
With his trademark beret and sly smile, Sahaf astonished Western television viewers by appearing each day behind a sea of microphones often to deny events viewers could see on their television screens.
He regularly berated British and American troops as "infidels" and vowed "God will roast their stomachs in hell."
What do you think of this?
According to the Washington Post Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf committed suicide when Baghdad collapsed.
He was the subject of a website which proved to be so popular with both Arabs and Westerners that it had to be shut down and redesigned to handle the traffic.
I think part of his appeal is that he personifies inept officialdom.
I just Goggle the man and found several hundred sites devoted to his unsubstantiated optimism--plus t-shirts, mugs and mousepads.
Fifteen minutes of fame. Fifteen thousand dollars of profit for _____ people.
He lives with his aunt in Bagdad. He also wanted to surrender to the US forces but they refused to take him into custody because he isn't featuring on the cards.
The unkindest cut of all...
You ask, Phoenix, what we think of this.
Hmmmm - it is weird - although I suppose in a novelty and celebrity hungry world it makes sense that a man who was so staunch and fanatical in his propaganda role, until the very end, should have a fascination and find an amused and eager audience.
I suppose he has his own special charisma.
I wonder how the Iraqis view him? Australian Iraqi refugees have commented that they used to watch state propaganda television for a kind of dark amusement.
dlowan- I am pleased to hear that the Iraqi refugees did not buy the hogwash. It must have been awful for thinking people to listen to this stuff, day after day, and know that they were being fed a line of baloney!
I would download it illegally, but most likely would not buy the 8-track.
Phoenix32890 wrote:dlowan- I am pleased to hear that the Iraqi refugees did not buy the hogwash. It must have been awful for thinking people to listen to this stuff, day after day, and know that they were being fed a line of baloney!
The same for us in the Western World and the briefings of CentCom. Brooks and that bald guy lied to us all the time.
And Ari Fleischer, is he so truthful?
According to "The New Yorker" Qusay, Saddam's saner son, took over the Bureau of Information. My guess is he also took over the families of the members of the Bureau of Information and Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf didn't have a lot of choice about his broadcasts.
I understand that some of the Iraquis were aware that they were being lied to--and some were very startled to find out that their leaders were living in opulence and spouting lies.
Indeed, Frolic, I implied no opinion that the Iraqi administration held any exclusive rights to propaganda!
Phoenix - the refugees, by definition, held no loyalty to Saddam.
Stumble It!
Tweet This
Bookmark on Delicious
Share on Facebook
Share on MySpace