It is bound to go down as one of the great moments in PR history. With United States tanks rolling into Baghdad and the sound of artillery fire reverberating around the city, Iraq’s ever jovial Information Minister, Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf, popped up to declare that the ”infidels” were facing ”slaughter”.
Sahaf, who had become something of a cult figure in the past week, secured his reputation as the Panglossian figure of the Iraqi regime when he denied what was obvious to all.
Standing on the roof of Baghdad’s Palestine hotel, Sahaf, ignored the sight of Iraqi troops running for cover on the other side of the Tigris river, to declare: ”Baghdad is safe. The battle is still going on. Their infidels are committing suicide by the hundreds on the gates of Baghdad. Don’t believe those liars. As our leader Saddam Hussein said, ‘God is grilling their stomachs in hell.”’
Unperturbed by the sound of sirens and gunfire, Sahaf adjusted his trademark black beret to continue with his diatribe. ”We besieged them and we killed most of them. We will finish them soon. My feelings? As usual, we will slaughter them all. Their tombs will be here in Iraq.”
A week of Sahaf’s bombastic performances turned him into one of the main talking points in Internet chat rooms. Dubbed by some bloggers as the ”Harpo Marx” of Baghdad, Sahaf has found himself the subject of mock e-mails.
One leading military expert said that Sahaf appeared to have adopted the mindset of Adolf Hitler, who refused to accept the inevitable until Soviet troops were almost on top of his bunker in Berlin.
Sahaf has impressed Arab opinion, even if some accept that he is telling bare-faced lies. Abdul-Aziz, a Saudi writer, told Reuters: ”Sahaf is vulgar but he is a brave liar … If the rest of the Iraqi government or army were this brave, they would inflict many more losses on US and British forces.”
Hazem, a 25-year-old security guard in Cairo, said: ”I believe Sahaf exaggerates a little, but he needs to do that to reassure his people. Of course, he knows that he is talking to the American soldiers as well, so his words are part of the psychological war that’s going on.”
Sahaf (63) became an unlikely media star. A former foreign minister, he has never been a member of Saddam’s inner circle. He was removed as foreign minister in April 2001 and placed in charge of the Information Ministry after a newspaper owned by Saddam’s son Uday criticised him.
Sahaf has allegedly fled the city of Baghdad — Â