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THE MINISTER OF MISINFORMATION - AL-SAHAF (Baghdad Bob!) IS NEW TV STAR
The Mirror ^ | April 8, 2003 | Kevin O'Sullivan

Posted on 04/07/2003 10:12:44 PM PDT by Timesink

THE MINISTER OF MISINFORMATION

By Kevin O'Sullivan

IT'S all over bar the routing. So with all due deference to the tragedy and pain on the field of battle let's look at some of the less important aspects of what Bush and Blair like to call Operation Iraqi Freedom.

With brave coalition boys striding through both Basra and now Baghdad there seems little doubt that our troops will soon triumph as Saddam's sad army lurches inexorably towards abject defeat.

But war has many sides to it. Away from the field of conflict you can be on the losing side and still be a winner. And from the ashes and rubble of Iraq's beleaguered capital city a new star is rising.

Oblivious to the carnage of Saddam's destroyed edifices all around him, unbowed by the glaringly obvious fact that his beloved president is finished and (above all) not for a second perturbed by the truth, Saddam's incredible Information Minister carries on regardless.

Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf (crazy name - crazy guy!) spouts non-stop garbage. His brand of crazed propaganda makes Lord Haw Haw look like a paragon of honest appraisal.

But, boy, what delivery! What star quality!

Beret, military fatigues, minimalist glasses and a finger pointing technique to die for, this guy is eminently more watchable than the entire teams of Sky, ITV and the BBC put together.

Marvellous Mo's daily press briefings provide the kind of light relief that we all need in these dark times of bloodshed and terror.

"What?" he bellows in his resonant Disney bad-guy Arabic accent, "Don't ask stupid questions. PLEASE NO MORE STUPID QUESTIONS. I am here to tell you the truth...Saddam...still in power...Blair and Bush...cowboys...international criminal b******s...Al Capones...Iraqi people... great victory...Americans...NOT in Baghdad."

It's all utter propaganda rubbish. But, next to the coalition's monotone spokesmen on a mission to bore the world from Qatar, al-Sahaf is a laugh-a-minute sensation.

Marvellous Mo's greatest moment unfolded as millions watched US soldiers marching into the largely deserted Saddam Airport.

"NO", snapped Mr al-Sahaf, "We have retaken the airport. There are NO Americans there. I will take you there and show you. IN ONE HOUR!"" Strangely, his little outing failed to materialise. Yesterday our spin doctoring hero was back to his spellbinding best. Suddenly he was talking to the world's journalists al fresco. Gone was his microphone bedecked podium, gone was that weird looking map of the world, in front of which he used to pontificate, gone was the Ministry of Information.

This extraordinary man's office, had been blown to smithereens. But, naturally, to al-Sahaf such a trifling detail wasn't worth mentioning. He simply regrouped to the streets and continued his increasingly absurd wall of (un)sound. Never before has so much war been filmed by so few to be watched by so many from the comfort of their own armchairs.

And what a TV spectacle this David and Goliath clash has provided for a grateful viewing public.

And with the emergence of Iraq's delightful Disinformation Minister, there is already important news for the British television industry's obsessive talent spotters.

Constantly on the look-out for fresh faces these star searchers will surely be heading for the Middle East with cheque books in hand. For my money Mohammed is the man to replace Angus Deayton on Have I Got News For You. He'd soon shut that little jerk Ian Hisplop up. "PLEASE...NO MORE PATHETIC JOKES! DON'T BE STUPID!"

But for the time being on-screen performances must be limited to Baghdad. And thank God for him.

Blinking through my tears of boredom at Sky TV's knee-jerk military analysis by the vertically challenged "expert" Francis Tusa and the omnipresent Tim Marsh, I have been transfixed whenever Sky switched to al-Sahaf. I know he's an apologist for an evil despot and a violent, repressive regime. But, sod it, the guy makes great TV.


TOPICS: Extended News; News/Current Events; United Kingdom; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: baghdadbob; disinformation; fallofbaghdad; iraqifreedom; mirror; themirror; warlist
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1 posted on 04/07/2003 10:12:44 PM PDT by Timesink
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2 posted on 04/07/2003 10:13:17 PM PDT by Mo1 (I'm a monthly Donor .. You can be one too!!))
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To: Timesink
Joined by none other than Benedict Arnett!


3 posted on 04/07/2003 10:14:43 PM PDT by Jeff Head
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To: Jeff Head
That's good and funny, Jeff Head!
4 posted on 04/07/2003 10:16:06 PM PDT by Fred Mertz
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To: Timesink
And with the emergence of Iraq's delightful Disinformation Minister, there is already important news for the British television industry's obsessive talent spotters.

The Brits can't have him, SNL gets him!

5 posted on 04/07/2003 10:19:21 PM PDT by Brett66
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To: Timesink
He's dead Jim....
6 posted on 04/07/2003 10:20:35 PM PDT by Walkingfeather
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To: Timesink
A "There is no presence of American infidels in the city of Baghdad at all" Baghdad Bob bump!
7 posted on 04/07/2003 10:20:39 PM PDT by Tex_GOP_Cruz
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To: Timesink
If we don't see or hear from Marvelous Mo by tomorrow, we'll know he was at the "leadership meeting" with Sadaam!
8 posted on 04/07/2003 10:21:50 PM PDT by NotJustAnotherPrettyFace
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To: Timesink
BTW, this thread DEFINITELY rates a FR bookmark!!!!! ;-)
9 posted on 04/07/2003 10:22:44 PM PDT by NotJustAnotherPrettyFace
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To: Tex_GOP_Cruz
"I DO Believe In Allah! I DO Believe In Allah! I do, I do I do!"
10 posted on 04/07/2003 10:25:17 PM PDT by sheikdetailfeather
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To: NotJustAnotherPrettyFace
Not much to it yet, but it appears that Baghdad Bob has an "official" website LOL:
http://www.baghdadbob.com
11 posted on 04/07/2003 10:25:52 PM PDT by Tex_GOP_Cruz
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To: Jeff Head
Does anyone notice the resemblaance to W.C. Fields?
"..and no there are no US troops...(go away kid, go away)..
in Baghdad."
12 posted on 04/07/2003 10:26:01 PM PDT by Chirodoc
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To: Timesink

13 posted on 04/07/2003 10:26:58 PM PDT by Salamander (Subliminal Salamander)
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To: Timesink
I'll miss him ... hopefully soon.
14 posted on 04/07/2003 10:27:43 PM PDT by spodefly (This is my tag line. There are many like it, but this one is mine.)
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To: Walkingfeather
TOS episodes where Dr. McCoy says someone or something is dead:

Wolf In The Fold
The Changeling
I, Mudd
Obsession
Return To Tomorrow
The Lights Of Zetar
The Deadly Years
And The Children Shall Lead
The Enemy Within
The Apple
The Enterprise Incident
Catspaw
A Private Little War
A Piece Of The Action
Amok Time
The Man Trap
Dagger Of The Mind
Miri
Is There In Truth No Beauty?
For The World Is Hollow, And I Have Touched The Sky
Spectre Of The Gun

15 posted on 04/07/2003 10:29:38 PM PDT by NotJustAnotherPrettyFace
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To: Timesink
The Catskills, March 15, 2005:

"Ladies and germs, for the first time at Sam's Backwoods Hideaway, we present to you that Muslim mirthmaker, that wacky Iraqi, the Minister of Mockery...Moe Sahaf!"

"Thank you, Sam. Hey, how are ya, ladies and gentlemen? Anybody here Jewish? Yeah? A whole bunch of you, huh? Well, DIE AND ROT IN THE BOWELS OF HELL, YOU PIGS AND MONKEYS! Nah, I'm just kiddin'. I like filthy Zionist usurpers of the sacred Arab lands, I really do. Hey, hey, settle down...just not in the Occupied Territories! [Rimshot.]"

16 posted on 04/07/2003 10:30:05 PM PDT by The Hon. Galahad Threepwood
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To: Tex_GOP_Cruz
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Great site!
17 posted on 04/07/2003 10:30:42 PM PDT by NotJustAnotherPrettyFace
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To: Timesink
Has anyone archived the great man's presentations?

I don't have a TV and would like to check them out.

D
18 posted on 04/07/2003 10:31:16 PM PDT by daviddennis (Visit amazing.com for protest accounts, video & more!)
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To: Fred Mertz
There was a "caption this" thread earlier today, so I did, and added Arnett in there with his caption for good measure.

Click on the pic and tell me what you think.

19 posted on 04/07/2003 10:33:12 PM PDT by Jeff Head
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To: Chirodoc
LOL!
20 posted on 04/07/2003 10:33:40 PM PDT by Jeff Head
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