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Ad. mousepad featuring Sahaf's likeness at a website in his honor!
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War
is a strange beast that provides onlookers with a constantly shifting landscape
of information. In a strange twist on the information war in Iraq, the former
Iraqi Minister of Information, Muhammad Saeed al-Sahaf, has become something of
a hit amongst news watchers in the West. As a testament to his impact, a website
in his honor (welovetheiraqiinformationminister.com)
has even been constructed so that fans can follow any breaking developments
about his public statements and whereabouts.
The
infatuation began early in the conflict, when U.S. troops were still far from
Baghdad fighting resistance forces in cities such as Umm Qasr, Basra and Mosul.
At that time, statements from Iraqi President Saddam Hussein were rare, and
those that did reach a broad, international audience were taped in advance by
the Iraqi government.
Sahaf,
on the other hand, was the one Iraqi official to consistently appear live in
front of the cameras of the world’s news organizations. As such, his
statements were often carried live by western news outlets, who listened
intently for any tidbits of information that might provide clues as to the
location of Saddam Hussein or the general state of the Iraqi army and
government.
What
the world got from Sahaf, though, was a unique blend of vitriol, bravado and
stage presence that engendered endearment in some, rage in others and respect in
yet others in the viewing public. So popular did the often daily video missives
become, that the aforementioned fan website became a way for people to catch up
on Sahaf’s memorable and not-so-memorable comments and exchange bulletin board
messages about the minister.
Whether
Sahaf’s true feelings were represented by his comments, he indeed suggested
and displayed an unwavering confidence in the Iraqi regime’s strength and an
equally strong belief that the Iraqi people themselves would repel the invading
American forces. Some of his comments to this effect, archived on the website,
are priceless. They include:
“My
feelings – as usual – we will slaughter them all.”
“Who
are in control, they are not in control of anything – they don’t even
control themselves.”
“We
are not afraid of the Americans. Allah has condemned them. They are stupid. They
are stupid. (Dramatic pause) And they are condemned.”
“We
will kill them all … most of them.”
“Yes,
the American troops have advanced further. This will only make it easier for us
to defeat them.”
“They
fled. The American louts fled. Indeed, concerning the fighting waged by the
heroes of the Arab Socialist Baath Party yesterday, one amazing thing really is
the cowardice of the American soldiers. We had not anticipated this.”
“Americans
are wild donkeys.”
“This
criminal in the White House is a stupid criminal.”
“They
are not in Najaf . They are nowhere. They are on the moon. They are snakes in
the desert.”
As
is evident from many of Sahaf’s comments spoken in English, the language
barrier allows for a certain element of humor in much of what Sahaf says. And
this no doubt helps bolster his fan base.
The
idea for the site came from Kieren Mulvaney, formerly an activist with the
environmental group Greenpeace. Along with several friends, Mulvaney created the
ad hoc site after seeing Sahaf on television. The public response was immediate,
with the site crashing within days of its launch.
Currently
the site refers to Sahaf as being on “administrative leave” as his
whereabouts, like those of many of the Iraqi regime’s top officials, are
unknown. But that hasn’t stopped the site from advertising t-shirts featuring
Sahaf’s likeness as well as taking suggestions as to which American actor
should portray Sahaf in a movie, should one ever be made about this turbulent
period of time. 
