USA/IRAQ: Saddam Hussein's master of spin, Information Minister Mohammed Al Sahaf becomes cult figure around the world

Record ID: 644460

  • Title: USA/IRAQ: Saddam Hussein's master of spin, Information Minister Mohammed Al Sahaf becomes cult figure around the world
  • Date: 16th April 2003
  • Summary: SCU (SOUNDBITE) (English) NUGENT SAYING: "Oh White House Press Secretary. He's a natural for it. I think we'd have to work on his diction a little bit, try for that middle American affect, see if we could get him to talk around a problem a little more, rather than directly at it, not to mention spitting on it. But I think this guy's got a bright future." (L!1) BAGHDAD, IRAQ (RECENT) (REUTERS) SCU (SOUNDBITE) (English) AL SAHAF SAYING: "They are not near Baghdad. Don't believe them." (L!1) NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (APRIL 16, 2003) (REUTERS) AL SAHAF DOLL HEARD
  • Embargoed: 1st May 2003 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK / LOS ANGELES, UNITED STATES / BAGHDAD, IRAQ
  • City:
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Domestic Politics,People,Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
  • Reuters ID: LVA3DCJHDPVAD7DB3ATG2CNSAL6P
  • Story Text: Saddam Hussein's master of spin, Information Minister Mohammed Al Sahaf has become a cult figure around the world, with his denials of the successes of U.S and British troops.
    With the war seemingly over, the missing minister has sparked a new industry in America catering to Al Sahaf's many fans with talking Al Sahaf dolls, websites, mugs, T-shirts and mousepads.
    For weeks Mohammed Al Sahaf, Saddam Hussein's chief spinmaster was seen around the world proclaiming Iraqi victory over "American infidels". Wearing his trademark black beret, he denied the U.S. presence in Baghdad, told of Iraqi victories over U.S and British troops and coined sayings like "Washington has thrown their soldiers on the fire" and "I can speak better English than Bush".
    Sahaf, 63, became an unlikely media star embraced by both supporters and foes of the U.S.-led war in Iraq.
    In the United States the minister developed a cult following and has been at the receiving end of many TV jokes, including a recent sketch on NBC's late night talk show "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno".
    Now, a Connecticut custom doll making company, Herobuilders.com hopes to take advantage of the craze. Owner Emil Vicale decided to make a talking doll of the Iraqi Information Minister.
    Vicale explains, "what we did is we were able to obtain a digital copy of his voice, his voice soundbites that he said in the last days. And we were able to digitize that and impregnate that on a voice chip. And the first thing he says is 'there are no American infidels never'. And another one is 'Our assessment is they will all die' and it just goes on. And we're also going to come up with volumes of these great quotes that he says."
    In just 24 hours Herobuilders.com had received hundreds of orders for the $35.95 doll, dressed in army fatigues complete with a black beret. Vicale plans on sculpting a bank of microphones to accompany the doll and hopes to offer customers a choice of Al Sahaf sayings to be inserted into the digital voice chip.
    One small group of Americans also started a website devoted to Al Sahaf.
    One of the creators of www.welovetheiraqiinformationminister.com is Conn Nugent, who admits he altered his work schedule so he could watch Al Sahaf's briefings live on cable news. The site, which has been up for just ten days, now gets a staggering 4,000 hits a second - the demand has already killed three of their servers.
    Paying tribute to the former Information Minister, Nugent said "number one this guy is reliably unreliable. He doesn't tell half truths or little white lies, he tells big whopper fat lies. So you can always count on him to stay on message, and the message being that of course the American soldiers were committing suicide upon the gates of Baghdad. But the second characteristic of the minister, besides his intellectual consistency was that everyday he had interesting variations on that simple theme. He was colourful. He was creatively insulting."
    The site offers a collection of Al Sahaf's press conference lines and offers merchandise like mugs, T-shirts and mousepads emblazoned with Al Sahaf quotes. One of the most popular items is an apron with the quote "God will roast their stomachs in hell at the hands of the Iraqis."
    The site also has a number of suggestions as to which Hollywood star could play Al Sahaf in any upcoming movie about the master of spin - Sydney Pollack, Michael Caine and Ben Kingsley among some of the favourites.
    Since U.S troops entered Baghdad, he's not been seen. The U.S government is not looking for him specifically, Al Sahaf is not on Washington's list of Iraqi officials most wanted.
    Nugent jokes about Al Sahaf's 'possible career options' in the U.S. Asked which job Al Sahaf should try for, Nugent said, "Oh White House Press Secretary. He's a natural for it. I think we'd have to work on his diction a little bit, try for that middle American affect, see if we could get him to talk around a problem a little more, rather than directly at it, not to mention spitting on it. But I think this guy's got a bright future."
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