"Baghdad Bob": Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf Quiz

Answer: Hilla

He was born in 1940 in Hilla, near Karbala, which is south of Baghdad, and was one of the few members of Saddam Hussain's inner circle not from the area around his hometowm- Tikrit.

Answer: True

The Baath Party was dominated by the Sunni Muslims, who were a minority in Iraq. However, al-Sahaf was a Shi'ite, and was an outsider in the functioning of the party.

Answer: Teach English

He studied journalism at university level, and planned to become an English teacher, but he gave that up when he joined Saddam's Baath Party.

Answer: 1963

He joined the Baath Party in 1963, at the age of 23, 5 years before the Saddam Hussain-led government came into power.

Answer: Burma & Sweden

He was a diplomat as well as a journalist, and had a few stints as ambassador to Sweden, Burma and the United Nations between his joining of the Ba'ath Party in 1963 and his becoming foreign minister in 1992.

Answer: Foreign

He was given the charge of foreign minister in 1992, which he held till 2001. His tenure spanned the post-Gulf War period of UN Sanctions, and also the eviction of the UN weapons inspectors in 1998.

Answer: Tariq Aziz

Tariq Aziz was the Baath Government's information minister before al-Sahhaf, and he became the Deputy Prime Minister after the end of the Gulf War. al-Sahhaf was often compared unfavourably with him. The head of the then-opposition Haidar Ahmed said that al-Sahhaf was disliked from within the party for his 'opportunism' and he gained a reputation as a 'party lackey'.

Answer: Uday Hussain

Saddam's son Uday forced al-Sahaf to quit being the foreign minister in April 2001, after he blamed the Iraqi delegation at the Arab Summit for failing to secure a joint stand against the UN Sanctions by all the Arab countries.

Answer: Comical Ali

He earned the nickname 'Comical Ali' by the media because of his far-fetched and extraordinarily optimistic and upbeat comments about his Government's situation during the 2003 American invasion. The name 'Comical Ali' was derived from 'Chemical Ali', a name that was given to Ali Hassan al-Majid for his role in using chemical weapons in the ethnic cleansing of Kurds in northern Iraq. His daily televised briefings during the war caused a lot of amusement the world over, and even some confusion regarding how well the war was going. Some of his more well-known and humourous quotes:

"We are not afraid of the Americans. Allah has condemned them. They are stupid. They are stupid" (dramatic pause) "and they are condemned."

"I can say, and I am responsible for what I am saying, that they have started to commit suicide under the walls of Baghdad. We will encourage them to commit more suicides quickly."

"I blame Al-Jazeera - they are marketing for the Americans!"

"The authority of the civil defense ... issued a warning to the civilian population not to pick up any of those pencils because they are booby traps," he said, adding that the British and American forces were "immoral mercenaries" and "war criminals" for such behaviour.

"I am not talking about the American people and the British people," he said. "I am talking about those mercenaries. ... They have started throwing those pencils, but they are not pencils, they are booby traps to kill the children."

"There are no American infidels in Baghdad. Never!"

And now for the ultimate irony:
"Lying is forbidden in Iraq. President Saddam Hussein will tolerate nothing but truthfulness as he is a man of great honor and integrity. Everyone is encouraged to speak freely of the truths evidenced in their eyes and hearts."

His quotes have even given him a large cult following, with a few websites dedicated entirely for him, such as the famous www.welovetheiraqiinformationminister.com! There are also DVDs, T-shirts, coffee-mugs, and other articles with pictures of him on sale along with his (in)famous quotes!

Even after his capture on June 25, 2003, he said that he "had no regrets" about the remarks he'd made during the War with America, and that the "full truth" would only be revealed after he wrote his book. (June 28, 2003)

Answer: 8 April 2003

During the 2003 Gulf War , he was last seen on 8 April 2003 on television, the day before the fall of Baghdad.

Postscript:

Since the writing of this quiz, the London-based newspaper "The Daily Mirror" reported that al-Sahaf had been captured at a roadblock in Baghdad on June 25, 2003. The military refused to confirm his capture, which was denied by his family through Abu Dhabi TV. The next day, al-Sahaf himself gave an interview for the Dubai based al-Arabiya news channel, for which he was reportedly paid as much as US$ 200,000! He said that he had turned himself in to coalition forces and had been interrogated by them; and that "history would tell" the truth about whether videos showing Saddam Hussain were genuine, amid speculation of his being killed. (For once, he was correct!) Eventually he was released, and is not going to be charged or detained any more for his involvement in Saddam's government. He now lives in the United Arab Emirates with his family.