Does anyone Remember the Spokesperson for Iraq before we invaded?

I'm talking about the overly intertaining crazy guy who would be on the news sometimes touting the supremacy of Sadam Hussein and the Iraqi National Guard against the invaders. My friends and I would get loaded and watch this guy on CNN and laugh like he was Chris Rock Live in Baghdad. Does anyone else remember him? What his name was? What ever happened to him? Someone Should make a movie about him cause seriously he was the funniest thing leading up to the war in my opinion. I wish i had thought at the time to video tape him. The stuff he would claim was outrageous. Anyway if anyone does remember him and has any information or links about him please post them. I kinda miss the old kook!

Thanks

Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf aka Comical Al

www.welovetheiraqiinformationminister.com...

en.wikipedia.org...

[edit on 23/4/06 by Scylding]

Yes. He was the Iraqi Information Minister.

His name is Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf.

There are still entire web sites dedicated to my favorite official spokesperson.

Thanks! Any idea what happened to him after we invaded? was he captured and sent AG with all the others?

Originally posted by whadayawant
Thanks! Any idea what happened to him after we invaded? was he captured and sent AG with all the others?

My guess would be Jester at Camp David

Here's some footage of him from around April 7 2003 that I cut from a larger file:

2003-04-0x-Baghdad-Bob-Iraq

I'll go through my collection and see if I have any video of him from before the invasion but I don't think I do.

Originally posted by whadayawant
Thanks! Any idea what happened to him after we invaded? was he captured and sent AG with all the others?

According to the wikipedia article linked above,

On 25 June 2003, the London newspaper The Daily Mirror reported that al-Sahaf had been captured by coalition troops at a roadblock in Baghdad. The report was not confirmed by military authorities and was denied by al-Sahaf's family through Abu Dhabi TV. The next day al-Sahaf himself recorded an interview for the Dubai-based al-Arabiya news channel. Al-Sahaf said that he had surrendered to US forces and had been interrogated by them. He was reportedly paid as much as $200,000 for the television interview, during which he appeared very withdrawn in contrast with the bombastic persona he projected during the war. Many of his answers consisted of a simple "yes" or "no". He refused to speculate on the causes of the downfall of the Iraqi government and answered only "history will tell" when asked if video clips purporting to prove that Saddam Hussein was alive were genuine, amid speculation at that time that Hussein had been killed during the war.

His fame quickly evaporated as the war continued into its present "insurgency" phase; from the Summer of 2003 onward, he faded from the public spotlight, and is no longer a major figure in the war.

Although questioned by American authorities, al-Sahaf was released, and there has been no suggestion of charging or detaining him for his role in the Saddam Hussein government. He is now living in the United Arab Emirates with his family.