ENTERTAINMENT: Baghdad Bob Makes a Comeback

Maybe you know him as Baghdad Bob. Perhaps he's Comical Ali in your neighborhood. Nevermind what you call him, we all fondly remember Iraq's Information Minister Saeed al-Sahhaf as the man who insisted the Iraqi army had won even as the sounds of US tanks rolling into Baghdad were heard in the background. He's somehow managed to achieve a cult following all across the world, and his fans are rejoicing at his return to television.

Baghdad Bob's greatest hits include:
"They are not any place. They are on the move everywhere. They are a snake moving in the desert. They hold no place in Iraq. This is an illusion."
"We butchered the force present at the airport. We have retaken the airport! There are no Americans there!"
"The Americans are not there. They're not in Baghdad. There are no troops there. Never. They're not at all."
And who could forget his touching commentary when shown photos of Iraqi soldiers surrendering,
"Those are not Iraqi soldiers at all."

After surrendering and being subsequently released by Coalition forces, Baghdad Bob hasn't been seen in the public eye until recently.
His new job finds him as an expert commentator on Abu Dhabi TV, offering his opinion on his former boss Saddam Hussein.

"Finding Saddam wasn't surprising," Saeed said. "However, the way he was arrested was insulting.
"We never expected that he would be arrested alive. We all were expecting that Saddam would kill himself rather than be caught."

No word on whether we'll see Baghdad Bob on US television anytime soon, though his fans are making a push for it.

[Edited on 14-1-2004 by Banshee]

Hey! I heard that CNN offered this guy a job as a Middle-east field reporter.

Good old Bagdad Bob was my favorite international character of 2003. In an age of spin, al-Sahaf offered a feeling and comedic authenticity. His message was consistent -- unshakeable, in fact, no matter the evidence -- he commanded daily attention by his on-the-spot, invective-rich variations on the theme. His lunatic counterfactual art was more appealing than the banal awfulness of the Reliable Sources. He was a Method actor in a great production! I think I speak for almost everyone when I say we were refreshed and challenged by his unique point of view. Who has the coconuts to not love a man who set aside the time to humiliate himself publically!! Thumbs to Bob!

[Edited on 21-1-2004 by dreamrebel]

i wish there were more like bob in iraq, the war would have never even have started all the solders would have been on the flour with there hands on there stomachs trying to keep there self�s from laughing out loud.

I love Baghdad Bob. He is the original Officer Barbrady, in real life, "Move along, nothing to see here."

www.theinformationminister.com...

Its mainly an English/British site and uses Flash but its funny.

I loved Baghdad Bob too. In an insane war, he added just the right touch of pure lunacy to make watching the whole thing bearable. He was such surrealistic character and my husband I would stay up to all hours waiting for his latest comments.
I, too, found Bob's crazed, but stubbornly determined, dismissal of the obvious to be extremely refreshing. In a world where every news event is canned and scripted, you could really rely on Baghdad Bob to go "off script". (or maybe he was staying "on script" when he should have gone "off script). Either way, what an enjoyable guy!
Thanks for posting his "greatest hits"...I enjoyed laughing over them once more
joey

I loved Baghdad Bob, he brought humor to that war. Even bought myself a Baghdad Bob mug and mouse pad off of ebay.

He should come over here and get his own sitcom, something like a Fraiser only with an Arab,.

Bob was the greatest. What we need to do is set him up as the permenent White House spokesman. We hardly believe what comes out of the White House now, at least with Baghdad Bob we could have some fun at the same time.

Oops, didn't notice this was in the news forum.


[Edited on 25-5-2004 by intrepid]

You've got to give him 10 for trying. I remember a Baghdad press conference,
where Bob answered a reporters question, of where did he think the coalition's
forces were? His reply was 'lost in the desert...they cannot read a compass and
soon we will slaughter them with bullets and shoes.'
All this while coalition 'fire' was clearly heard in the background!