Seventh Interview: More live questions from viewers

Opinion, October 2003, www.aljazeerah.info

Al-Sahaf Talks about the US-UK War on Iraq

Jassem Obaid of Abu Dhabi TV interviewing Muhammed Sa'id Al-Sahaf, the former Iraqi Minister of Information

A Summary Translation By Dr. Hassan El-Najjar

Al-Jazeerah, 10/23/03 (Date of the interview)

Note from Al-Jazeerah:

The interviewer was not sympathetic to Saddam or the Iraqi regime in all of the seven interviews. In a way, he sounded like an interrogator questioning a prisoner of war. Actually, he was gloating for what happened in Iraq. Al-Sahaf was obligated to do the interviews as his part of the deal of taking him and his family out of Iraq to reside in the UAE. Most callers were aggressive and some of them were impolite.

Question 1: Have Arab Leaders offered help for Iraq to get out of the impasse?

Answer: President Husni Mubarak suggested to open Iraq for inspection without limits. But they could have done more.

Question 2: What could they have done?

Answer: Arab governments could have helped inspections by sending teams to testify that Iraq had no Weapons of Mass Destruction. The Iraqi position was plain, and we needed a third party other than US-UK to tell the truth to the world.

Question 3: Shaker (an Iraqi immigrant in Denmark), a former Iraqi military officer: What happened to the Republican Guard? Where did it go? How did it evaporate?

Answer: (No answer, they another call was taken - Answered in # 5).

Question 4: Muhammed from Oman: What are the real objectives of the US-UK invasion of Iraq? How come you're not listed among the 55 wanted people by the US occupation forces?

Answer: (No answer - Answered in # 5).

Question 5: How many assassination attempts were there against Saddam?

Answer: Barzan Al-Tikrity wrote a book listing tens of attempts. In 1999-2000, Saddam mentioned three attempts by one person, a colleague. He was forgiven after everyone of them. Saddam told him that he had to do better but warned him of punishment if he attempted it again after the third.

Concerning the Republican Guard, it did not evaporate. It participated in the war until April 5. The leadership was active until then. Actually, a member of the Revolutionary Command Council, Latif Nassif Jassem, met face-to-face with a US tank in Za'afaraniya (He did not surrender).

With regard to the 55-name list, I was not the only one who was not on the list. Many ministers were not on it. For example, the Foreign Minister, Naji Sabri, and the Presidential palace chief staff, Ahmed Hussain, were not on the list.

Question 6: Abu Rami, an Iraqi immigrant in Sweden: Do you like Saddam to come back? What do you think of mass graves? What do you think of Muqtada Al-Sadr? Doesn't he remind you of Uday?

Answer: Saddam will not return.

With regard to mass graves, they should be investigated. The investigation should reveal who started it and who reacted. There should be objectivity. (He hinted to the 1991 US-prompted Shi'a and Kurdish revolts, which were crushed without intervention from the US).

The interviewer asked him about Uday Al-Sadr, again, but he gave no comments.

Question 7: Ibrahim, from France:

Don't you think that what happened was a kind of feud and stubbornness between Saddam and the Bush family?

Answer: Even before the Bush Sr. administration, there was hostility towards Iraq. US foreign policy is not based on personnel disliking. These are strategic policies, published and studied by researchers.

Question 8: What's your position right now? Do you have second thoughts?

Answer: I am with the (Arab Ba'ath Socialist) party line. I have been a Party member for the last 35 years. But I have my own views. I was faced with harm and injustice, at some time, but I'm not against the Party until now. I believe in the Arab Nationalist movement.

Question 9: Was there a plan for the post-war era?

Answer: No. However, president Saddam Hussain had some ideas.

Question 10: Yassir, a caller from the UAE. The caller criticized the interviewer, Jassem Obaid, for his style of interrogating his guest. He also criticized him for insisting on that Al-Sahaf describe Saddam as "the former President" instead of his reference to Saddam as the President.

Then, the caller asked Al-Sahaf: Why didn't the Iraqi leaders call on Arabs to interfere in order to prevent war?

Answer: (Apparently a continuation of answering Question 8) My role was to defend my country. I couldn't say we were defeated. This would have lowered the morale of my people and the Iraqi army. I wanted to strengthen the will of the last Iraqi soldier fighting against the invasion.

Concerning asking for help from Arabs, it wasn't practical. It wouldn't lead to anything, under these circumstances.

Question 11: What do you think of (the Defense Minister) Sultan Hashem Ahmed? How do evaluate his performance?

Answer: (No answer).

Question 12: How did Saddam get 99.9% of the votes in the Presidential election?

Answer: It was not an election. It was a referendum. People did not cast their votes out of love for Saddam. Rather, they did it out of fear of the invasion and its consequences.

Question 13: This is the last question. Do you want to say any final word to anybody?

Answer: I'd like to thank Shaikh Zayed (the President of the UAE and ruler of Abu Dhabi Emirate) and the other Shaikhs (rulers of the other six emirates that constitute the UAE) for hosting me and my family.

For viewers, I'd like to say that war is a bitter experience, which is hard to document until after a long time.

First interview, Background to the War on Iraq.htm

Second Interview, The 48 Hours Before and Early Days After the War.htm

Third Interview Resistance in the South and the Jessica Story.htm

Fourth Interview Fall of southern cities, oil wells, and Israel.htm

Sixth Interview 9th of April, 2003 and live questions from viewers.htm

Seventh Interview: More live questions from viewers

Earth, a planet hungry for peace

The Israeli apartheid (security) wall around Palestinian population centers (Ran Cohen, pmc, 5/24/03).

The Israeli apartheid (security) wall around Palestinian population centers in the West Bank (Ran Cohen, pmc, 5/24/03).