Sixth Interview: 9th of April, 2003 and 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, 10/22/03

Question 1: How do you describe the cause of what happened on 9th of April, 2003? Betrayal?

Al-Shahaf: No evidence of betrayal except some officers going to tell soldiers to go home, whether this was planned or not, we don't know.

Question 2: Were these deals between Iraqi military leaders and the US? Or simply the loss of a military battle? Which one do you support?

Al-Shahaf: I lean towards the loss of the battle explanation, particularly weakness, dismantlement, then collapse. Iraqis planned to resist for a longer period. When this didn't happen, the plan failed.

Question 3: Were there any modifications in the military plans after the losses in the south?

Al-Shahaf: Yes, using the "karr wa farr" (attack and retreat) strategy, which aimed at pushing the invaders as many times as possible, in order to lengthen the fighting period.

Question 4: You have been accused by the media of hiding information during the previous five interviews. Is that true?

Al-Shahaf: No, I have not hidden anything that I know for sure. However, I know a lot more than I am not completely sure about. I need more time before I speak about it.

Question 5: Tell us about some information that you know but you've preferred so far not to speak about.

Al-Shahaf: One of the issues that I am not sure of, for example, is what happened to the alternative broadcasting TV stations. These were placed under the supervision of Qussay and the protection of the Republican Guard. These were supposed to work when the TV stations stop working, thus replacing them. However, these alternative stations did not work, maybe they were destroyed, I don't know what happened to them.

Question 6: Now is the turn of viewers to ask questions or say brief comments.

The first viewer called but did not ask questions. The second viewer was Bashar, from Syria. His question was: "Did Saddam do that? I mean allowing the US to invade Iraq?

Al-Shahaf: (did not give an answer).

Question 7: You told reporters that the Iraqis would use an unconventional weapon to restore the airport, what was that?

Al-Shahaf: I did not mean an unconventional weapon, rather, an unconventional method, a small guerilla warfare. In answering Haider, the regime fell by the weapons of the invaders.

Question 8: The regime wasn't popular. Was it?

Al-Shahaf: Some people didn't like it, like all others regimes in the world. There are people who still support it until now.

For Brother Bashar from Syria (Question 6), no leader of any country accepts to deliver his country to the invaders.

Question 9: In order to save Iraq from the horrors of the invasion, don't you think that the regime had to change itself since 1990 to avoid what has happened?

Al-Shahaf: (No answer because of a viewer's call)

Question 10: This is Faris from Saudi Arabia: Is it true that you threatened Aljazeera TV correspondents in Baghdad?

Al-Shahaf: With regard to your previous question (8), some of the Iraqi military units collapsed but others kept fighting to the end.

Question 11: When was the last time you saw Saddam? Was he really the same person we saw on TV?

Al-Shahaf: Yes, he was real. He was Saddam.

Question 12: Can you think of any mistakes (that have cause the collapse on 9th of April)?

Al-Shahaf: Two main mistakes. First, the political and diplomatic work that we did was not enough. Second, we could have done more to lengthen the military resistance.

Question 13: What could have been done?

Al-Shahaf: The invaders were successful in isolating Iraq? The political leadership was more influential on decision making than the technical elements in the foreign ministry. This should have not been the case.

Question 14: Ali (from the US): Did you know about mass graves?

Al-Shahaf: I urge Iraqis to investigate the issue thoroughly through courts to find out the truth, particularly who started and who reacted.

Question 15: Amer (from France): What have you achieved by destroying the Great Iraq? You led the country into wars with Iran, Kuwait, and into this war. What have you achieved?

Al-Shahaf: (No answer because the interviewer took another call).

Question 16: Fawaz (UAE): 150 US killed during war. Is that all, is that true?

Al-Shahaf: The (British newspapers) the Observer and the Independent reported that there were about 5,000 US-UK soldiers, who were killed and injured during and after the war. The US command has not announced the true numbers.

Question 17: Did you, as the Iraqi leadership, discuss the Sheikh Zayed initiative (which was proposed by the UAE just before the war), which called for the removal of Saddam as a solution to avoid the war?

Al-Shahaf: No, we didn't. It doesn't happen in any country. He (Saddam) wouldn't give the country away to the invaders.

Question 18: As'ad (Norway): What's the truth?

Al-Shahaf: (No answer because the interviewer took another call).

Question 19: Noafal (UK): I think that Colin Powell's presentation in the UNSC was propaganda. I salute Mr. Al-Sahaf.

Al-Shahaf: (No answer because the interviewer took another call).

Question 20: Muhammed (UAE): (Addressing Al-Sahaf angrily): Don't you regret now? Yes, or No? Answer me!

Al-Shahaf: I refuse to answer it. It's a judgmental question.

(Note: Several callers were Iraqis who were opposed to the Saddam regime. They spoke harshly to Al-Sahaf without asking specific questions).

Question 21: Joseph (Iraq), addressing the Abu Dhabi TV journalist, Jassem Obaid: Have you paid Al-Sahaf 1.5 million dollars?

Jassem Obaid: No, we have not paid him anything. He accepted to talk in return for receiving him in the UAE.

Question 22: Do you think that the corpses were truly for Uday and Qussay?

Al-Shahaf: Yes, they were. Their father confirmed that when he mourned them in one of his tapes.

Question 23: Three questions from a caller, Hajras: First, were you content of freedoms allowed to Iraqis? Second, why did you prevent Iraqis from receiving Satellite stations? Finally, what about Saddam's winning with 99.9% of the votes in elections?

Al-Shahaf: The (US-enforced UN) embargo destroyed the country. We couldn't do the reforms we wanted to introduce, including a multi-party system.

With regard to satellite stations, we were not the only government in the world that censored what's to be seen by its citizens. We started broadcasting 14 satellite channels, we wanted to be sure that bad channels do not enter people's houses.

Question 24: Omar (Saudi Arabia): Salute to Mr. Al-Sahaf. What do you say about the Arab states, which helped the invaders?

Al-Shahaf: (No answer).

Question 25: Will Saddam come back?

Al-Shahaf: No, I don't think so? But it is not Saddam who is under foreign occupation, it's the Iraqi people who are.

Question 26: What do you think of Saddam's video tapes?

Al-Shahaf: He focuses on resistance to the occupation. It's not about him returning to power.

A caller from the USA (Tanya): Bashing Saddam and the Ba'ath Party. No questions.

Question 27: Shukri (UAE): The UAE initiative could have given Saddam a chance to leave Iraq and spare Iraq the war and destruction. If he had accepted, couldn't this have happened?

Al-Shahaf: I have answered this before (in Question # 17). He (Saddam) decided to fight and die rather than giving his country to the invaders.

Question 29: What do you think of this document, which was found in the Ministry of Information after the war? It shows that Aljazeera TV station had received 50,000 Euros from the Iraqi Ministry of Information.

Al-Shahaf: This is a fake document. It has nothing to do with me. We had no money to give to anybody. I mean it there was no money.

Question 30: Nour Eddin (Ireland): What happened to the one-million man Iraqi Army? Where were they in the battlefield? What happened in the Baghdad airport?

Al-Shahaf: (No answer because the interviewer took another call).

Question 31: Fayez (Germany): Do you support the argument that Saddam will show that he was right?

Al-Shahaf: (No answer because the interviewer took another call).

Question 32: Ammar (UAE): Arab states in the Gulf are criticizing Iraq, which is unfair particularly because they supported Iraq (during the Iran-Iraq war). I agree with the previous caller (Fayez) on that history will record whether Saddam was right or not.

Al-Shahaf: (No answer because the interviewer took another call).

Question 33: (An anonymous caller): Was the US capable of penetrating the Iraqi system of information and sources? How do you explain some of the contradictions in reporting?

Al-Shahaf: Yes, it was possible. But there is another explanation for the contradictions. Simply, initial reports may not be accurate. So, when we investigated them, we would modify the story. For example, we reported that there was a US air raid on a civilian bus in Al-Rotba. That was on basis of preliminary reports. So, we invited journalists to go and see by themselves. However, when they arrived they found nobody except the bus, which was really attacked. When the journalists went to the hospital, they still found nobody who was injured in the attack. It turned to be that the injuries were small. People were treated and went home.

Another example was the report about two pilots who were allegedly shot down over the Tigress River. When we investigated it further, it turned to be two containers of fliers, dropped over the river. People thought they were two pilots landing with their parachutes.

Question 34: How did Saddam feel during the fighting?

Al-Shahaf: He was excited during the first four days of the war, particularly for the fighting in Basra. However, he got angry when he discovered that small Party units did not do well, later.

Question 35: Abu Ali (Iraq): Has Al-Sahaf seen the beauty of Abu Dhabi City? Has he seen the services there? Has he compared that with Iraq before the war?

Al-Shahaf: (No answer because the interviewer took another call).

Question 36: Sayedah (UAE): How do you evaluate your role? Do you have a word to say to Iraqis?

Al-Shahaf: All what I'm concerned about is ending the occupation. Even those who have come with the Americans are asking for an end to the invasion and the occupation.

Jassem Obaid: Thank you Mr. Muhammed Sa'id Al-Sahaf. Thank you dear viewers.

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).