Posted on 04/29/2003 7:42:32 PM PDT by Lawrence of Arabia
DAMMAM, 30 April 2003 — The Al-Arabiya satellite channel has confirmed that it has offered employment to the former Iraqi Minister of Information Mohammed Saeed Al-Sahaf. Ali Al-Hudaithi, director general of Al-Arabiya, told Arab news that Al-Sahaf would be free to work for the channel whenever he wanted and that the channel would facilitate whatever he needed, including a residence permit. The idea is that he could choose between presenting special programs or being a political analyst or both, Al-Hudaithi added.
In explaining the offer, the director said that Al-Sahaf had been part of the former Iraqi government and that because of that, he knew many things of interest to viewers. He also has wide knowledge and experience that could help in explaining Iraq’s history and discussing the country’s future.
Al-Hudaithi denied that the channel was looking for publicity. “The channel chose him because he has things to say about Iraq and he is one of the few Iraqi officials not wanted by the Americans; he is not on the list of 55 wanted Iraqis.”
He commented sarcastically: “It would be great if we could get Saddam Hussein to work for us.” Al-Arabiya is currently featuring Mohammed Al-Douri, the former Iraqi ambassador to the United Nations, on six live programs about Iraq, and the channel has plans to hire him as a commentator.
Al-Sahaf is internationally known and many people, especially in the Arab world, would welcome him as a TV personality. Even President Bush admitted last week that he sometimes broke off his official meetings so that he could watch the Iraqi information minister on TV. His press conferences were eagerly awaited during the war when he was called the minister of misinformation.
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