COMICAL ALI (aka Baghdad Bob) SPEAKS: I'VE NO REGRETS

Daily Mirror (U.K.) ^ | 06/27/03 | Paul Martin

[Pokey78]

COMICAL Ali told for the first time last night of his bizarre role in the Iraqi war, and declared: "I've no regrets. I was sincere in everything I said."

Former Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf, who became a cult figure with his wild claims that Iraq had allied troops on the run, spoke after being freed by US forces who captured him earlier this week.

Refusing to admit that he misled the public over the course of the war, he said: "What the public saw is only part of the picture. What I told the public came from very reliable sources. The full picture will only emerge when I write my book." Lying al-Sahaf surpassed himself during the war when he fiercely denied the invaders were in Baghdad while US soldiers could be seen behind him.

Asked where he got his bizarre information, he told al-Arabiya satellite TV: "From many authentic sources. These will be dealt with by history."

Using some of his famously creative language, he added: "The time is not ripe yet to say what happened.

"History always has a wagon. This is the wagon of time to chronicle what happened. I clearly see the wagon is not ready yet. God willing, when this wagon's conditions in terms of time and documentation are fulfilled, we can talk about it. I do not regret what I did. I was sincere in all I said."

He admitted in a second TV interview that when he denied US tanks were in Baghdad, he knew they were there. But he said he was told the situation was under control.

Al-Sahaf declared: "I was Information Minister and fulfilled my duty to the last moment."

The former spin chief was released from custody after US intelligence chiefs admitted he knew little that could help them find Saddam Hussein or weapons of mass destruction.

In contrast to his jaunty appearance during the war, when he wore military uniform and a beret, he looked gaunt and subdued.

Wearing casual clothes, and with his head uncovered to reveal he was balding and white-haired, he said: "Via friends, I went to the Americans.

"There was an interrogation about a number of issues concerning my work. I answered a few questions.

"After the interrogation, I was released. A difficult situation has passed by, not for one person but for all.

"I'm no longer looking for any political role - that's finished. Now all I want to do is look after my family. I'll never leave Baghdad. This is my home."

Al-Sahaf, who once said "lying is forbidden in Iraq", added that he was not afraid of what the future might hold. He said: "Everyone could face something that hurts him. But I don't expect that I'll be hurt."

Al-Arabiya interviewer Saad Silawi said: "He's very depressed. He's a man who is full of pride. Saddam Hussein is still around and until he's captured I think al-Sahaf will hold back."

Among al-Sahaf's wilder claims about the US enemy were, "They're not in control of any airport", "They're coming to surrender or be burned in their tanks", "We're in control, they're in a state of hysteria" and "They're trapped everywhere".

Although not on America's "most wanted" list he was arrested at a roadblock in Baghdad on Monday. There had been reports of his suicide, surrender or escape. Instead he hid away at his home in the suburbs with his wife Lamia, daughter Thefaf and doctor sons, Ziad and Isama.

He was allowed to return home after US intelligence chiefs decided he could not help them any further.

One intelligence source told the Mirror: "He was very polite and helpful but he really did not know much more than we already knew.

"He's been told we might want to speak to him again and he must stay at certain addresses in Baghdad." The Pentagon refused to comment on his arrest or release.

[John Beresford Tipton]

And now, the end is near;
And so I face the final curtain.
My friend, I'll say it clear,
I'll state my case, of which I'm certain.

I've lived a life that's full.
I've traveled each and ev'ry highway;
But more, much more than this,
I did it my way.

Regrets, I've had a few;
But then again, too few to mention.
I did what I had to do
And saw it through without exemption.

I planned each charted course;
Each careful step along the byway,
But more, much more than this,
I did it my way.

Yes, there were times, I'm sure you knew
When I bit off more than I could chew.
But through it all, when there was doubt,
I ate it up and spit it out.
I faced it all and I stood tall;
And did it my way.

I've loved, I've laughed and cried.
I've had my fill; my share of losing.
And now, as tears subside,
I find it all so amusing.

To think I did all that;
And may I say - not in a shy way,
"No, oh no not me,
I did it my way".

For what is a man, what has he got?
If not himself, then he has naught.
To say the things he truly feels;
And not the words of one who kneels.
The record shows I took the blows -
And did it my way!

[GraniteStateConservative]

Someone's cut off his supply of Grecian Formula.

[1Old Pro]

The full picture will only emerge when I write my book."

LOL,Useful idiot to cash in and make millions.

What the heck am I doing wrong.

[gridlock]

You beat me to it!

This guy could make a million with a My Way kareoke video!

[wideawake]

A lot of other actors must envy his ability to stay in character.

[dead]

This article did not appear in the Daily Mirror! This article appeared in the dirt beneath your shoe with which you wrote it. No such article exists! The Information Minister is a fiction with which your Jewish puppetmasters defame and desecrate Islam and death to you all.

[smith288]

What the heck am I doing wrong.

Butt kiss a dictator, pray to a moon God and be a laughing stock of the international community...

Not hard...

[John Beresford Tipton]

Non, je ne regrette rien
[Edith Piaf's song]

Non! Rien de rien ...
Non ! Je ne regrette rien
Ni le bien qu'on m'a fait
Ni le mal tout ça m'est bien égal !

Non ! Rien de rien ...
Non ! Je ne regrette rien...
C'est payé, balayé, oublié
Je me fous du passé!

Avec mes souvenirs
J'ai allumé le feu
Mes chagrins, mes plaisirs
Je n'ai plus besoin d'eux !

Balayés les amours
Et tous leurs trémolos
Balayés pour toujours
Je repars à zéro ...

Non ! Rien de rien ...
Non ! Je ne regrette nen ...
Ni le bien, qu'on m'a fait
Ni le mal, tout ça m'est bien égal !

Non ! Rien de rien ...
Non ! Je ne regrette rien ...
Car ma vie, car mes joies
Aujourd'hui, ça commence avec toi !

[headsonpikes]

The key word is 'useful'.

;^)

[OREALLY]

I wouldn't be surprised if Bob had been an inside informer for the U.S.A.....

[Catspaw]

"History always has a wagon. This is the wagon of time to chronicle what happened. I clearly see the wagon is not ready yet. God willing, when this wagon's conditions in terms of time and documentation are fulfilled, we can talk about it. I do not regret what I did. I was sincere in all I said."

Hmmm...on my father-in-law's farm we call this type of "wagon" a manure spreader.

[sheik yerbouty]

A network will give him hos own sitcom; "Live From Baghdad, It's Comical Ali!"

[1Old Pro]

Butt kiss a dictator, pray to a moon God and be a laughing stock of the international community...

Now that explains why so many liberals write books, same qualifications as this joker.

[joesnuffy]

"lying is forbidden in Iraq",

This guy never quits....what a card

[Sonny M]

The full picture will only emerge when I write my book."

How much do you want to bet that his book will outsell Hitlary's?

[sweetliberty]

"The full picture will only emerge when I write my book"

ROTFL! I do hope it will be available in America. It would be a bestseller. Wonder if he is yet aware of his notoriety here and how many laughs we have had at his expense.

[sweetliberty]

I was hoping someone would post that picture. At least he can't pass as a Saddam look-alike anymore. Does kinda make me wonder what Saddam himself might look like now that he isn't so well-tended though.

[McGruff]

You sure this is the same guy?

[fourdeuce82d]

blast your eyes- beat me to it!!

great minds think alike...