Many wars had their propaganda ministers; Lord Haw Haw, Tokyo Rose, Soul City Sue and Hanoi Hannah. Iraq had the famous Comical Ali who accidentally gained a celebrity for laughable reports of Iraq's exaggerated victories over American led coalition forces.
On June 25, 2003, it was reported that al-Sahhaf had been captured by coalition troops at a roadblock in Baghdad. The next day al-Sahhaf appeared in an interview for a news channel outside Iraq. Al-Sahhaf said that he had surrendered to US forces, had been interrogated by them and released.
He was paid $200,000 for the television interview, during which he appeared very withdrawn. This was in contrast to the persona of ill deserved confidence he projected as the war was being fought. During the interview many of his answers consisted of a simple "yes" or "no". He refused to speculate on the causes of the downfall of the Iraqi government and answered only "history will tell"
Although questioned by American authorities, al-Sahhaf was released, and there has been no suggestion of charging or detaining him for his role in the Saddam Hussein government. He is now living in the United Arab Emirates with his family.
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