Sehaf Says Iraq Has Taught the Invaders an Unforgettable Lesson Urging Arab Journalists, at Least, to Verify Anglo-American Press Statements Before Making an Echo of Them

07/04/2003| IslamWeb

Iraqi Information minister, Mohammad Saeed a-Sahaf has said that Iraqi resistance groups and the Iraqi army has this morning cleaned Baghdad of all invading forces especially a column that was trying to advance towards the city centre from the Baghdad Addarra District. The Iraqi minister added that all Baghdadis are now armed with machine guns and ready to defend the city against the invaders.

Mr. Sehaf said that the invaders are basing their military strategy in their advance on Baghdad on psychological warfare based on providing the press with information taking advantage in this respect of the poorly qualified Arab media which he said is totally dependent on Western news agencies already embedded with the invading forces who are controlling what should be aired or printed. He particularly blamed al-Jazeera TV Satellite Station for simply echoing what Western media is allowed to report. He urged all journalists Arab and non-Arab to verify whatever information comes their way before reporting it to their audience worldwide.

Sahaf also refuted western military reports that the building of the ministry of information as well as other government buildings was taken by invading forces.

Asked about an emergency UN Security session to discuss the situation in Iraq, the minister said Baghdad has long lost faith in the international organization adding that as far as the regime in Baghdad is concerned the only diplomacy that now counts is what the Iraqis can state in no uncertain terms on the battlefield. However, he added that the United Nation has to move and move very quickly to condemn the invasion and demand an immediate ceasefire coupled with a demand that the invading forces immediately withdraw from Iraq. Otherwise, he added, the organization will be degraded under American hegemony into an organization that can only be equated with what the minister described as a 'brothel'.

The Iraqi foreign minister again expressed the hope like he did yesterday that he would be able to take the journalists on a round to prove to the press that the invaders trying to enter Baghdad in response to the orders of their leaders in Washington and London are in effect being sent on what is tantamount to a suicide mission.

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Iraqi information minister, Mohammad Saeed al-Sahaf Says Iraq has taught the invaders an unforgettable lesson urging Arab journalists, at least, to verify Anglo-American Press statements before making an echo of them.