"Blair... is accusing us of executing British soldiers. We want to tell him that we have not executed anybody. They are either killed in battle, most of them get killed because they are cowards anyway, the rest they just get captured"
- Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf
About this Quote
This quote by Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf is an action to allegations made by Blair that Iraqi forces were performing British soldiers. Al-Sahaf is denying these allegations, claiming that British soldiers are either eliminated in battle or captured. He suggests that the majority of British soldiers are killed in fight due to the fact that they are cowards, recommending that Iraqi forces are not responsible for their deaths. This quote is an example of al-Sahaf's characteristic rhetoric, which was frequently utilized to reject the existence of union forces in Iraq and to minimize the successes of the union. Al-Sahaf's words were frequently seen as funny and ridiculous, but this quote exposes the underlying tension between Iraq and the union forces.
"Diplomats are just as essential to starting a war as soldiers are for finishing it... You take diplomacy out of war, and the thing would fall flat in a week"