“It is bound to go down as one of the great moments in PR history. | With US tanks rolling into Baghdad and the sound of artillery fire reverberating around the city, Iraq’s ever jovial information minister popped up yesterday to declare that the ‘infidels’ were facing ‘slaughter’…. Standing on the roof of Baghdad’s Palestine Hotel, Mr [Mohammed Saeed al-]Sahaf ignored the sight of Iraqi troops running for cover on the other side of the Tigris river to declare: ‘Baghdad is safe. The battle is still going on. Their infidels are committing suicide by the hundreds on the gates of Baghdad. Don’t believe those liars.'”

—‘Baghdad is Safe, the Infidels are Committing Suicide’Guardian)

Reuters quoted Abdul-Aziz, a Saudi writer: “Sahaf is vulgar but he is a brave liar…If the rest of the Iraqi government or army were this brave, they would inflict many more losses on US and British forces.” Black humor is always difficult to laugh at in the face of real violence, but I couldn’t help but think of The Black Knight from Monty Python and The Holy Grail, who continues to attack King Arthur despite the fact that Arthur eventually lops all of his limbs off. “Alright, we’ll call it a draw,” he assents. When Arthur starts to leave, the Black Knight taunts him.