Comical Ali back on TV

FORMER Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf, who earned the nickname “Comical Ali”, made a sudden appearance in Abu Dhabi yesterday, saying he might not return to his homeland.

“When I leave I always have in my mind that I might not come down this road again, but I’m working and praying to God that I can return to Baghdad one day,” he said on Abu Dhabi television.

Sahaf, 63, became an unlikely media star during the war, winning his stripes as a hero to many in the Arab world while Western audiences gasped and then chuckled at his bravado.