] Al-Sahhaf's aura of confidence, along with the surprising
] resilience of Iraqi fighters in the first weeks of the war,
] have become an unlikely source of pride for an Arab world that
] has watched the invasion in impotent anger.
]
] "He's the comic relief of the war," said Salwa, a 59-year-old
] Egyptian teacher. "At the same time, he's the voice of victory
] that we want to believe."
 . . .
] By Monday, U.S. troops were occupying the Baghdad parade
] grounds and one of the main presidential palaces and calmly
] chatting live on TV with a Fox News reporter. Meanwhile,
] a few hundred yards away on the eastern bank of the Tigris
] River, al-Sahhaf stood on the roof of the Palestine Hotel
] telling reporters that U.S. troops had been taught "a lesson
] that will not be forgotten in history" and were "committing
] suicide against the walls of Baghdad."
 . . .
] Indeed, it seems like the only appropriate ending for
] this televised point-counterpoint (with al-Sahhaf on one
] side and reality on the other) would be for a U.S. tank
] to roll by in the background of one of al-Sahhaf's news
] conferences with a soldier holding up a "Hi, Mom" sign.

Iraqi information chief unshakable as Baghdad falls around him