President Bush is a war criminal and the British Defence Secretary a donkey, according to Iraq's Information Minister, Muhammad al Sahaf
Geoff Hoon [the British Defence Secretary\] said that UK forces participated in the first attack against Iraq. He is a donkey. The British forces hit vacant buildings belonging to Iraqi Television in Al-Ramadi, Al-Anbar Governorate. From here I send him a cable. I express scorn towards this despicable man.
So that the world might know, please convey the facts. If these scoundrels want to impose hegemony on Iraq, they will be frustrated, curse them. We will show you all their corpses. We will show you how the heroic Iraqi people will blast and crush these colonialists.
They hit radio and television buildings in Al-Anbar Governorate. They hit customs buildings in Al-Rutbah. They hit civilian areas in Baghdad suburbs - Al-Darwah and east of Al-Dawrah.
We will follow up the other crimes that these international scoundrels are perpetrating. Those who met on a remote Portuguese island [of the Azores\] are in fact outlaws. Now they are mercenaries and war criminals.
The proper description of these scoundrels, these aggressive invaders, these idiots, is that they are mercenaries and war criminals. That is the proper description of the US and British rulers.
As for the other lackeys who the scoundrels are keeping under their thumb, they do not deserve any comment.
They have used technology. They fear the transmission of the Iraqi Satellite Channel. They used their technology from areas that we have not yet accurately specified. They are from somewhere west of Iraq.
They disrupted the transmission but we will overcome their despicable action.
The scoundrels of the US administration, the despicable idiots, and the scoundrels of the British government are trying by all means to prevent the facts from reaching the world. All those who respect the journalistic profession - television, radio and the press - must support this profession. Tell the world about the crimes of these scoundrels and rascals. Tell them from Saddam Hussein's Baghdad, the Baghdad of the Iraqi people, what you believe. Tell them with pictures and facts.
I must comment on the speech of vomit, the speech of the US regime, little George Bush, who made the televised speech that triggered the crime of attacking Iraq. He accused us of using women and children as human shields, that this is a criminal deed.
They are Americans, Italians, Spanish and of various nationalities. Most of them are Westerners and Europeans. They came voluntarily [to Baghdad\]. They are strugglers who oppose war and aggression. They came and volunteered to live with the Iraqis and be human shields at all civilian establishments.
Speak with them in order to respond to this villain, war criminal little Bush. He did not blink an eye - because he is a criminal and the son of a criminal. Let this lowly person be cursed.
I ask you to show the reality to him and to the others. What is more important is to tell the world who these human shields are. They are people who came to prevent war and to share their feelings and their position against war and aggression with the Iraqi people.
The other point is that they said that they attacked Baghdad with 40 cruise missiles. Why was that? They said that they targeted President Saddam Hussein. Curse on them.
The rulers of the United States now declare that they are assassins - that they are a gang that assassinates others. Forty cruise missiles - damn them. Therefore, the natural reply was the speech by \ president, may God watch over him - the unique leader Saddam Hussein - to the sons of our people, the Arab nation and all free peoples of the world.
The speech was not directed at the lackeys of imperialism but to the free peoples of the world.
There is a leader who defends right against the injustice created by people who believe in assassination. I believe that George Bush, the dwarf, should be targeted and the British prime minister should be targeted. They should be targeted by their peoples. These are criminal scoundrels.
Extracted from comments, broadcast by al-Jazeera television, made by Mr al-Sahaf during a briefing for journalists in Baghdad on Thursday