Ali dolls out the spin
2003-04-19 18:19
London - An American toy company has begun selling a talking doll of the Iraqi Information Minister, widely known as Comical Ali, Sky News reports.
It recites some of the phrases that made Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf a cult figure during the Coalition offensive.
The 63-year-old's bravado in the face of overwhelming evidence made him an unlikely media star embraced by both supporters and foes of the US-led war.
Connecticut custom doll-making company Herobuilders.com has produced the 12-inch action figure in tribute to what it calls his "one-man battle against the observable facts".
The standard version of the doll is selling for $24.95 and the talking version for $35.95.
The "Iraqi Dis-Information Minister" doll recites phrases such as:
"There are no American infidels in Baghdad. Never!"
"Our initial assessment is that they will all die."
"No. I am not scared and neither should you be."
"We have given them a sour taste."
"They're not even (within) 100 miles (of Baghdad)."
Herobuilders.com claims to have been swamped with hundreds of orders for the doll in the first 24 hours they went on sale.