Cairo, Oct 16: Iraq's former Information Minister said the main reason the Iraqi Army collapsed so quickly during the US invasion was widespread confusion after American troops captured the Baghdad airport. Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf, speaking to an Arab television network yesterday, acknowledged that some Iraqi officers told the soldiers who were trying to regain the airport not to fight and to leave their units.
``Our troops were confused, there was a wide desertion by the soldiers and several units were destroyed,'' al-Sahhaf said, describing the battle around Baghdad airport when US troops reached it on April 4. Al-Sahhaf became infamous during the US-led invasion of Iraq for hurling anti-American insults and outlandish claims of Iraqi military victories over the coalition. He claims he surrendered to US forces, was questioned and released.
He disappeared April 9, the day Baghdad fell, and reportedly hid in a relative's home. He was not included in the list of 55 most wanted Iraqi officials and left Baghdad for the United Arab Emirates on July 10. Asked if treason was behind the collapse of the Iraqi forces, al-Sahhaf said, ``You can call it treason but I call it a state of confusion of the Army.'' Bureau Report