# GI Joe's next opponent **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 21, 2003, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gi-joes-next-opponent/170030 "2003-04-21T13:54:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bayonet1976](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/77aa72/32.png) [@bayonet1976](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bayonet1976)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2003, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gi-joes-next-opponent/170030/1 "2003-04-21T13:54:34Z")
And now you can own the Iraqi information minister, and if you’re so inclined, fight him with your GI Joe, or your Barbie. According to [this story](http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=573&ncid=757&e=8&u=/nm/20030421/od_nm/odd_iraq_dolls_dc) anyway. What do you think? Cheap at 35.95? ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2003, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gi-joes-next-opponent/170030/2 "2003-04-21T14:23:16Z")
“In very poor taste”, sez this humorless person, seeing as how it’s being reported that the man hanged himself. ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2003, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gi-joes-next-opponent/170030/3 "2003-04-21T14:26:17Z")
Plus there’s this: [http://www.thescotsman.co.uk/international.cfm?id=450462003](http://www.thescotsman.co.uk/international.cfm?id=450462003) > [@](#): > > Son’s fears for fate of information minister > > JIM MCBETH > > THE nearest Osama al-Sahhaf can get to his infamous father - if he is alive - is a talking doll, which screams: “NO! I am not scared!” and costs $35.95 plus postage from the villain action series at [herobuilders.com](http://herobuilders.com). > > There may be the blackest humour in the new United States-made toy, and in the memory of Mr Sahhaf’s legendary invective during press briefings at the height of the war, but his son, a doctor, who has been in Ireland for 18 months, doesn’t see the joke. > > The surgeon does not know if his father, Mohammed al-Sahhaf, is alive after reports from Iran suggested the former Iraqi information minister had committed suicide to escape US retribution. The guy has a family, fer crissakes. ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2003, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gi-joes-next-opponent/170030/4 "2003-04-21T15:54:57Z")
I’ll have to get one and put him by my Bobblehead Jesus! ---
**Author:** ![Slacker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@Slacker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slacker)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2003, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gi-joes-next-opponent/170030/5 "2003-04-21T16:24:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Duck Duck Goose \* > \*\*Plus there’s this: > > [http://www.thescotsman.co.uk/international.cfm?id=450462003](http://www.thescotsman.co.uk/international.cfm?id=450462003) > The guy has a family, fer crissakes. \*\* Is that mitigated at all by the fact that he devoted his life to evil? Do you harbor the same outrage over the Dubya dolls on that site? Or does it only count if the person is possibly deceased? ---
**Author:** ![bayonet1976](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/77aa72/32.png) [@bayonet1976](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bayonet1976)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2003, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gi-joes-next-opponent/170030/6 "2003-04-21T17:08:48Z")
Oh please, lighten up and get off those high horses. In the first place, the man may or may not be dead, in the second place, his son is not amused? No fucking shit! Neither would I if it was my father, but it is not. It is the doll of someone who was part of an evil government, a government who killed and tortured people for fun and profit. In the third place, making fun of evil figures we defeated in war is a time honored tradition, and must I add, funny as hell to those without bugs up their ass, or possible relatives. And just because I’m thinking of it now, did you have problems with “The Producers”? No? Interesting, that whole “Springtime for Hitler” bit was surely about an evil, dead man, who surely must have people who loved him dearly. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2003, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gi-joes-next-opponent/170030/7 "2003-04-21T19:54:10Z")
“He devoted his life to evil?” Did I miss the news reports that the Information Minister tortured puppies and maimed children for fun? Gee, and all this time I thought he was just a guy doing his job, albeit in a somewhat goofy way… ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2003, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gi-joes-next-opponent/170030/8 "2003-04-21T21:23:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by rjung \* > \*\*“He devoted his life to evil?” > > Did I miss the news reports that the Information Minister tortured puppies and maimed children for fun? Gee, and all this time I thought he was just a guy doing his job, albeit in a somewhat goofy way… \*\* Well, his job was working for Sadam Hussein and supporting his regime. Saddam, and his regime, were both evil by any rational standard. So, yeah, “devoted his life to evil” isn’t a particular stretch. ---
**Author:** ![peepthis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9d8465/32.png) [@peepthis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peepthis)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2003, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gi-joes-next-opponent/170030/9 "2003-04-21T22:07:30Z")
I bought a t-shirt with his face on it, saying “We are in control.” Once reports of his suicide appeared I had some compunction about still wearing it. Then upon thinking about it, I realized this guy was (please excuse the Godwinization, but it’s appropriate) the Iraqi Goebbels. We only knew him from his few weeks during the war when he was just a joke, but he was doing all this crap and terrorizing Iraqis with propaganda for years. “Just doing his job” is not an excuse in my book. I’m not shedding a tear for the guy, and if he did off himself then that would be the most honorable thing he’s done in years. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2003, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gi-joes-next-opponent/170030/10 "2003-04-21T22:31:05Z")
I hope they make the Chemical Ali doll WITH SUPER SARIN SPRAYING ACTION!!! and Uday Hussain WITH POWER ACTION PUNCH !! LOOK OUT JOE!! Its the IRAQI T-80 TANK WITH BATTLE DAMAGE EXPLODING TURRET AND SCUD LANCHER WITH MISSILE LAUCHING ACTION!!!\* DON"T WORRY!!! ‘SNAKEYES’, ‘PRIVATE LYNCH’ AND THE ‘LYNCH MOB’ HAVE THE LASER DESIGNATOR READY AND ‘ARCHLIGHT’ IN THE B-52 IS READY TO DROP A MOAB\*\* ON 'EM!! _KA-BOOM!!_ GO JOE!! \*Hasan the Tank Driver and Baghdad Bunker playset sold separately. Some assembly required. \*\*Actual B-52 does not come with M.O.A.B. bomb ---
**Author:** ![Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bad_News_Baboon)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2003, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gi-joes-next-opponent/170030/11 "2003-04-21T23:07:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Duck Duck Goose \* > \*\*Plus there’s this: > > The guy has a family, fer crissakes. \*\* …so did all the people who were tortured under his regime. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2003, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gi-joes-next-opponent/170030/12 "2003-04-22T09:54:25Z")
It’s a damn shame. If it weren’t for that doll, his son would have really loved America. ---
**Author:** ![Waverly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/57b2e6/32.png) [@Waverly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waverly)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2003, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gi-joes-next-opponent/170030/13 "2003-04-22T12:31:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Duck Duck Goose \* > The guy has a family, fer crissakes. Oh, please. Sun Myong Moon has loads of children, it doensn’t necessarily make him any more palatable as a human being. And Moon hasn’t been funny in years, this guy is a comic genius. ---
**Author:** ![TwistofFate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@TwistofFate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwistofFate)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2003, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gi-joes-next-opponent/170030/14 "2003-04-22T12:44:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Alessan \* > \*\*It’s a damn shame. If it weren’t for that doll, his son would have really loved America. \*\* And the fact that he is a medical doctor in a western country means nothing to you? Because his father was a mouthpiece for Saddam makes him anti-american also? guilt by association! Arrest him immediately! Fuck off. ---
**Author:** ![Slacker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@Slacker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slacker)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2003, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gi-joes-next-opponent/170030/15 "2003-04-22T13:00:14Z")
I was wondering where all the compassion fascists were today. Good morning, TwistofFate! > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TwistofFate \* > \*\*And the fact that he is a medical doctor in a western country means nothing to you? Because his father was a mouthpiece for Saddam makes him anti-american also? > > guilt by association! Arrest him immediately! > > Fuck off. \*\* We’ll ignore the obvious fact that **Alessan** is joking. Regardless, where did he (or she) say that the doll was OK because he was anti-American? Where does he say that he even cares whether the guy likes the United States or not? In fact, where the hell does he say anything you responded to? ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2003, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gi-joes-next-opponent/170030/16 "2003-04-22T13:25:19Z")
Twisty, if the American army killed my father or drove him to suicide, I’d probably hate America too. Compared to that, an action figure is pretty insignificant. So get some fucking pespective. ---
**Author:** ![TwistofFate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@TwistofFate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwistofFate)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2003, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gi-joes-next-opponent/170030/17 "2003-04-22T14:14:50Z")
> [@](#): > > I was wondering where all the compassion fascists were today. Good morning, TwistofFate! I’m a compassion fascist? get a fucking grip. Alessan: > [@](#): > > I’d probably hate America too. You’re still making the assumption that he hates America. Where did you get this from? ---
**Author:** ![Slacker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@Slacker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slacker)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2003, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gi-joes-next-opponent/170030/18 "2003-04-22T14:25:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TwistofFate \* > **I’m a compassion fascist? get a fucking grip.** Mea culpa. You’re not a compassion facist, you just berate people and tell them to ‘fuck off’ if they don’t show as much concern for our enemies as you do. You’re merely a ‘_compassion fan_.’ ---
**Author:** ![TwistofFate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@TwistofFate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwistofFate)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2003, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gi-joes-next-opponent/170030/19 "2003-04-22T14:26:03Z")
> [@](#): > > Mea culpa. You’re not a compassion facist, you just berate people and tell them to ‘fuck off’ if they don’t show as much concern for our enemies as you do. You’re merely a ‘compassion fan.’ How is this guy’s son your enemy? ---
**Author:** ![TwistofFate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@TwistofFate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwistofFate)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2003, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gi-joes-next-opponent/170030/20 "2003-04-22T14:29:14Z")
And how exactly are they _my_ enemies, anyway? they certainly weren’t America’s enimies when America was helping them against Iran, were they? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gi-joes-next-opponent/170030.md?page=2)