In every news report about Saddam's appearance on Iraqi TV, they make a reference to the story of the Iraqi farmer shooting down a helicopter with his old Korean rifle. Since Saddam mentions this story, he must have survived the intitial attacks, right? Except, of course, that the story isn't true. It's one of the hoariest old propaganda ploys in history: the rustic old geezer who defeats the high tech, soulless, apparently invincible enemy with nothing but bravery and pluck. The fact that the Iraqis pulled it out the minute the ground assault began suggests it was in the hopper waiting long before the war started, and Saddam's reference was no doubt part of the plan from the beginning.

As for the references to troops surrounding Baghdad, didn't Saddam always say his plan was to lure the US forces to Baghdad and then destroy them in urban warfare? This speech fits perfectly with Saddam's strategy. Knowing that he would probably be pretty busy once the war started, it only made sense to tape this beforehand, even if he wasn't worried about being incapacitated. Chances are still high that he's either dead or severly wounded, and his cohorts suddenly remembered they had this thing to use in just this situation anyway, so here it is.