Reports: CIA candidate to lead Iraq assassinated

www.albawaba.com ^ | 4/14/03

[BCrago66]

Nizar Khazraji, a prominent Iraqi general who defected to the West, was assassinated Monday on his way to attend a U.S.-called meeting of opposition groups in the southern city of Nassiriya.

Khazraji was sometimes mentioned as a possible successor to Saddam Hussein. In February last year, London-based Arabic daily Al-Hayat quoted opposition sources in Syria as saying the US had chosen Khazraji to run Iraq after the overthrow of Saddam.

The CIA was reported to have helped him escape to Kuwait from house arrest in Denmark, where prosecutors were investigating his alleged role in gas attacks on the Iraqi Kurds.

A former Iraqi military chief-of-staff, who turned against Saddam in 1996, he has publicly declared that he was prepared to lead a rebel army into Iraq. "All real Iraqis want to overthrow this regime and I am one of them," he declared from his home in Denmark.

General Khazraji first came to prominence during the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s, and by the end of that decade had been made head of the country's armed forces. He claimed to have warned Saddam during the Gulf War that the invasion of Kuwait had been a mistake.

He subsequently fell from favour and in 1995 fled to Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq, travelling on from there to Jordan. In 1998, he applied for political asylum in Denmark and since the late 1990s he has lived there.

In late 2001, Danish police launched an investigation into allegations that General Khazraji had been involved in the poison gas attack on the Kurdish town of Halabjah in March 1988.

The general has rejected these allegations, dismissing them as black propaganda spread by Baghdad in order to discredit him. (Albawaba.com)

[Dog Gone]

Whoa. If this is verified, this is very big news.

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[sarasota]

I don't know what to make of the fact that the CIA led the escape plan to get him out of Denmark while charges were pending. Anyone know more?

[BCrago66]

Yep. If verified - I don't know who Albawaba is.

[The Raven]

Ouch....he probably was going to talk

[b4its2late]

Syria is going to try to get some of their people in there no doubt.

[headsonpikes]

You said it!

[AgThorn]

This appears to certainly not be good news....

[mewzilla]

Can the DOD be put in charge of the next heir apparent?

[MHGinTN]

Bravo Sierra. The CIA isn't in a position to select a leader for the Iraqi people, as our president has a different and most radical notion ... THE IRAQI PEOPLE WILL SELECT WHOM THEY WISH TO LEAD THEIR COUNTRY.

[RISU]

On general principles I don't mind if Iraq IS NOT lead by the "CIA Candidate".

If he was involved in gas attacks against his own folks, why is the US Government supporting him?

Well, guess it doesn't matter much anymore.

[Dog Gone]

This guy was the CIA choice to head Iraq. The DOD wanted Chalabi.

There may be some spook stuff going on here, but it's pretty amazing that the CIA didn't protect him better.

I sure would like to see another wire service verify this.

[RISU]

Yea, shows great respect for the laws of other nations, doesn't it?

[MEG33]

I think I'll wait to decide if this is true..source bothers me.

[BCrago66]

Well - we're going to be selecting an interim leader until the Iraqi's can get it together. In fact we already have a general in charge of civilian administration - forget his name at the moment.

[LurkedLongEnough]

Missing Iraqi General in Kuwait after CIA aided Denmark escape - Posted on Free Republic 4/6/03

[mewzilla]

The DOD wanted Chalabi?

[BCrago66]

What's the most authoratative Mid-East source? And don't tell me Debka.

[marshmallow]

Tearing down a corrupt regime is the easy part.

Replacing it with something stable and wholesome is generally much more difficult.