Following the Gulf War, Saddam Hussein sent him to crush a Shiite rebellion in the south in 1991. Al-Khazraji was wounded, captured and treated by the rebels, who later released him. Many believe Saddam suspected that the rebels spared the general because he had spoken out against the regime, and that al-Khazraji lived in fear until he was able to leave Iraq in 1995.
Al-Khazraji says he left because he had enough of Saddam's dictatorship, and has outlined plans for regime change under which the army would take over temporarily until a new government can be elected. (AP Photo/Scanpix, Kristian Linnemann)