Abdul Majid al-Khoei

摘要

During his years in exile Abdul Majid al-Khoei had a number of conversations with American officials about the possibility of eventually returning to an Iraq no longer under the control of Saddam Hussein. He recalled that in 1991, at the end of the first Gulf war, he was sent by his father, the supreme leader of the Shia majority in Iraq, to meet General Norman Schwarzkopf, the leader of the victorious American-led coalition. The Americans had encouraged Iraqis to rise up and take democratic control of their country from supporters of the Saddam Hussein regime. Fourteen of Iraq's 18 provinces did so. Mr Khoei's mission was to ask General Schwarzkopf what support the coalition could give to the would-be democrats. The meeting was cancelled. The coalition forces withdrew from Iraq. Mr Hussein resumed his grip on the country and thousands of his opponents were killed.