In common with the rest of the Iraqi armed forces under Saddam, Lt Col al-Dabbagh was dismissed after the war as part of the de-Ba'athification programme introduced by Donald Rumsfeld, the US Defence Secretary.

"I don't know why they did this to me. My name was passed to the US six months before the war as someone who was helping them." He now works as an adviser to Iraq's Governing Council.

The decision to include him in the "de-Ba'athification program" was likely from high up in the Bush Admin, and just as likely saved his and his family's lives during the fall of Baghdad. Singling the man out and spiriting him to safety would have been very dangerous for him, and fatal to family members left behind.

Dan