Khalid Ali Saleh

From the news reports:

My father was a colonel in the Iraqi army. He retired in 1975 after realising that his chances of promotion were slim as he was not a member of the Ba'ath party and had no intention of joining for obvious reasons. …

My father had lived in al-Yarmouk district in Baghdad since 1958. He and mum worked hard to make sure we were brought up well. …

I was born in Baghdad and when I saw my dad last he was a changed man. The good old military colonel, strict and set in his own ways, had turned into a softer gentleman. He was very unhappy in Iraq but at his age found it hard to leave after almost 60 years of living under the same roof. …

I feel sad that neither my mum nor my dad had the chance to see their second grandchild (a boy now aged seven). My kids feel sad as well because I had promised them that one day in the near future they would visit granddad.

GUA 18 Jun 2003