Not surprisingly, It is pretty hard to track down information about some former members of Saddam Hussein's Iraqi regime. But I tried this week.

Since the Gulf War I have occasionally thought about a girl I went to university with. We sat next to each other in a few classes and started talking one day after I saw her being dropped off in a stretch limo. She wore a headscarf but was completely Western. Her father was a diplomat and she had gone to primary school in London when he was posted there, then high school in D.C. and Ottawa for university where he was the Ambassador.

We became fairly close even though we never saw each other off campus. We spent time together a few days a week for a couple of years.

Obviously her father must have been a trusted member of Saddam's inner circle. But I believe he defected with his family in London after the Gulf War. I have found absolutely no information about the family after this. Were they granted political asylum in London? Or elsewhere? Did he have millions stashed somewhere? What happened to my friend? I will never know.