'Chemical Ali' Feared to Use Chemical Weapons

March 28 -- Some 14 tons of evidence against Gen. Ali Hassan Al Majid, Saddam Hussein's cousin and the man called "Chemical Ali," from more than 10 years ago — videotapes, audiotapes and documents — were airlifted out of Iraq in 1992 in the days following the Persian Gulf War.

Today that information is being scrutinized more than ever as U.S. forces approach Baghdad, and as "Chemical Ali" is believed to be one of the lynchpins of the defense of Iraq. All who know him fear he will do what he's done before and use chemical weapons.

Majid, believed to be now leading the resistance to U.S. forces in the south of Iraq, was nicknamed "Chemical Ali" because he, with apparent zeal and relish, allegedly carried out a chemical attack that killed and permanently maimed tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians.

Majid denies that he has carried out such atrocities, but U.S. investigators say the trove of evidence against him is damning.

Former U.S. ambassador Peter Galbraith first discovered the evidence of Chemical Ali's activities more than 12 years ago.

"Mass killers do turn out to be bureaucrats," said Galbraith. "Nazi Germany kept its records. Saddam Hussein kept his records."

One particular videotape Galbraith and his team of war crime investigators found, made by the Iraqi security services, is of an execution of Kurdish dissidents, one of countless acts of brutality ordered by Majid.

"This is an incredibly cruel figure. This, this is a man who knows how to marshal all the instruments of terror and cruelty to promote his objectives," Galbraith told ABCNEWS. "And I think he's doing it today in the south of Iraq."

And people throughout Iraq know what Chemical Ali will do to those in his way.

"You can see here the crowd that's been forced to turn out for these executions," said Galbraith, pointing to the mass of people on the videotape, including children. It was a message to not defy Saddam's rule.

And after the executions, a final indignity: "All the officials come and each of them put a bullet into the body," said Galbraith, "Everybody then bonds together in committing these acts."