Hussein Kamel defected and was murdered when he returned to Iraq

The most prominent defector in recent years was General Hussein Kamel, chief of Iraq's secret weapons procurement programme.

General Kamel and his brother, both sons-in-law Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, fled to Jordan and divulged Iraqi military secrets to Western intelligence.

Inexplicably, the two men returned to Baghdad after being promised pardons.

They were immediately divorced by Saddam Hussein's daughters and killed in a prolonged machine gun and mortar attack on their home by the army.

Other less prominent defectors have included a nuclear scientist and the weightlifter who carried the Iraqi flag at the opening ceremony of the 1996 Olympic games in Atlanta.

Damaging defections

Some defections, like that of Hussein Kamel, can be extremely damaging to Iraq.

Abbas al-Janabi passed on what he claimed to be extensive information about Iraq's chemical and biological weapon's programme.

In the same year, another defector, Sami Saleh, revealed how Iraq sidestepped the international embargo against it.

Barzan al-Takriti is constantly surrounded by rumours that he will defect

One figure, Mr Hussein's half brother and banker Barzan al-Takriti, has for years been surrounded by speculation that he is about to defect.

If he were to defect, many analysts believe, Western governments would get crucial information on the whereabouts of the vast private fortune the Iraqi leader is believed to have accumulated over the years.

It has been reported that he has been approached by the CIA several times on his international travels.

Mr Takriti is reported to have had several serious clashes with President Saddam's brutal eldest son Uday - which is an even stronger motive to defect.

Thinking twice

Potential high-level Iraqi defectors will always think twice about running away because of the likely retribution that may be visited on them and their relatives.

Three years ago in Jordan, eight Iraqis including a senior diplomat, were killed in an unexplained incident.

Some reports said the Iraqis were about to defect, others that the killings followed a dispute over smuggling between Iraq and Jordan.

Would-be defectors may also hesitate because many of those closest to the Iraqi leader have over the years built up records of committing or being responsible for widespread atrocities.

Barzan Takriti's movements around the world are being closely monitored by groups wanting to see him arrested and trial for war crimes.

One such group, the US-backed Indict (or The International Campaign to Indict Iraqi War Criminals), says that Mr Takriti was personally responsible for the murder and torture of dozens of people, including the entire population of one village.

The arrest and detention of the former Chilean leader General Augusto Pinochet has whetted the appetites of many campaigning groups for further actions of this kind.