A U.S. official says defector 's claims about Baath Party cooperation are `` consistent '' al Qaeda , former Qatari ambassador to U.S. , is the highest-ranking diplomatic defector . `` I tried to convince the regime ... to change its treatment of the people , '' he says . Iraq denies accusations of massacres and attacking civilians .
A U.S. official says defector 's claims about al Qaeda cooperation are `` consistent '' Nawaf al-Fares , former Syrian ambassador to Iraq , is the highest-ranking diplomatic defector . `` I tried to convince the regime ... to change its treatment of the people , '' he says . Syria denies accusations of massacres and attacking civilians .