Iraqi exile Ahmed al-Haboubi's credentials as an opponent of Saddam Hussein are solid - he's seen the Iraqi president's brutality from inside an interrogation cell.

But al-Haboubi, a former minister in the government overthrown by Saddam Hussein's Baath party, has no plans to participate in a U.S.-backed conference of major Iraqi opposition groups to be held this week in London.

"This is an American conference with an American agenda to serve American interests and objectives," al-Haboubi said. "Regime change should be done by Iraqis and for Iraqis."

His criticism is shared by others among the varied Iraqi opposition groups who say the meeting to discuss a post-Saddam Iraq will be dominated by the large Kurdish and Shiite parties. The three-day meeting begins Friday.

Smaller parties have allied themselves with the six main ones to gain entry into the meeting. In addition, 300 spots have been reserved for independent delegates - though the main parties have tried to fill those places with their own supporters.

Conference organizers reject Al-Haboubi's criticism.

"This is a purely Iraqi gathering, organized by Iraqis and financed by Iraqis and will come up with resolutions that serve the Iraqi cause," said Hamid al-Bayati, a spokesman for the organizers. "If the United States has an interest in getting rid of Saddam ... it is a matter of shared interests."

"That will not make us agree to all their (Americans') views or their plans," he added.

» Smaller Saddam Opponents Feel Ignored