[2][3] The son of a member of the Ba'ath Party since 1950, Ghazaleh joined the Syrian Arab Army as a first lieutenant and platoon commander of a mechanized infantry (BMP-1) unit in 1973, just in time for the Yom Kippur War but did not see frontline combat.

Ghazale's and Kanaan's foreign assets were frozen by the United States for their role in the alleged occupation of Lebanon and other suspected irregularities.

In December 2005, former Syrian vice president Abdul Halim Khaddam accused Ghazaleh of political corruption, dictatorial rule in Lebanon and of threatening Hariri prior to his death.

He reportedly told them: "We have released the children" – a reference to several teenagers who were arrested for writing anti-government graffiti inspired by the events in Egypt and Tunisia.

[11][12] He allegedly opposed to the prominent role played by Hezbollah and other foreign fighters (in particular Iranians) in the Syrian civil war, a stance which led to him being attacked by the bodyguards of the pro-Iranian Lt. Gen Rafiq Shahadah in early 2015.

[14][15] A figure close to Syrian government officials claimed the argument had been over fuel smuggling, while a Lebanese journalist suspected that Ghazaleh was "gotten rid of" due to the role he could have played in the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.