Serving America's 'Muslim army' (BBC)

Arab-Americans have been fighting in Iraq since the very beginning of the conflict there. Many simply see it as their duty to serve their homeland, America.

Others who have ended up on the frontlines in the so-called "war on terror" have suffered a crisis of conscience, having had to fight fellow Arabs and Muslims as the "enemy".

Three Arab-American marines tell their stories.

JAMAL BAADANI

Jamal Baadani is a gunnery sergeant currently stationed at Quantico Marine Corp Base in Washington DC. He served in Yemen for Operation Enduring Freedom, and won three awards for his services. He is also the founder of Apaam, the Association of Patriotic Arab-Americans in the Military - prompted by the backlash of racism he and his family were subjected to after the 11 September attacks on New York and Washington in 2001.
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MUHAMMED KHALED

Born to a Palestinian father and American mother, Mohammad Khaled joined the US Marines in 2000 to pay for his education. Three years later he found himself in Iraq. He left in 2006, after an incident in which he was left stranded while trying to save three children from incoming fire. He now works as a car salesman.
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more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6230498.stm

There is some upsetting reading here. Not the graphic horror of war, but the unthinking cruelty of their fellow Americans.

in Gulf War I, my favorite Middle Eastern restaurant was vandalized, including horrible words about Arabs. After 911, my husband's life was threatened because of his faith.