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Hurt and disillusioned, some Arab fighters go home
Reuters | 4/09/03 | Mariam Karouny

Posted on 04/09/2003 4:30:45 AM PDT by kattracks

Hurt and disillusioned, some Arab fighters go home

By Mariam Karouny

BEIRUT, April 9 (Reuters) - Salaam went to Iraq to do battle with Americans and die a martyr. He returned home with shrapnel wounds and tales of fighting U.S. military might with a rifle.

From a Baghdad hotel he moved to a training camp where volunteers practised shooting and trench warfare. Then Salaam, 24 years old and unemployed, was sent to war.

"I was sleeping behind mounds of sand and firing from kalashnikovs on helicopters. It was craziness," he said.

"We stayed at the front five days and we didn't eat anything. I saw two dead bodies shot in the head."

Thousands of volunteers from across the Arab world are thought to be in Iraq to fight advancing U.S. and British forces. On Wednesday, Saddam Hussein's rule collapsed as jubilant Iraqis welcomed U.S. troops in Baghdad.

Salaam, a Lebanese Shi'ite Muslim, said he was unprepared for the hostility of some Iraqis to volunteers like himself.

"I went there to be a martyr, not to be murdered by a brother," he told Reuters. "We went there to help them liberate their country, and all they did was shoot us in the back."

"I am not afraid of the Americans. On the contrary I want to fight them. But I was scared of the Iraqis, specifically those who call themselves the Iraqi opposition," he said.

In Lebanon hundreds requested visas to enter Iraq via Syria. Others like Salaam, whose name means peace, went on their own.

"People must understand we went there for jihad. Iraq is a holy land and we must protect it," said Salaam, who returned to Beirut last week with shrapnel in his leg.

Muslims believe that those killed in jihad, or holy war, are martyrs who go straight to paradise.

The Muslim holy cities of Najaf and Kerbala, home to some of Shi'ite Islam's most revered shrines, were the scene of fierce fighting earlier in the 21-day-old war.

PROMISED PASSPORT, HOUSE, BRIDE

Salaam, who returned with a friend who did not want his name used, said Iraq had promised them an Iraqi passport, a house and an Iraqi bride after the war ended as a reward for fighting.

Salaam is not normally religious.

He said the closest he got to action against the Americans was to shoot a rocket propelled grenade at a tank.

"I feel I am stronger than a hero," Salaam said. "I thought when I saw an airplane I would flee, but I stayed and I waited for them and God gave me the strength."

The body of another volunteer was brought home last week. Crowds met his wooden coffin with flowers and rice in the narrow streets of Beirut's Bourj al-Barajneh Palestinian refugee camp.

The Lebanese volunteers who fought the Americans in Iraq, however briefly, say they are heroes.

"I am proud that I went. I also felt that my father was so happy that I left. He didn't say anything but he was proud," said Salaam's friend.

"Our friends see us as heroes. One of them told me he is scared of the Americans because they have warplanes and he hates the sound. But I told him that God is on our side."

04/09/03 07:26 ET


TOPICS: Front Page News; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: iraqifreedom; martyrsiniraq
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To: kattracks
"We stayed at the front five days and we didn't eat anything. I saw two dead bodies shot in the head."

Some martyr, I'd expect him to make stew out of it instead of complaining.

41 posted on 04/09/2003 5:44:37 AM PDT by JudgemAll
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To: kattracks
Muslims believe that those killed in jihad, or holy war, are martyrs who go straight to paradise.

Whose Jihad? Losers, you're bound for hell.

42 posted on 04/09/2003 5:46:02 AM PDT by JudgemAll
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To: kattracks
The body of another volunteer was brought home last week. Crowds met his wooden coffin with flowers and rice in the narrow streets of Beirut's Bourj al-Barajneh Palestinian refugee camp.

The Lebanese volunteers who fought the Americans in Iraq, however briefly, say they are heroes.

These people are not Lebanese, they are Palestinian trouble makers. This article is full of sh!t.

43 posted on 04/09/2003 5:46:59 AM PDT by JudgemAll
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To: Aquinasfan
Too bad the Americans didn't get a chance to make a Salaam sandwich out of him...
44 posted on 04/09/2003 5:48:18 AM PDT by reagan_fanatic
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To: kattracks
"I went there to be a martyr, not to be murdered by a brother," he told Reuters. "We went there to help them liberate their country, and all they did was shoot us in the back."

Ha Ha! -- Nelson Muntz

45 posted on 04/09/2003 5:49:12 AM PDT by RogueIsland
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To: kattracks
Salaam, a Lebanese Shi'ite Muslim, said he was unprepared for the hostility of some Iraqis to volunteers like himself. "I went there to be a martyr, not to be murdered by a brother," he told Reuters. "We went there to help them liberate their country, and all they did was shoot us in the back."

I will apologize in advance for trivializing war and death...

but Bwahahahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!

46 posted on 04/09/2003 5:52:21 AM PDT by Coop (God bless our troops!)
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To: kattracks
"I went there to be a martyr, not to be murdered by a brother," he told Reuters. "We went there to help them liberate their country, and all they did was shoot us in the back."

That's what is known as a clue.

Unfortunately, you missed it.

Even more unfortunately, it missed you too.

47 posted on 04/09/2003 5:52:54 AM PDT by butter pecan fan
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To: kattracks
they have the same complaints as the human shields
48 posted on 04/09/2003 5:52:57 AM PDT by InvisibleChurch
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To: piasa
Hahahhahahha ... great post.
49 posted on 04/09/2003 5:59:48 AM PDT by dennisw
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To: kattracks
Gee Salaam, what did you expect? You go there to lend aid to the guy with his boot in their face and they are angry at you. What a shock!
50 posted on 04/09/2003 6:17:38 AM PDT by PogySailor
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To: kattracks
"I am a brave hero". "Don't use my last name, though 'cause that really would scare me." Ha Ha Ha, what a joke. Syrian passport? Hope the guys at the State Dept. remember this the next time some Syrian diplomat claims to be our friend; I doubt they will though.
Diana
51 posted on 04/09/2003 6:45:02 AM PDT by DianaN (Eternal Freedom)
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To: patriciaruth
Thanks for the ping
52 posted on 04/09/2003 8:32:33 AM PDT by firewalk
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To: kattracks
You know this story reminds me of the stories of when we would fight the indians in the 1800'S. Many would run to the soldiers touch them on the shoulder and run off, so they could brag that they did it. Many didn't make it. It is the same here. I think they get the same milage out of losing as they would winner. Wasn't it Woody Allen that said." Half of like is just showing up"...
53 posted on 04/09/2003 8:40:33 AM PDT by Walkingfeather
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To: Walkingfeather
If that's how they want to play it - go home and pretend they were heroes, Beruit may finally get freedom after 25 years of terror. Line up for battle, boys, and give it your best shot; we're sendin' in the Marines...and they STILL know how to use a rifle.
54 posted on 04/09/2003 8:50:27 AM PDT by Amalie
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To: kattracks
You had a kalashnikov?! Why, all we had were rocks. When we ran out of rocks the Iraqis told us to fart in their general direction.

Signed, Hammad
55 posted on 04/09/2003 8:56:04 AM PDT by 5by5
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To: kattracks
"I am not afraid of the Americans. On the contrary I want to fight them.

Then go back and try again. Coward.

He said the closest he got to action against the Americans was to shoot a rocket propelled grenade at a tank. "I feel I am stronger than a hero," Salaam said. "I thought when I saw an airplane I would flee, but I stayed and I waited for them and God gave me the strength."

So firing a single grenade and watching an airplane make a hero? Geez, there were Iraqis driving pickup trucks at tanks and Bradleys, getting blown to pieces in the process, and this guy thinks he's a hero? Should have followed the Iraqis' example and died fighting.

The Lebanese volunteers who fought the Americans in Iraq, however briefly, say they are heroes.

Well, they've got some fairly low standards for the "hero" status, I guess. Then again, Himmler considered himself a hero because he could stand and watch while others machine-gunned unarmed civilians by the hundreds.

56 posted on 04/09/2003 9:15:37 AM PDT by chimera
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