AMMAN, Jordan -- Amer Ahmed recalled the television pictures of Iraqi fighters resisting U.S. soldiers in the sleepy port of Umm Qasr, unlikely Arab heroes pinning down the invaders as soon as their boots stepped onto Iraqi sand. Then only days later, Ahmed watched from his home in Amman as Baghdad abruptly fell. American troops were practically joyriding through the storied Arab capital, with no one to challenge them. The dream of Arab champions putting up a fight against the superpower was shattered. "In Baghdad, the Iraqis had weapons. They had an army. If you fought only with your hands,...