Today on his blog Prof. As’ad AbuKhalil posted a letter from an American soldier stationed in Kuwait. Abu Khalil teaches political science at California State University and guest lectures at Berkeley. Ken Silverstein recently did an excellent profile of the Angry Arab on his Harper’s blog, Washington Babylon.

"Mr. Abu Khalil,
I am myself in a difficult situation. I am in the American military, as you might see from my email address, and am serving in Kuwait. I graduated from Syracuse University where I studied International Relations. My concentration was Middle Eastern studies and conflict resolution (go figure, right?) and I now find myself settled in the middle of a bunch of racists. The images most Americans here on camp have of Kuwaitis aren’t even of Kuwaitis, or even Arabs.
I am emailing I suppose to tell you about how disappointed I have been with the Soldiers and Officers who serve with me. I have tried my best to get them understand the conflicts raging within the area along the Mediterranean, but most wave their hand and dismiss it as a war waging for thousands of years, which you and I both know is not true. I make the effort to explain why we need to deal with conflicts with an even hand, not a biased opinion without facts. I try to give them a glimpse of what it would be like to have an America like Israel. America is not perfect, by no means, but we still have our limits… In America, you don’t get certain rights because you are part of the majority, the white protestant group, or lose them if you decide you would like to follow a different faith. I believe is it completely un-American to support a state such as Israel, yet we are their biggest supporter. What are they, the 18th richest country in the world? Receiving the most of our tax dollars?
I want to explain to the Soldiers that this conflict is a direct result of the seeds sown by WWI and not of an ancient conflict between Muslims and Jews. The seeds planted by the west are now deeply rooted in the area. Israel exists, and the Zionists continue to exploit those around them, as seen by some of the pictures posted on your “Angry Arab” website. I wanted you to know I am disgusted, and have been since the Iraq War started. There is no one man enough to do the right thing… There is an agenda out there that is so very strong, as you have mentioned. Israel’s plight is shown, but not the innocent bystander Lebanese. It breaks my heart to watch the news because I know what is really happening. It’s no wonder that Americans think the way they do, but somebody must know what is really going on… Or so I keep telling myself.
I believe I will be leaving the military as soon as my commitment is up. What do you think, if you have the time to give me your opinion, is a good course of action once I get out of this military of ours? I want to make a difference in the lives of people and get them to somehow understand what is really happening and also how embarrassed we should be. I wish there were somehow a way to show these people in a light that would make people realize what a crime we are supporting. And even if we’re not supporting, we’re standing by watching and doing nothing, which is most of the time even worse.
Thanks for telling it how it is, and I just wanted you to know, all of us aren’t totally blind."

Barbara Kruger, Untitled No, 1985.