A devout Muslim, Hansali said he did not want to kill.

"I am opposed to war. It goes against my religion," he told AFP on the outskirts of Baghdad, where he is stationed with the marines' expeditionary force.

Hansali, who faces possibile court-martial for indiscipline, reached a compromise with his superiors, who offered to let him to serve as interpreter within the "civil affairs" unit of the force.

"I try to talk to people, to collect information. I'm at peace with myself because I was against the regime of Saddam Hussein and I want to help the Iraqis," he said.

Born in the Moroccan city of Fez 28 years ago, Hansali went to Orlando, Florida at age 15 to study, staying with a friend of his father.

"America is a great country, a land of opportunity. So I stayed there," said Hansali, who became an American citizen in 1998, married an American and eventually settled in San Diego, California.

He joined the army at age 23 "in order to work, travel, change my lifestyle," he said without elaborating.

When the time came to go to war for the first time, Hansali did not tell his family in Fez.

He feared they would worry, but also that they would not approve of his role against an Arab and Muslim country.

"I think they would have found it difficult to accept," he conceded.

"Arabs sometimes react emotionally, rather than logically. As far as I am concerned, it is normal to try to eliminate the Baghdad regime. This will enable Iraqis to benefit from their resources," Hansali said.

"But the way the United States did it, resorting to force against the will of the United Nations, is no good," he said.

"Sometimes I think I am here to help the people. But sometimes I feel my presence is not justifiable," he added with a sad smile.

Iraq is "a strategic country. I think we'll be here for a while," he opined.

Hansali said US President George W. Bush's references to religion "bother" him.

Much as with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, "the US government has the means to do better," he said.

But he has no problem with comrades in his marines unit.

"They respect me and I respect them," said Hansali, who continues to pray five times a day, as devout Muslims do.

"They ask me 'why pray five times'? 'Can one have four wives'? Many never had a chance to meet Muslims and some think that 'Muslim' equals 'Islamist'," he remarked.

"I try to explain that some Arabs use religion for their own ends. Killing innocents has nothing to do with Islam."

SPACE.WIRE