There are at least 3,500 Arab-Americans serving in the US Army

Many of the Arab-Americans serving in the US Army simply see it as their duty to serve their homeland, America.

Others who've 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".

The US army has been eager to recruit Arabs, especially as translators, to go and serve in hotspots like Iraq where their language skills and cultural knowledge is badly needed.

What does it mean for the young Arab men and women who choose to join and are they prepared for the consequences, especially the potential wrath of their own community?

In this programme, three Arab-American marines tell their stories and relive the hard lessons they've learned from their experience.

 Listen to the programme

This programme is available as a podcast/download.

This programme was first broadcast in June 2007 and was produced by Dima Hamdan BBC's Arabic Service.