Arab-Americans See Benefits in U.S., Mideast From War : Assessment: Many say their ethnic group has won favorable recognition here. They hope Iraq’s defeat will bring pressure for creation of Palestinian state.

Arab-Americans in California reacted to the prospect of an imminent allied victory Tuesday with a poignant mixture of feelings. Most expressed happiness at the ouster of Iraq from Kuwait and voiced hope that steps will be taken to create a Palestinian state.

Some declared relief that their ethnic group was emerging from the war without much harassment and with its image perhaps enhanced.

Nazih Bayda, regional director of the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee, spoke for many when he said:

“First of all, everybody is relieved that the Kuwaiti people are back in their own country. . . . I hope now that the United States and the rest of the allied forces will work on winning the hearts and minds of the Arab masses and implementing U.N. resolutions to solve the Arab-Israeli conflict and the Palestinian issue.”

Suad Cano, an Iraqi-American community leader in Los Angeles, declared, “Whatever the bad things that happened, all the atrocities of war, I think the Middle East will never be the same, and I’m hoping it’s going to be for the better. I’m hoping that other problems of the region will be solved too. The Palestinian question has to be addressed and worked on.”

As for Iraq, Cano asserted, “The Iraqi population is very sophisticated and smart. . . . I’m confident they have learned from this. They learned the hard way that war does not pay, and they’re probably going to have to make some changes in their form of government. They have to do it. We can’t do it for them.”

Carol El-Shaieb, president of the Arab-American Democratic Club of Santa Clara County, said, “If we solve the Palestinian problem, there won’t be an opportunity for Saddam Hussein to stir emotions by supposedly standing up for Palestinian rights.” She expressed fear that the United States was moving toward an occupation of Iraq and called for a cease-fire instead.

El-Shaieb added that she thinks the war has enhanced the standing of Arab-Americans. “It’s the first time people ever paid attention to us,” she said. “We’re not terrorists, that became clear. We want to be in the position of giving our opinions and in the crisis we were able to do so.”

Victor Ajlouny, vice president of the Silicon Valley Congress of Arab-Americans, agreed.

“There have been some negative things that have happened,” he said, “but I think this is the first time that we as a community have seen Americans come out in support of us--against the FBI interviews of us, condemning threats and violent acts against us.”

The overriding views he finds among his fellow Arab-Americans, and many Americans in general, are that “Saddam Hussein is a Hitler and has to be removed; and, two, when this is over, we have to take care of the poor Palestinians,” Ajlouny said.

Salam Al-Mayarati, an Iraqi-American who is director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council of Los Angeles, said the war has debunked a number of myths, including those of Iraqi military power, of the “ridiculous” notion that Hussein had international or Muslim support, and of any idea that the Persian Gulf crisis represented a clash of religions.

He called for a popular Eastern European-style uprising to rid Iraq of Hussein, and more American support for democratic forces in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries.

Similar appeals were made by two other Iraqi-Americans, Raad Ommar of La Crescenta, a member of the new Coalition for a Democratic Iraq, and Talal Jalaby of Orange, representing the American-Iraqis for Peace and Justice.

“Although our voice is quivering with anguish and disbelief as we witness the destruction and death brought upon Iraq and its people, we (are) determined to turn tragedy into a historical lesson,” Ommar said. “We have a vision of a postwar Iraq, an Iraq free of dictators.”

“I think definitely the Iraqi people and the Iraqi army will take care of Saddam,” said Jalaby.

Disc jockey Casey Kasem, a longtime Arab-American activist, said: “I would hope that we can get Iraq back on its feet, along with Kuwait, and begin to address the Palestinian-Israeli problem. And also the U.S. should be interested in doing whatever we can to influence the emirates, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, to begin to democratize their monarchies.”

Ahmed Nassef, spokesman for the Los Angeles Coalition Against U.S. Intervention in the Middle East, said: “We’ve all had a lot of suspicion about U.S. government motives in this crisis. But we hope now that the U.S. will very swiftly deal with the Palestinian question. . . . It would be extremely hypocritical for the U.S. not to do so after it said it was against illegal occupations.”

Fuad Killu, an Iraqi-American journalist for the Los Angeles-based Beirut Times, said he continues to believe that Iraq could have been ousted from Kuwait by other means. “This was created by one man only (Saddam Hussein),” he said. “By eliminating him, we could have avoided all of this. That hasn’t been done yet. The destruction is continuing, the humiliation is continuing, and I think the Iraqi people have had enough of that.”