Iraqi Translator Seeks American Future

Ammar Abdul Rasool Abaas, a former Iraqi interpreter for the U.S. military who wants asylum in the U.S, prepares a car in Irbil, a city in the Kurdish controlled north Sunday, Sept. 30, 2007. Now Abaas, who quit his post and fled Baghdad because of the threats, wants to restart his life in the United States. So far, he's made it only as far as Iraq's northern Kurdish region with a thicket of bureaucracy and uncertainties still ahead.(AP Photo/Aiyod Mawloodi) (Aiyod Mawloodi - AP)

"You are ignorant. You are not educated. You think all Christian people are good, all Americans are good? Everywhere in the world, there are good and bad people," he recalled telling the soldier.

One of the good people, according to Abaas, was a soldier from Hawaii who took a photograph in 2005 of Abaas' oldest child Zahara, now seven years old. The inscription read:

"To your sweet daughter, from me Saito, may her life be full of joy and may she meet someone as nice as you. Saito. Don't forget me."

Last year, Abaas said, a suicide bomber exploded a car near his Humvee northeast of Baghdad. The gunner, wounded by shrapnel in his hand, collapsed into his lap.

"I thought he had died," Abaas said. "I hit him and said, 'Are you good?' He said: "Yes.'"

Abaas never wore a mask during missions because it was hard to breathe and condensation fogged his glasses. He believes he is a marked man if he returns to Baghdad or nearby towns.

Last year, he attended the funeral of a slain cousin who worked for Americans. During the ceremony, he said, a text message beeped on his mobile telephone.

"Your time is coming," it said.