CAIRO - Pounding a table with the energy of a man half his age, Hassan Ali Radwan, 89, declares in a blaring voice his intention to go to fight US troops in Iraq.

　　"We cannot sleep because of what is happening in Iraq. Woman and children don't stop crying over what is going on there," Radwan said. Despite his age, he insisted he was fit to fight.

　　"We must go to fight (the Americans) in Iraq, or else we would have to fight them here," the blue-eyed farmer added, his voice drowning out younger volunteers scrambling to fill out application forms to travel to Iraq.

　　Thousands of volunteers from across the Arab world, including Egypt, are already in Iraq,swheresUS forces have reached Baghdad in their drive to oust President Saddam Hussein.

　　Thousands more young and middle-aged Egyptians have been flocking to the Lawyers' Union in Cairo to sign up to fight.

　　The powerful syndicate has become the focal point of opposition to the war, with Iraqi, Palestinian and Egyptian flags flying over its gates.

　　Union officials say up to 13,000 Egyptians from all over the country have signed up to fight in the five days since they began taking applications.

　　Recalling 12 years spent in Iraq earlier in his life, Radwan said Iraqis were kind to him when the country was at peace. "We should stand by them in their hour of need."

　　In a sawdust-strewn downtown coffee shop, Hisham, an unemployed commerce graduate struggles to make his voice heard over a blaring television while explaining why he has not told his mother that he plans to travel to Iraq to fight.

　　"My mother would fear for me if I told her now, but if she heard I died defending Iraqis, I know she would feel proud," he said.

　　The Iraqi embassy in Cairo said it had no information about Egyptians looking to fight in Iraq.

　　Hisham and hissgroupswill not be the first Egyptians to fight in a foreign war. Thousands of Arab volunteers, including Egyptians, fought Soviet forces in Afghanistan in the 1980s.

　　Some of those who returned used their military experience in a bloody conflict between militants and the Egyptian government between 1992 and 1997.

　　Obstacles in the way

　　Outside the Iraqi embassy, Hisham and four other men waited to hear the outcome of one of their group's meeting with Iraqi officials.

　　"Iraqi officials (in the embassy) told me that things are difficult at the moment... We might have to go through Syria," said Mahmoud, a thick-set man wearing a Palestinian head dress, after emerging from the embassy.

　　Later at the coffee shop, along with seven members of his group, Mahmoud, the unofficial leader of the delegation and at 35 the oldest, said the men faced official obstacles.

　　They need letters of permission from the Egyptian authorities to go to Iraq, but the government would not issue such permits while the war rages.

　　Mahmoud said the Iraqis themselves suggested the men try to travel to Iraq through Syria, but even that could prove tricky.

　　"The Egyptians have closed the door to Syria because they know how the people feel and that they want to go for war," he said.

　　From Syria, the journey would be far from easy. Two routes lead to Baghdad, one stretches for 386 km and the other for 563 km through war-torn parts of Iraqswhereseven non-military vehicles are under threat. On March 24, five Syrians were killed when the bus they were returning home in was bombed by an aircraft taking part in the US-led war, in what the Americans said was an accident.

　　For Saddam?

　　Amr, a 20-year-old student, says he wants to go to help Iraqis but not Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

　　"It's clear this is a war for oil and Zionism," Amr said referring to the ideology behind the founding of the state of Israel. "We want to help Iraqis, not Saddam. But Saddam is no worse than (Israeli prime minister Ariel) Sharon and there is no war on him," he added.

　　Even though everyone agrees they are not going to fight for Saddam, some have a favourable view of the Iraqi leader, who is seen by many Egyptians as a victim of pro-Israeli US policy in the Middle East.

　　Both Amr and Hisham say they are able to fight because they have no younger family members that depend on them. Both expect to die and be buried in Iraq.

　　None of the men conform to the stereotype of an Arab or Muslim "fanatic".

　　Amr's thick glasses slip off his face as he becomes animated when he talks about "American aggression against Palestinians and Iraqis". The pen in his top pocket makes him look more like technician than a warrior.

　　Hisham talks excitedly about Egyptian pop stars when someone steers the discussion away from war.

　　All the men present see it as their religious obligation to fight in Iraq.

　　Amr says he has no plans to take part in suicide bombings, or "martyrdom operations", which Iraqis have used in the war, but he says the final decision will depend on the circumstances.

　　Nazek Nosseir, chair of the sociology department at the American University in Cairo says a misguided sense of loyalty to what are seen as Islamic or Arab causes and Egypt's faltering economy drive some young men to go and fight in Iraq.

　　"If you were to survey those young men, most are probably without work or without work they are satisfied with.

　　"If they had a job that sustained them and they had families to support, they might think twice before making such a decision," she said.

　　"I think we will end up fighting the Americans and British soldiers in the streets of Baghdad. The Iraqis have rifles and that's all we need," said Hisham.

　　Amr says he has told his mother of his planned mission and she has reluctantly agreed but made him promise to try to return. Hisham has told his family he is going on holiday to Morocco with his friends.

　　"I don't know if I will return to Egypt," Amr said.