The Espionage Cases and Muslims in America

Phil Carter has good and continuing coverage of the espionage arrests in connection to the detainees in Guantanamo Bay. FoxNews is reporting that there may be a nefarious connection to Syria. I'll confess to both shock and sadness at the news of these arrests. I probably shouldn't feel that way, as espionage is nearly as old as warfare itself. I also briefly felt a shameful emotion that I suspect resonates more strongly with some of my fellow Americans: distrust for Muslim soldiers. It didn't last for long, and I think I've recovered completely from the reflex, but I don't want to ignore it or pretend it didn't happen. Take a look at the comments at Little Green Footballs to see what this reflex can lead to:

The U.S Military has been infiltrated with a Wahhabi Islamic Fifth Column...

A Muslim chaplain? "Let us prey.... on Jews and other infidels."

Islam itself is the enemy. It is time to wake up to this goddam fact.

Etc. etc. etc.

I don't know what to make of all this. It seems relevant to most that Jonathan Pollard was a Jew spying for Israel, and yet I would reject the notion that most American Jews have greater loyalty to Israel than to America. Intellectually I know the same ought to apply to American Muslims, but enough incidents (these espionage cases, the Akbar case in Iraq) will make it more and more difficult more many Americans (and I'm very fearful I may be included) to disassociate the religion of the accused from the crimes they are accused of.

I write this as a confession and a request for help. How are others dealing with this dilemma?

UPDATE: I should also note that I have not seen an explicit statement that the Air Force airman is Muslim, only that he is Syrian-born. So there's another inductive leap that I made, rightly or wrongly. And of course, these individuals are innocent until proven guilty, so we should all wait and see where the evidence leads.