Snow: You Can't Snap Fingers, Get Arabic Linguists...

[bridgit]

'Guess what: the U.S. occupation is suffering from a painful lack of Arabic speakers. In the Iraq Survey Group's report, they recommend the government "accord the highest possible priority" to language training and cultural proficiency.' http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/002089.php

what an insufferable ass Tony Snow is :thumbsdown:

[aquart]

1. Rehire the gay ones, moron.

[terrya]

3. Bingo.

I distinctly recall a story a year or so ago where 7 Arab translators were kicked out of the military because they were gay. And I'm sure there were others along the way.

Bigotry breeds more stupidity. It's a vicious circle.

[tanyev]

13. Yep. More than 7.

"But the GAO also noted that nearly 800 dismissed gay or lesbian service members had critical abilities, including 300 with important language skills. Fifty-five were proficient in Arabic, including Copas, a graduate of the Defense Language Institute in California."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-durang/hey-bush-whats-all-t_b_27016.html

[T Wolf]

6. Stop making sense. nt

[KamaAina]

9. They'd just betray us to "al-Gayda"

that must be the thinking* behind firing them in the first place, right? :sarcasm: :grr:

[JNelson6563]

19. My first though exactly!

These guys are the epitome of stupid.

Julie

[Nickster]

31. My first thought as well. I see that I'm in good company. n/t

[Demobrat]

2. I know several Arab linguists.

Course they're actual Arabs so I suppose they need not apply.

[uppityperson]

12. that is my thought also.

and, if you know Arabic, you are suspect, even if you are not Arabic. Catch 22 of the suspicious.

[Igel]

15. If they're American citizens, and don't have extensive

overseas contacts, they should.

That was the problem with language specialists in a lot of languages during the Cold War; to gain fluency, you have to spend time around lots of native speakers, but if you spent time around lots of native speakers you couldn't get a clearance.

I suspect it's worse with Arabic, somehow.

[Demobrat]

17. They're citizens now.

But they were not born here, and have large families over there. They'd never qualify.

[Burma Jones]

4. Old Tony will be remembered as the "Mouth of Sauron's stupid little cousin"

We need to either boot these guys out or make them completely impotent, well, they're well on the way to impotent now.....

[bridgit]

10. true, i had it with the lot of them...

[Homer Wells]

14. Grima Wormtongue

nt

[Captain Hilts]

5. FIVE YEARS is longer than a 'snap of the fingers' blockhead. nt

[bridgit]

7. that's kind of what i was thinking 5yrs...that's not "overnight", that's quite...

a while, plenty of time to maybe get it right

[Igel]

16. Five years might be sufficient.

Four years certainly doesn't cut it, and I think five might be a bit rushed unless the students were gifted.

Then, in addition to the standard interdialect/media language there are the dialects. Just because you do Cairene Arabic doesn't mean you stand much of a chance with Iraqi Arabic--or even Sinai Bedouin Arabic!

[Junkdrawer]

8. If them A-rabs can't learn English they have no business in Iraq...

A God fearing US Occupied nation.

[Captain Hilts]

27. If the English language was good enough for Jesus Christ, it's good enough for them!! nt

[walldude]

11. Yeah well between the treatment of Siebel Edmonds

and the treatment of the Gays it's no wonder...

[butterfly77]

18. Well. what in the hell have they been doing ...

for the past five years. How are they fighting a war on terror when they can't understand what they are saying ...

[Little Wing]

20. No, but you can break fingers, get Arabic Terrorists

[Rockholm]

21. Well, fingers were snapped and the gays were gone.

Just like that!

[bridgit]

22. now there you go, it's a two way street...

:thumbsup:

[Captain Hilts]

30. Wait a minute, perhaps the declensions in Arabic are different for gays than for terrorists. nt

[Lydia Leftcoast]

23. Arabic is considered one of the most difficult languages for English-speakers

to learn WELL.

Most people can learn enough of a new language to survive as a tourist, but what the State Department and military need are speakers with professional competence. That means that they speak, read, write, and understand the language well enough to act as a fully-functioning adult in the society, including holding a responsible job in a country where the language is spoken.

The Foreign Service Institute in DC and the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California train diplomatic and military personnel in dozens of languages, and once students enter these schools, they literally do nothing but study the language, six to eight hours per day, plus homework.

Under that routine, it takes six months to achieve professional competence (Level 3) in French, Spanish, or other languages that are considered easy for English speakers.

German, Hindi, Russian, and others require 12 months.

There's a group of languages that requires 18 months, but I forget what they are.

Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean are the four languages that require two years of full-time study to reach Level 3, with the second year preferably being in the country where the language is spoken. (I know the U.S. government has a language school in Yokohama.)

[bridgit]

26. i have heard that, and there is no substitute for dedicated learning...

thank you for your post :)

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

24. How about you quit kicking out the gay ones!

Jesus. This "don't ask, don't tell" thing is ridiculous. If they can do their job, then what's the problem? Our soldiers are already serving with openly gay servicemembers. We're the only NATO country, aside from Turkey, who doesn't allow openly GLB soldiers to serve.

[bridgit]

28. most agreed, i would think a gay arabic speaker in the hand is worth...

two in the bush...no wait, that only sounded naughty but you know what i mean ;) :hi: :pals:

and yeah, we're the only ones that still drag our puritanical bigotry around like its something to be proud of...pride, one of the 7 deadly sins x(

[moondust]

25. Iraq and a hard place.

Prospective gov't linguists beware: You may be a great linguist but if you don't appear to be a gung-ho supporter of "the cause" you may be considered a sympathizer. Your loyalties may be "monitored" and/or tested regularly, possibly by right-wing zealots.

[bridgit]

29. bush only wants linguists that speak fluent 'war'...

:thumbsdown: