Posted on 12/03/2004 12:39:45 PM PST by Mars55
Well, the FBI sure hosed us before 9/11. Remember the memos re: Muslims at flight schools? Does the name Zaccarias Moussaoui ring a bell, perhaps?
Are you basing this on anything tangible?
Well, virtually all Israelis of a certain have served in the IDF, so that would automatically rule them out en masse?
The problem with any foreign born person and the basic security clearance background check is getting around and doing a short interview with folks who knew them "way back when".
Before 9/11 there was a tremendous backlog in getting background checks done. After 9/11 it only got worse.
Darned shame FBI hasn't been prepared to do all of it's own clearances for a couple of decades.
I have the Pimsleur set on Arabic; working on it. Tough sledding, but satisfying to beat the challenge.
Hang in there, it will pay off. I'll never forget the excitement I felt when I heard Yasser Arafat speaking and I was able to understand one word he said, ONE word! And I felt satisfied as hell.Then, another time, I was watching a movie about terrorists and I understood the man when he said he was Egyptian. Small victories lead to winning the war.
It might be slow, but keep plugging away. It's like music. Continual practice will bring improvement over time. Ear training is not just for the talented, in spite of what some musicians say.
Yes! One day it will be possible to shop in Cairo--where the locals shop, not just where tourists shop.
Ethnic discrimination. The FBI would would reject an atheist jew for the position as quickly as an orthodox jew.
I think it's pretty difficult to assess what someones true motives are in wanting to join up. Particularly when you are dealing with the type of animosity that exists between jews and arabs. If you are relying on their translations of materials that has the potential to effect mid-east policies, you want to ensure that you are not receiving colored copy.
Some of us have enough trouble with english, let alone Arabic.
OTOH if I were a young person looking to make my way in the world I'd learn Arabic.
The numbers 9 and 11 when paired up have Islamic significance
Just out of curiosity what significance?
"It's probably very difficult to do a clearance on someone in NYC who has a grandfather from Iraq, and has some family members living in Israel, and some here, and some in France.
Doesn't mean they can't do a good job translating for you ~ just that there's not enough money in the world to do a clearance on them."
Nope, the article didn't say that it was only Jews with ancestors from foreign, Arabic, etc. countries who were being excluded from consideration. It said that they weren't hiring Arabic speaking Jews.
I am forever amazed, and somewhat shamed, to see on the news some Afghani out in the middle of some swirling dust pit speaking better English than I speak the prevalent non-English language spoken around here. When and how did they learn?
Americans have always been low in foreign languages (though in grad school, I was told by a Japanese student that Japan had been the same). To learn a foreign language, you have to have a reason to learn it, as well as exposure. Americans can usually get along quite well without a word of another language, and even if they try to learn one, they have to go out of their way to get exposure to native speakers. I understand that in Europe, in contrast, it's not unusual to go to another country for a day's shopping or a weekend trip.
I had schoolmates in grammar school who were pretty good in their immigrant grandparents' language until the grandparents died. The parents were most uninterested in keeping it up, and the kids forgot over the next few years.
Also, English has for years been the language to learn. When I was studying Hebrew 20 years ago, I heard of the difficulties my classmates had trying to improve their Hebrew in Israel (which at that time had 8 years of required English in the schools) -- once an Israeli knew you were American, he was only interested in practicing his English.
One guy in my classes said I should go to Israel for my Hebrew. He started to say that even keeping the TV on would help -- then he recalled how much of Israeli TV was American shows with Hebrew subtitles!
Your issue is with the linguistic style of the writer. He said it that way just to provoke you. Nothing more to it than that. The rest of us were discussing the real world of background checks and clearances.
We now have 5 Spanish language channels on our basic/extended cable TV. My facility with spoken Spanish is the best it's ever been now that I have "at will" access to it.
Good for you! I've been wishing I had any real interest in learning Spanish with all the Spanish cable stations.
Sabado Gigante certainly has more than it's fair share, but even Pepsi Cartalera can grab your attention.
I heard this story a year ago and couldn't believe it then. I sometimes feel like I'm in the twilite zone!
"Your issue is with the linguistic style of the writer."
So, how many Jewish Arabic speakers are there in the employ of the FBI? Sounds like you are an expert.
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