Posted on 02/25/2008 6:56:48 AM PST by moderatewolverine
Safaa Wadi moved to this former mill city after his life was threatened in his native Iraq while serving as an interpreter for the U.S. Army. He expects to soon head back to Iraq — not as a civilian interpreter, but as a U.S. soldier.
Wadi arrived in the United States in September with a special immigrant visa for Iraqi and Afghan interpreters. But with his savings nearly depleted and unable to land a decent job, Wadi enlisted in the Army. He begins training in South Carolina on Monday.
Wadi isn't worried about returning to Iraq, where many of his countrymen considered him a traitor because he worked with American forces. His allegiance is now to the United States, he says.
"I want to serve this country because this country returned to me my life," Wadi said. "If I had stayed in Iraq, I'd be dead now."
(Excerpt) Read more at primetimepolitics.com ...
The right kind of immigrant.
Wow!! That is a powerful message. Good for him. And for us.
God Bless and protect him. His bravery and skill will advance America’s and Iraq’s cause.
He certainly sounds like a good man, but this sort of thing troubles me. I would not want an Iraqi-turned-American-soldier fighting beside me. Who knows where his real allegiance lies? And even if genuine, who knows if his allegiance will turn again? As a U.S. soldier, the information he could pass on to Iraqi insurgents could have devastating results. Is the Army really this desperate for troops that we take on foreign nationals from the nation we are fighting against.? I hope they keep him in the interpreting business in some office where he can't do much harm.
The United States military and the Iraqi military are fighting on the same side now. We are no longer enemies.
This is a man who has proven himself over time. If he were intent on doing what you say, he has had ample opportunity to do so. His family came under threat and the U.S. stepped in to make sure they were safe. I am glad they did. I would be angry if they hadn’t.
The guy comes to the U.S. and hasn’t the money to support his family, and does the honorable thing. BTW, the U.S. evidently didn’t throw money at him either. He is going to enter our armed services on our side.
There are several messages in this. One, he doesn’t see the U.S. as anti-Iraq. He sees his efforts as helping his old homeland. He hasn’t joined the enemy. He has evaded them, and is now helping those who will help the Iraqis the most.
When we enter foreign nations, we hope to win people over. And when we do, some of them are going to come under intense scrutiny by those who disagree with them. This guy is like a answer to our deepest desires.
I do not see him in the terms you do. I welcome him into our national family, and appreciate very much the help he has already been to our men and women, and expect him to continue in that role.
This man would not have been recommended for this if he hadn’t shown himself to be trustworthy. I do have confidence in the military members who came to this conclusion and supported him.
I believe the military will use him in a way that will benefit them from his experience. His knowledge of the country, or at least a particuler area would be most inviting. My hat is off to him for having the guts to do what he is doing. Depending on what other skills he has would determine a job availability, especially in Washington D.C. He know the army way of life from already being there as well.
May the real GOD bless him and keep him safe so he may provide for his family.
I will not be fooled by Muslims, their first allegiance is to Mohammed and 'allah', period. They are the modern day Trojan Horse.
I am sure you're aware of the Steve Coughlin case. He is, (was), a high ranking Pentagon expert on radical Islam. He was recently released from his job by the Bush Administration for his warnings about Islamists infiltrating the U.S. through our government to set up a caliphate. He criticized an Islamist who also works for the Pentagon, Hesham Islam, and hence was releaved from his job by the Administration. Hesham Islam is suspected by Coughlin of being a member of the Islamic Brotherhood. Hesham Islam has sat in on Top Secret Pentagon meetings. As it turns out, FINALLY, the Bush Administration has fired Hesham Islam for his radical Islamic connections, exhonerating Coughlin, but revealing just how naive Bush is. It took a literal firestorm of criticism by conservatives, led by Washington Times Pentagon reporter Bill Gertz, to move Bush to act properly.
We are in trouble, my friend, because we are far too gullible and naive about the Islamists. They cannot be trusted in matters of national security, but unfortunately many of them are.
Please don't be a fool. The Iraqi military are laden with subversives, spies and insurgents. They are still Islamists, and they only support the U.S. to the degree that they need us ----- for now. As the old axiom goes:
"He whose mind is changed agaisnt his will,
is of the same opinion still".
Islam cannot be trusted. We just fired a "hightly trusted" Muslim, Heshem Islam, who worked in a sensitive position at the Pentagon. Turns out he's a member of the Muslim Brotherhood. As we speak they are courtmartialing another "highly trusted" Muslim who is an American sailor, Abu-Jihaad. Seems this "highly trusted" Muslim was passing top secret information about his carrier group to Islamic terrorists. So trust the "good ones" if you may, but I never will.
"NEW HAVEN, Conn. — The trial of a former Navy sailor on terrorism charges promises to offer a glimpse into how prosecutors say an American serviceman communicated with suspected terrorists over the Internet while on duty and leaked information that could have doomed his own ship.
Prosecutors, defense attorneys and spectators began arriving at the U.S. District Courthouse about an hour before the trial was to begin about 9 a.m. Monday.
Prosecutors allege that Hassan Abu-Jihaad sent details of the location and vulnerabilities of a Navy battle group to suspected terrorism supporters in London.
"I think it's a very important case," said Michael Greenberger, director of the Center for Health and Homeland Security at the University of Maryland. "If we have members of our military who are aggressively passing on secrets to terrorists, that's cause for concern. It's a very aggressive act which would have brought real danger to the United States."
I would agree that in certain instances we have been far to gullible. I don’t have to buy off on the premise that this guy is a bad guy to accept that.
The Islam part of it is the real problem. I do wonder what your answer is for this guy going against his own Muslim brothers in Iraq though.
Do you just think he was setting us up, sacrificing his bretheren over there so he could take us out here?
If your premise is solid, why do you think Iraqis are turning in other Iraqi terrorists? Could it be that they don’t like what other Muslims are doing? Could it be that they are not quite as unilaterally unified as you think?
I have a real problem with us importing as many Muslems as we have been, particularly the Saudi Student Visas. You don’t have to swear a loyalty or have a vested interest and love for the U.S., just to come here on a student Visa. IMO, that’s the real problem, not this guy.
OMG..! Now why can't we get more people like this!!! This is the kind of immigrant my grandfathers were, and we need more of them!
How many millions of Muslims do we have in our nation? I’ve had to ask myself that question and realize that we do not see the terrorism that one would expect from folks who are ‘supposedly’ sworn to attack the enemies of Islam. I must keep my views in perspective to the world we live in.
I do not dismiss caution. As I have stated, I believe there are some real dangers associated with some of our immigration practices. I still won’t sign off on the idea that every Muslim that joins our military is doing it for ulterior motives.
Do I see it as some cause for concern? Yes, actually I do. If it should turn out to be the problem you assess it to be, then it would be wise to furlow these folks out of the service.
So far, it appears that only a few wing-nuts have gone that route. And I would advise a rigorous vetting process when these men are taken into the service.
Please don't be so condescendingly insulting.
The Iraqi military are laden with subversives, spies and insurgents.
Yes, I'm aware of that, but the infiltration levels have dropped dramatically due to much more sophisticated vetting processes.
They are still Islamists,...
You'd be surprised at how many of them don't practice Islam at all and even clandestinely disdain it.
...and they only support the U.S. to the degree that they need us ----- for now. As the old axiom goes:
"He whose mind is changed agaisnt his will,
is of the same opinion still".
You'd also be surprised at how many of them weren't changed against their wills. Despite the garbage touted by the mainstream media, most Iraqis wanted the US to come in, remove Saddam and give them a better form of government.
You made this statement: Is the Army really this desperate for troops that we take on foreign nationals from the nation we are fighting against.?
We are not fighting this nation. If I were possessed of lesser manners, this comment may draw a response from me such as: "Please don't be a fool."
Worth re-reading.
Tell this to Obama and the panty waisted
cowards on the left.
This man has courage.
“The right kind of immigrant.”
Amen.
I would point out that all but a few of our men fighting in the Revolutionary War were British citizens before they joined up.
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