Did translator shortage backfire? Inadequate preparation of Arabic-language interrogators

WorldNetDaily.com ^ | March 22, 2003, 11:00 p.m. | WorldNetDaily.com

[Salvation]

Did translator shortage backfire?
WND exposed inadequate preparation of Arabic-language interrogators

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Posted: March 22, 2003
11:00 p.m. Eastern

© 2003 WorldNetDaily.com

As two Kuwaiti Arabic translators are held along with an American Muslim sergeant in the fragging attack at Camp Pennsylvania, questions are being raised about the Army's heavy reliance on local translators rather than qualified U.S. military Arabic speakers and interrogators.

Back in September, WorldNetDaily first blew the whistle on the shortage of trained U.S. military translators and Arabic interrogators. Sources close to the preparations for a U.S. invasion of Iraq were concerned even last fall about what they perceived to be the military's inadequate preparation and shortage of Arabic-language interrogators – a critical component not only of a battlefield victory but a nation-building operation afterwards.

"There is a severe lack of experienced interrogators taking part in current operations to start with," said one source. "Many of those designated as interrogators are reservists with little or no experience. Others are civilian law-enforcement personnel whose experience is in extracting confessions rather than strategic information."

In addition, the latest issue of Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin reports again on how the translator shortage can hurt security.

"The U.S. military forces in Iraq are critically short of two resources – military police for guarding prisoners and Arabic-speaking interrogators to grill them," G2 Bulletin reported earlier today. "Even in the earliest planning stages of the Iraq campaign, U.S. Central Command expected huge numbers of surrenders would overwhelm the ability of MPs to handle them and prevent thorough interrogation of those captured. Rather than scramble to fix the problem, U.S. brass simply downgraded the official estimates of prisoners to fit the number of U.S. personnel available to handle them, according to G2B sources."

In earlier G2 Bulletin reports, sources warned about the use of Kuwaiti translators because of their questionable loyalties.

"The reason why we don't even have a whole bunch translators hired yet is because of loyalty issues," explained one source. "Another reason we can't hire more is because so many cannot get security clearances because of family ties to terrorists, Iraqis and sympathizers of one form or another."

G2 Bulletin reported the situation for linguists was so desperate before the start of the war "that CENTCOM personnel are trying to get Kuwaiti soldiers to act as interpreters. Some insiders believe this to be a mistake because so many Kuwaitis are very sympathetic to Iraq."

[Mortimer Snavely]

Line them up and shoot them at dawn before the entire division.

[Born on the Storm King]

I graduated Monterey in 1982 in Russian. I remember I played a round of golf with a Naval Officer one day who was taking Arabic---I remember him saying that they decline the numbers differently from the 30's, to 40's, to 50's, etc---it sounded like a real headache.

They also had the psychiatric clinic right outside the window of my barracks apartment. I never went there but the schedule was quite stringent: 7 AM formation, class 0800-1500, PFT 1530-1700, then you had to study 3 hours per nite or you'd really be in trouble!

[FreedomPoster]

>>In this entire senario, Islam trumps everything else.

I really, really hope that you are wrong. And really, really think that you are right.

The "nation building" in Iraq could be extremely ugly, especially if we do not have the sense and guts to put down any hint of extremist Islam with extreme prejudice.

[Salvation]

**They also had the psychiatric clinic right outside the window of my barracks apartment.**

BTTT!

[RLK]

The "nation building" in Iraq could be extremely ugly, especially if we do not have the sense and guts to put down any hint of extremist Islam with extreme prejudice.

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There will not be any nation building in Iraq. The entire area is populated by nuthouse people and nuthouse religions. About 20 years ago Iran and Iraq were involved in a 10 year long war over nothing in which they killed off 50% of the male population of a generation. That's what is to be expected in the area.

What needs to be done is let them kill of each other, but establish the principle that if they leave their territory and mess with us, they'll get a bunker bomb on their heads. This war will be an act of genius if it inspires fear in the rest of the world so that a disapproving word of warning toward the world idiots will cause them to pee in their pants. If this direction is not pursued, it will all be for naught beyond another Bush strutting around thumping his chest for a few months. North Korea needs their missile sites destroyed next.

[Salvation]

Bumping again!

[Salvation]

**What needs to be done is let them kill of each other, but establish the principle that if they leave their territory and mess with us, they'll get a bunker bomb on their heads**

Bear repeating.

[Pharmboy]

I work with a young woman who is American-born but of Egyptian Muslim descent and fluent in Arabic. She told me that she (and others in her family) tried to work as translators for the government since 9-11 but were told that the response of the Arab-American community was so large, they had too many people as volunteers: thanks but no thanks.

So go figure...

[Mortimer Snavely]

"The entire area is populated by nuthouse people and nuthouse religions....... This war will be an act of genius if it inspires fear in the rest of the world so that a disapproving word of warning toward the world idiots will cause them to pee in their pants."

Like Eglin noted regarding Imperial China, nothing persuades like brute strength; nothing succeeds like the fait accompli.