Pentagon Rushes To Make Exemptions For Iraqi Translators From The White House's Immigration Rules

A masked translator for the U.S. soldiers distributes peace pamphlets as they inspect a road repair project in Baghdad January 27, 2007. REUTERS/Erik de Castro

The Cable/Foreign Policy: Pentagon Scrambles to Make Exception for Iraqi Translators

Blindsided by Friday’s order from the White House that temporarily slammed the door on immigration from seven predominantly Muslim countries, the Department of Defense is scrambling to put together a list of Iraqi nationals who helped U.S. forces over the past 15 years that might be in line for a waiver.

The list would consist of “those who have tangibly demonstrated their commitment” to support U.S. forces, Pentagon spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis told reporters at the Pentagon on Monday.

Davis wouldn’t confirm if the Pentagon asked the White House for permission to start compiling the list of names, but said, “we have been provided the opportunity by the White House” to submit the list. Reports have indicated that the executive order wasn’t shared outside of the White House before it was signed on by President Trump on Friday.

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WNU Editor: One sore point that I have had with past U.S. administrations is how they have treated those .... who at great risk .... have gone out of their way to assist the U.S.. If there is ever a group that deserves to be put on the express lane for U.S. citizenship .... it is these people. Kudos to the Pentagon to finally make the effort to assist these people .... now they must deliver. on a personal note .... in my book this man should be on the top of the list to be granted U.S. citizenship.

There Are Only 5 Russian Language Speakers In The British Army

Reuters

RT: British Army has just 5 Russian language speakers… despite Tory warnings of war

Despite frequent warnings by the government of an impending Russian threat, cuts to Britain’s defense budget have left its military with just five Russian interpreters, according to the latest figures.

The Labour Party’s defense spokesman has blasted the Tory government over the shortfall. However, some experts say the current practice of relying on private contractors is justified.

The Foreign Office has 163 employees possessing Russian language skills ranging from basic to advanced levels, while 637 people in the military can speak languages such as Arabic, Pashto, and Mandarin.

Labour Shadow Defence Secretary Nia Griffiths said the shortfall is the result of years of Tory-led defense austerity and “repeated failure to give our Forces the resources that they need.”

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WNU Editor: This number is down from 15 earlier this year .... Lost in translation: British military down to just 15 Russian speakers (RT). How many English translators in the Russian Army .... I would say thousands .... English has become the second language of choice for many Russians. But in the event of a major conflict this will not be a problem for the West. There are many Russian speakers in the West (this blogger included) .... and I know only too well that we will be conscripted to act as translators if we become needed.

America Has Betrayed Its Former Afghan Military Translators

Above — British troops plan an operation with Afghan troops through an interpreter. U.K. Ministry of Defense photo. At top — an Afghan interpreter gazes out a window before a patrol in Ghazni province. U.S. Army photo

Kevin Knodell, War Is Boring: The Long, Slow Betrayal of America’s Interpreters

Facing death, former military translators are walking to Europe with other refugees.

U.S. Marine Aaron Fleming became fast friends with Sami Kazikhani during his deployment to Nimruz province in 2011. Fleming was a member of a team of advisers mentoring Afghan troops, and Kazikhani was one of their interpreters.

The Afghan spoke flawless British-accented English — in no small part due to his time living in London — and speaks as many as five languages with varying degrees of fluency. Fleming shared a bunk with him, and they often talked about their families and their respective travels.

They became so close that when Fleming went on extended patrols and Kazikhani wasn’t with him, the interpreter would call Aaron’s wife Marion with updates on his safety. “He just really gave a shit,” Aaron said of his friend.

WNU Editor: I have been covering stories like this one for the past few years .... No U.S. Visas For Afghan Interpreters. It is a crime that these people have been (and are being) treated this way. And while the focus of this article is on how the Americans have treated their translators, the fact is that most (if not all) of the coalition states (in both Iraq and Afghanistan) have failed in protecting these loyal and valuable soldiers. It also gives a "heads-up" to others that when push comes to shove, the U.S. and its allies will not be there to help you.

Hat Tip to Jay for this story.

No U.S. Visas For Afghan Interpreters

Afghan truck drivers listen to a US Marine (front R) and his interpreter during a route clearance mission in southern Kunar Province December 28, 2008. Credit: Reuters/Bob Strong

In Afghanistan, Interpreters Who Helped U.S. In War Denied Visas; U.S. Says They Face No Threat -- Washington Post

KABUL — A growing number of Afghan interpreters who worked alongside American troops are being denied U.S. visas allotted by Congress because the State Department says there is no serious threat against their lives.

But the interpreters, many of whom served in Taliban havens for years, say U.S. officials are drastically underestimating the danger they face. Immigration attorneys and Afghan interpreters say the denials are occurring just as concerns about Taliban retribution are mounting due to the withdrawal of U.S. forces.

“There are tons of Talibs in my village, and they all know that I worked with the Americans,” said one interpreter, Mohammad, who asked that his last name not be published for security reasons. “If I can’t go to the States, my life is over. I swear to God, one day the Taliban will catch me.”

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My Comment: See prior post.

Is America Deserting It's Afghan Interpreters?

Has America Abandoned an Afghan Interpreter? -- George Packer, New Yorker

It’s hard to think of anyone more deserving of an American visa than Mohammad Janis Shinwari.

On April 28, 2008, a team of U.S. Army combat advisers left the small base they shared with Afghan troops in Ghazni Province and went out on a mission in Taliban country. Ghazni was then the most violent place in Afghanistan. First Lieutenant Matt Zeller was riding in the second of three vehicles. He had been in Afghanistan for ten days. Zeller’s team had been briefed upon arrival in Afghanistan by Major General Robert Cone, who was in charge of training the Afghan Army and police. “How many of you were in Iraq?” Cone had asked the new arrivals. “This isn’t Iraq. In Iraq, we do everything we must to win. Here, we do everything we can.”

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My Comment: Welcome to the sobering reality of American bureaucracy.

Is America Abandoning It's Afghan Translators?

Sulaiman, a combat interpreter, in Kabul, Afghanistan. An American visa has remained beyond his grasp, despite years of effort. Sergey Ponomarev for The New York Times

Afghan Interpreters For The U.S. Are Left Stranded And At Risk -- New York Times

KABUL, Afghanistan — The first time the Taliban tried to kill him, Sulaiman was driving to his base when his truck was hit by a rocket, knocking him down a cliff.

The insurgents knew his vehicle, its license plate number and, most important, his occupation: a high-value combat interpreter for United States Special Operations troops in Afghanistan.

They left him for dead in that attack, in July 2011, but he got out with a broken collarbone, two broken ribs and a new sense of caution. Since then, he has survived two more attacks.

Sulaiman’s American supervisor no longer lets him travel by car when he leaves his military base to visit his family. But no one feels that is protection enough, given the premium that the Taliban put on killing Afghans who help American forces.

His best hope is one that has remained beyond his grasp despite years of effort: an American visa.

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My Comment: It appears that America's Afghan translators are experiencing the same fate as their Iraqi counterparts.

Documentary Explores The Perils For Iraqi Translators Who Helped The U.S.

Film Highlights Perils Faced By Iraqis Who Helped U.S. -- Radio Free Europe

NEW YORK -- There are more than 3,000 names on Kirk Johnson's list -- a list that has brought him incredible joy but which has also taken an emotional toll.

The names are of Iraqis who worked alongside Americans as translators and advisers during the more than eight-year-long Iraq war and who now fear for their lives and their families' safety. Just last week, one was mailed a syringe filled with poison and a note telling him to inject himself before the senders did so themselves.

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My Comment: Talk about deserting your friends and allies.

Providing Military Translators Is Big Business

The Military Translation Business In Afghanistan Is Big Business -- Washington Post

The U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command on Feb. 1 approved a $330 million five-month extension on a five-year contract.

That contract now totals $2.3 billion and provides more than 8,000 interpreters working for U.S. forces at 200 sites in Afghanistan.

The Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM) contract extension is another reminder of the varied expenses of this war and how some people are profiting.

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My Comment: Considering how important their work is .... and how big it is .... and how difficult it is .... the budget costs for translators pale in comparison to the other costs that are involved in the Afghan war. As for MEP .... it does have it's critics.(see also the above video).

Building A Better Translation Device For Our Troops

A Robotic Translator for Troops Strangers in a strange land could use a robotic translator to help them communicate fluently with locals in the proper dialect and tone. U.S. Army via Wikimedia

DARPA's Newest Language Translator Would Be Less Handheld Device, More Robot Assistant -- Popular Science

Genuine language translation has been one of the Holy Grails of DARPA research for decades, as it would vastly simplify military and humanitarian operations abroad and otherwise bridge the gaps between cultures made persistent by an inability to communicate. Now, rather than banking on some kind of handheld universal translator device (very Star Trek) DARPA wants an thinking robot that can interpret various languages and make decisions about what it hears (very Star Wars).

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My Comment: More news and info on this new military translator can be found here.

Lack Of Translators Hurts U.S. War On Terror

Interpreters provide vital local knowledge, as well as language skills.
Photo from The BBC

From The Washington Times:

U.S. national security agencies remain woefully short of foreign-language speakers and translators nearly eight years after the Sept. 11 attacks resulted in a war on an enemy that often communicates in relatively obscure dialects, current and former officials say.

The necessary cadre of U.S. intelligence personnel capable of reading and speaking targeted regional languages such as Pashto, Dari and Urdu "remains essentially nonexistent," the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence wrote in a rare but stark warning in its 2010 budget report.

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My Comment: In the past few years the U.S. military has been boasting about providing cultural awareness programs to its troops. I have no problem with such a program ... in fact I support it .... but it is all for nothing if the language barrier cannot be breached.

The Problem Of Finding Translators To Serve With Our Troops In Afghanistan

This July 3, 2009 photo shows Josh Habib, left, a 53-year-old translator for the U.S. Marines, standing next to a U.S. Marine from the 2nd MEB, 1st Battalion 5th Marines as they patrol inside a village in the Nawa district of Afghanistan's Helmand province. U.S. troops in Helmand say companies that recruit and hire military translators are sending linguists to southern Afghanistan who are too old to serve in a theater of combat or who do not have the right language skills, which puts them and the U.S. forces they work for at risk. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder)

Many Translators Unfit In Any Language -- AP

NAWA, Afghanistan — Josh Habib lay in a dirt field, gasping for air. Two days of hiking with Marines through southern Afghanistan's 115-degree heat had exhausted him. This was not what he signed up for.

Habib is not a Marine. He is a 53-year-old engineer from California hired by a contracting company as a military translator. When he applied for the lucrative linguist job, Habib said his recruiter gave no hint he would join a ground assault in Taliban land. He carried 40 pounds of food, water and gear on his back, and kept pace — barely — with Marines half his age.

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My Comment: This is a disgrace .... but a so common problem in most conflicts when foreign soldiers are used. My French Canadian friends who serve in the Canadian Arm Forces in Afghanistan have a problem understanding the heavy accent English spoken by the British .... let alone the Afghan/Pashtun language language that is spoken around them.