Per a recent AP article, the American intelligence community recognizes that it needs more help in counter terrorism and the wars in Iraq and Afganistan. Thus, in a site just a few miles away from CIA headquarters, they sponsored a summit to recruit more Arabic, Farsi and Pashtu native speakers.
Per the article:
The U.S. knows it needs the help. At the heart of a Friday summit with immigrant groups was a stark reality: The intelligence agencies lack people who can speak the languages that are needed most, such as Arabic, Farsi and Pashtu. More importantly, the agencies lack people with the cultural awareness that enables them to grasp the nuances embedded in dialect, body language and even street graffiti.
However, many immigrants at the summit had mixed feelings.
Many immigrants come to the United States already fearing the intelligence agencies of their home countries.
A man named Aung, from Myanmar, said his countrymen in the United States are spied on by Myanmar agents.
“Basically by attending this conference I myself am on the list,” he said. It will complicate his visits home to see his father, he said, asking that his full name not be used.
“In our culture it is looked down on to be a … spy,” added Humira Noorestani, whose family is from Afghanistan.
19 Comments
this is nothing new and has been going on since the clinton admin maybe before that.
but this is interesting
“In our culture it is looked down on to be a … spy,” added Humira Noorestani, whose family is from Afghanistan.
spy = bad
suicide bomber = 72 virgins
Could spend all day making a list of faults within Islam and Islamic cultures and nations… The fact that a newspaper printed such a quote shows the article’s bias. And the name of the muslim in the picture is “Mohamed H. Ali” - funny.
The strangest thing is that they mention reducing the waiting time to work for intelligence from a year plus to less than two months… wanna bet the US government doesn’t trust them that much?
The biggest enemy of democracy is religion… And anyone who claims Islam is violent while Christianity is peaceful evidently missed Medieval Western History class. Nor did Israel conquer Canaan peacefully. Eastern religions, agh, later…
A good carpet bombing doesn’t care if it’s looked down upon.
One hopes that they vet and monitor these guys better than they did Robert Kim.
Aren’t they gonna make a movie about him?
A film about Kim made in Korea? I’m sure that will provide a nuanced account
Robert Kim is a traitor who deserved more then just jail time. That’s my 20 won.
I knew that there was at least one reason that I like you, notwithstanding many other disagreements. ;))
Re: #7. When I was in the Army (US), I would occasionally face the question from Koreans as a Korean-American soldier, “If South Korea and the US fought each other in a war, who would you fight for?”
The ridiculousness of the question always bothered me, but I would simply point out that my uniform said “US Army” and not anything else.
I guess it’s the Robert Kim’s of the world that made that question legitimate (meaning, him the spy, and not all guys named Robert Kim). Kudos for anyone loyal enough to their country (US) that they would be willing to spy on Cousin Faisal.
I applied for the CIA 4 years ago. I’m whitebread from the midwest, and I made it to the next to last level before eventually being rejected. I spent 7 months going through the process. There are multiple background checks, tests, simulations, and two trips to DC just to make it THAT far.
They also have a policy of not hiring if you if you have “questionable contacts” which means “you know people in the place that speaks that language,” so basically anyone who’s studied the language outside of a classroom in America is disqualified.
There was an article in…Newsweek, I think… a while back about this but I can’t find it right now. I’ll post a link after I dig it up.
OR we could hire and KEEP our linguists based on their abilities and not fire them because they’re gay:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6824206
# 9,
Exactly. It’s the Robert Kims of the world that sow doubt into not just Korean Americans as individuals, but as a group. Very damaging to our community. Robert Kim get’s to go and live in Korea whereas the majority of us have chosen America as our home and we can’t leave.
What’s weird is, 20 or maybe even 10 years ago, Korean soliders would of never thought of asking that question of you.
# 10,
I applied to the CIA Internship program and it STILL took 6 months of background checks for me. Listen. Obviously the U.S. intelligence community needs 1st generation immigrants to fight the war on terror, otherwise they wouldn’t be doing all this, actively recruiting them, reducing the time it takes to clear background checks, etc.
Here’s my two cents. The best intel comes from people who can navigate seamlessly in the target culture. Let me provide an example. Back in the Cold War days, the U.S. intelligence community spent $4 million in technology (satellites, listening devices and such) to verify if the gun on a T-72 Soviet tank is in fact 125mm in diameter. Well, one of the guys at the U.S. Embassy in Poland was Polish American and chatted up a major in the Polish Army. They had T-72s, and not the export version mind you but those made specifically for the Russian Army. So this Polish Major takes the Polish American to the tank depot and the PA measures the gun barrel diameter. Turns out that it’s a little over 123mm and not quite 125mm. The cost? About a buck for a lock to a gate that had to be replaced. So, having people who can navigate like a native within a culture not only gets you better intel, you can get that intel for a lot cheaper.
So, should we recruit 1st generation Arab muslims to spy/interpret, etc? I don’t know. It worries me a little. We can, but we should be very careful. However, I think we should recruit Arab Christians. There are many Arab christians in Lebanon, Egypt (the ancient Coptic tradition) and even Iraq. These people should be a lot less susceptible to counter recruitment, etc. They would also know and understand Arabic perfectly, as well as be familiar with the cultural aspects.
@11
Although I’m not a 1st, 2nd, or even 3rd generation immigrant, I’m fluent in 2 other languages, and that was before I lived in Korea or Emirates. They were interested in me for Eastern Europe since I speak Russian and can read Cyrillic and other things. Wasn’t enough though, and that’s fine since they must have found someone more experienced and proficient to fill the position they were recruiting for, and that’s the goal in the end, isn’t it?
@12
We have to let those kind of immigrants in first. I debated on whether to bring him up in my first comment here, but my fiance is Christian Lebanese. He’s 100% fluent in Arabic, English and French and also speaks really good Spanish. He’s got a degree in education focusing in advanced mathematics and last year graduated second in the country for electrical engineering in France. He’s traveled all over Europe and the Middle East.
The American Embassy will NOT grant him a tourist visa to come to meet my parents in the states. He’s tried three times, and each time costs us $350 for the interview and the travel to get there. We’re not going to try again until we’re married and he gets his green card.
Our policy of “we assume you’re trying to immigrate and you have to prove otherwise” is keeping a lot of great talent out of our country.
Yes… Arab Christians also tend to be better educated, just like Persians who also tend to be better educated. There are Christian and a lot of secular Persians also, and… Pharsi is very similar to Pashtun, the majority language in Afghanistan.
Hope this isn’t too much of a personal question, but why don’t your parents go see him?
We actually just had a debate about this this week.
#1, my dad doesn’t have a passport.
#2, my mom didn’t have the vacation time until this summer, but my dad can’t get his passport in time. My mom got laid off (she knew it was coming and is collecting unemployment), so this summer is the only one she’ll have off. My dad had to pick his vacation at the beginning of they year, and he can’t change it.
#3, They’re from the American midwest (well, Appalachia) and think the rest of the world hates Americans and is out to kill them. They told me outright that they would never visit me in Korea or here in Emirates, but if I decided to go to Europe they might. My mother made me promise to lie to the rest of my family last winter and NOT tell them I was in Lebanon and Syria for Christmas.
Wangkong, it’s really nice to talk to someone who has an idea about this area of the world. People on this site (as well as other places) tend to comment on threads like this with something about 72 virgins or other all-Arabs-are-terrorist type comments. It’s hard to find someone who knows a bit about America and the Middle East. Cheers.
“Wangkong, it’s really nice to talk to someone who has an idea about this area of the world.”
Nah, not really. I’ve just lived most of my life in Southern California and there are a lot of Arabs, Persians, Afganis and Armenians around here. Armenians, now there is an interesting tribe. A lot like Koreans in that they’ve gone through a lot of shit so they have both a superiority and inferiority complex. It’s really hard to be ignorant about cultures and live in Southern California unless you are south of Newport Beach or north of Simi Valley.
It’s Wang Kon, not Kong. No worries.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taejo_of_Goryeo
Our messy, chaotic immigration system keeps a lot of great talent out of our country.
I think Kim Chae-geon actually lives in the US. He maintains a website through which he offers advice and solicits donations.
How can I directly quote someone and get it to show up in a blue box?
Sorry bout the typo, Wangkon
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