A former translator in Iraq, Dustin Langan, wrote me today to tip me off about an interesting read in Radar, about the lack of good translators in Iraq. He was recruited by MZM Inc., one of the companies connected with the "Duke" Cunningham corruption scandal, to work in Iraq from 2003 to 2004, and he has some good points to make.
One that is personally dear to me is the treatment of the Iraqi translators. As he says:
[Iraqi translators] have been treated terribly. They've been killed. They have not been protected. They have not received visas or anything. They're being killed at very high rates. The result is many people now in Iraq think if you work with the coalition you're an idiot, because you're working with someone who doesn't care about you, and then you're killed.
I've known a few 'terps, as they're called, and my friend George Packer has made this one of his major concerns. It should be one that makes every feeling American -- whether you supported the war or not -- ashamed at how we're treating these people.
Anyway, it's a good interview. Thanks for the tip, Dustin!
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