How Many Government Agencies Does It Take To Teach Soldiers Arabic? - A pathetic case of Pentagon incompetence. By Fred Kaplan
How Many Government Agencies Does It Take To Teach Soldiers Arabic? - A pathetic case of Pentagon incompetence. By Fred Kaplan: "In the three and a half years after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941, the United States built a massive arsenal, equipped an equally massive fighting force, and declared victory in a worldwide war over imperial Japan and Nazi Germany.
In the three and a half years after the Soviets launched the Sputnik satellite in 1957, the U.S. government funded dozens—if not hundreds—of Russian-language and Russian-studies departments not just within the military but in high schools and colleges all across America.
Now, three and a half years after Islamic fundamentalists flew airplanes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the Department of Defense is three months away from publishing an official 'instruction' providing 'guidance for language program management.'
It's pathetic."
In the three and a half years after the Soviets launched the Sputnik satellite in 1957, the U.S. government funded dozens—if not hundreds—of Russian-language and Russian-studies departments not just within the military but in high schools and colleges all across America.
Now, three and a half years after Islamic fundamentalists flew airplanes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the Department of Defense is three months away from publishing an official 'instruction' providing 'guidance for language program management.'
It's pathetic."
posted by Bruce Wilder at 12:41 PM
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