[Peace-discuss] Scarcity of linguists makes it hard to wage war

[Ricky Baldwin]

I know a guy who's off to Afghanistan, but first he's up to his eyeballs in - I think Pashto - but it isn't clear to me for what purpose.  It takes years and years to master a language well enuf to, say, tell when someone's subtly pulling your leg.

A friend from Pakistan did, however, teach me how to say "the worst thing you can say to someone in Pashto".  I hope they don't try to send me :-)

Ricky


--- On Mon, 7/14/08, Jenifer Cartwright <jencart13 at yahoo.com> wrote:

> From: Jenifer Cartwright <jencart13 at yahoo.com>
> Subject: Re: [Peace-discuss] Scarcity of linguists makes it hard to wage war
> To: "John W." <jbw292002 at gmail.com>
> Cc: "Peace Discuss" <peace-discuss at anti-war.net>
> Date: Monday, July 14, 2008, 7:57 AM
> Another idea: make everybody in the world learn English, in
> case the US wants to invade and occupy them.
> 
> --- On Mon, 7/14/08, John W. <jbw292002 at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> 
> From: John W. <jbw292002 at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [Peace-discuss] Scarcity of linguists makes it
> hard to wage war
> To: jencart13 at yahoo.com
> Cc: "Peace Discuss"
> <peace-discuss at anti-war.net>, "David Green"
> <davegreen84 at yahoo.com>
> Date: Monday, July 14, 2008, 2:29 AM
> 
> 
> I kept looking for signs that the article was
> tongue-in-cheek.  "How can the U.S. be a successful
> interventionist nation...?"  "Choosing Where to
> Intervene".  Etc.
> 
> 
> 
> On Sun, Jul 13, 2008 at 9:56 PM, Jenifer Cartwright
> <jencart13 at yahoo.com> wrote:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Yeah, teach EVERYBODY in boot camp to speak some basic
> phrases in all appropriate languages i e  those
> spoken in countries where the US is currently
> fighting/about to start fighting wars, plus all the places
> the US is colonizing (or might soon colonize) in order to
> control their resources. "Screw you," and
> "We want that," plus a few commands and threats
> should cover it.
>  --Jenifer 
> 
> --- On Sun, 7/13/08, David Green
> <davegreen84 at yahoo.com> wrote:
> 
> From: David Green <davegreen84 at yahoo.com>
> Subject: [Peace-discuss] Scarcity of linguists makes it
> hard to wage war
> To: "Peace Discuss"
> <peace-discuss at anti-war.net>
> Date: Sunday, July 13, 2008, 3:31 PM
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Can U.S. be a skillful interventionist with scant supply of
> foreign speakers?
> "How can the United States be a successful
> interventionist nation without an adequate supply of people
> fluent enough to interrogate the locals — not just in
> Afghanistan — but around the world?"
>  
> http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25618746/_______________________________________________
> Peace-discuss mailing list
> Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net
> http://lists.chambana.net/cgi-bin/listinfo/peace-discuss