In other words: A discussion of The Bush Administration
Homophobia Endangers National Security
U.S. military ousts gay linguists
She [Glover] learned Arabic at the Defense Language Institute (DLI), the military’s premier language school, in Monterey, Calif. Her timing as a soldier was fortuitous: Around her graduation last year, a Government Accounting Office study reported that the Army faced a critical shortage of linguists needed to translate intercepts and interrogate suspects in the war on terrorism.
“I was what the country needed,” Glover said.
She was, and she wasn’t. Glover is gay. She mastered Arabic but couldn’t handle living a double life under the military policy known as “don’t ask, don’t tell.” After two years in the Army, Glover, 26, voluntarily wrote a statement acknowledging her homosexuality.
Confronted with a shortage of Arabic interpreters and its policy banning openly gay service members, the Pentagon had a choice to make.
And they chose homophobia over nation security.
In the past two years, the Department of Defense has discharged 37 linguists from the Defense Language Institute for being gay. Like Glover, many studied Arabic. At a time of heightened need for intelligence specialists, 37 linguists were rendered useless because of their homosexuality.
I remember in the days right after 9/11 it was reported that two gay translators were let go at the same time the dangers of a shortage of translators became blatantly apparent. There was even concern that some of our translators could be spies for al Queada.
You want to guarantee your translator is not working for al Queada or any Muslim extremist group? Make sure they are gay. That is your guarantee.
I love our nation... please people lets stop being stupid. This kind of stupidity is going to get more people killed.
- rob 3:20 PM - [PermaLink] -
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