It's one thing to receive friendly help in translating German when one is visiting Germany, something quite else to translate Arabic for English-only speakers in the British and American military and politicos in Iraq. Not only do the Iraqi translators put themselves and their families' lives at risk when they do this work, their translation is essential for the Americans and Brits to actually get their own work in Iraq done! All of which is to say that both the U.S. and Britain owe their translators big time.
Given that the Iraqi translators are assumed by many to be traitors because they have helped "the enemy" (the British or the Americans), the Iraqis deserve preferential treatment when it comes to being offered a safe place to live. The U.S. owes it to its translators, the U.K., to its.

bren, you're right they "owe their translators big time." But I wonder what's going on here. Not only do the translators get the dirty end of the stick after the risks they've endured, but also our own countrymen and women who leave families behind and go off to fight Bush's war and discover that they have been misled big time and if they have the misfortune as Tomas Young did to get terribly injured they are treated like cannon fodder instead of as US citizens who have given their all on our behalf.

BTW, if you haven't read it, I commend to you the article published in CD today about the demo in WashDC Friday.

The title of the article by Russ Mokhiber is "Why Picket the New York Times in Wasington on Friday?"

What's going on, why are the UK and US govts refusing to treat the Iraqi translators humanely?

I can suggest a few example reasons:

a) Racial discrimination (not the likely reason, imo, though there are surely racists among these criminals, like Kissinger, f.e.);

b) Ensuring that the intended genocide against Iraqis is more "greatly" completed, more fully thorough (not the likely reason, imo, though ... as above);

c) To use SILENCE in order to keep UK'ans and US'ans as disinformed, dumbed down, ... as these govts can see to ensuring for and by themselves.

If those Iraqi translators and their families are allowed to seek refuge in the UK or US, then while they might then keep silent about [real] events in Iraq for a while, the US and UK govts, the leaderships of which fully know that they're totally guilty for commanding this extreme war of entirely criminal aggression and the unending and very genocidal war-occupation, well, they would be risking that some of these Iraqis would some day start to expose the truths that they're aware of.

It's easier to ensure their silence as far as the Western populations are the question by keeping these Iraqi translators in Iraq. It's also much easier to sacrifice their lives with the risks they have in staying in Iraq, than it would be for Bush et al, and Brown and Blair et al, to risk these people speaking out once in the UK or US.

And they can surely see to "persuading" all of their NATO allied countries to do the same; as well as the same applying to other allied countries, many countries in all.

They can also make sure that these translators aren't allowed to any country that would accept them, and by simply ensuring that no such flights are to be allowed out of Iraq. The translators' only other option would be to try to flee out of Iraq on their own, and "good luck" with trying to do that. We know their risks would be seriously increased by trying to flee from Iraq on their own, for they would be like entirely on their own; no security forces to provide protection on the way out of the country.

So they're really U.S. prisoners; just that the U.S. needs their work and therefore puts on a "good face" by paying these people some money for their work; enough for them and their families to survive, but surely not much more than that, if any more.

I feel bad and sad for these Iraqis, but everyone should realise that when we agree to work for and with the devil, evil, then we should not be surprised when we discover that we're pawns, abused, expendable, etc.; or, iow, that we may very well be suckered and in terms we will then regret for the rest of our lives, once we find out what we're really dealing with and how we're really being used. Of course life might then have little further to continue, for people dealing with the tough criminals when the latter know the former could be very strong informants, well, silence is a regular policy ruthless criminals apply.

We know what happens with people who've worked for the U.S. govt and in "sensitive" areas when they blow whistles, right! Well, these Iraqi translators are in Iraq, so the U.S. and U.K. administrations figure that this is a good way to help ensure their silence, all while continuing to use these people in such a ruthless, dishonest, and evil way.

The Cheney-Bush administration is mostly known to be a user of tactics for trying to deceive, disinform, misinform, etc., etc.; and obviously because they don't want to see the truths exposed.

And like was quoted from Kissinger about his view on U.S. soldiers, saying that he perceives and therefore treats them as just a lot of "DUMB ANIMALS"; well, what makes you think these Iraqi translators would be treated any better?!

Just some basic "arithmetic", or connecting of "dots".

So, my list of example reasons can be revised as follows:

a) Racial discrimination; in part, for there are surely racists among these criminals, like Kissinger, f.e.;

b) Ensuring that the intended genocide against Iraqis is more "greatly" completed, more fully thorough; in part, ... as above;

c) To use SILENCE in order to keep UK'ans and US'ans as disinformed as these govts can see to ensuring for and by themselves; and,

d) These state leaders and the ruling elites perceive and treat human instruments as expendably as they do with and/or think about "dumb animals".

Only dumb animals do these types of things, but they're too dumb to realise that they are the dumbest of all. Stupidly, they always think they're right, while really being mostly wrong; so wrong that they harm many tens of millions, or hundreds of millions, of people worldwide, in different ways, but in ways which will also "come back and bite them", or their children, or grandchildren, ...

Anyway, silence is gangsters' number one rule.

Well, and now that I've read the article, maybe my theory about silence, and the other one about genocide, being more ensured is not valid after all; given 400 of 700 who applied were not rejected, albeit these Iraqis also haven't all been accepted, either, still being 'processed'.

So maybe the issue has more to do with racial discrimination, either that of the U.S. and U.K. administration goons, or them fearing to much pressure potentially resulting from racist citizens of these countries, or perhaps both make up the issue; if it's indeed the or one of the reasons for rejecting many of these applications.

And maybe most will end up rejected, given the total of those who've been fully accepted numbers considerably less than the 300 who've been officially rejected; the others still being 'processed'.

The FINANCIAL AID strikes me as helpful for the Iraqis staying in Iraq, but not if it's what's provided to those helped to relocate to the US or UK. There's no way the pittance money the article describes for aid could be used to do what the article says; buying a taxi, etc. First you have to rent lodging, or buy a house, and you cannot buy a house in the US, UK, Canada, and surely most of Europe with this sort of pittance money; while renting an apartment in the US would use up either all or most of this money, leaving ... quite nothing for food, transportation, etc.

Since they have to go to a third country to be able to apply to become refugees in the US and UK, I wonder how these Iraqis do this. Do they get flown out by the US and UK, or are their flights out paid by the US and UK, or are they required to find their way out of Iraq on their own; what are the means used?

I don't imagine it being at all simple for these Iraqis to be going or caught out and about in Iraq without security force protection. The UK govt telling these Iraqis to drive out of Iraq sounds almost like the govt is hoping these Iraqis won't make it out of Iraq alive.

And someone would need to verify the official information on whether or not these accepted Iraqis have really been accepted and relocated; and their numbers. These govts could again be lying.

Why the surprise . This is nothing new. The British have always done this . Look at how they froze out the Gurkhas who had loyally served them and been at the very forefront of all the wars Britain had been embroiled in .

The only time they came a cropper was in 50s , 60s and 70s when , they most uncharacteristically let their guard down and 'imported' millions of people from Pakistan , India , Bangladesh and Ceylon - presumably to do the menial jobs that even their white lumpen brethren were loath to so.That decision backfired and has since come back to haunt them.

why not take on civilian translators who live abroad, private language consultants are hired everyday to work for the government. that is what i do. Of course, i would not venture anywhere in Iraq for 9000 dollars...

Sarah

http://liveus.org
A world of possibilities