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DARPA Funds Game To Teach Arabic To Army
finnhart writes "According to a [free reg. req.] New York Times article, DARPA (the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) has funded a project at the University of Southern California's School of Engineering to create a 'virtual camp' in which US soldiers can learn to speak Arabic, as well as learn local customs: 'All discussions with the villagers will have to be conducted in Arabic, and Sergeant Smith must comport himself with the utmost awareness of local customs so as not to arouse hostility. If successful, he will be paving the way for the rest of his unit to begin reconstruction work in the village'."
yet we expect them to tiptoe around us..
It's been said that an armed populace is a polite populace. Why? because they're armed, and won't take shit. Well, that's what we got over there.
Don't like the American way? Most people would say go somewhere else. This *is* somewhere else. They apparently like their customs the way they are.
Why don't we kowtow to these other nationalities? because they're not lobbing airliners at buildings.
Maybe we can catch more with sugar than vinegar..
Restrictions are prohibited. Be well, get better.
Look at the title, "DARPA Funds Game To Teach Arabic To Army". What is U.S. becoming?
Ever since Bush became the head, the body has been leaning toward middle eastern interests in every direction. Ok, where are the next generation Iraq M*A*S*H and Gulf War vet A-Team shows. We got video games teaching Arabic. Hello, aren't we supposed to be out of the middle east by now.
Is it really possible to teach the soldiers enough Arabic -- basically in their free time -- to communicate with the "villagers." Seriously, people spend years studying foreign languages, and usually only come out with mild fluency.
:P)
Never doubt the power of knowing just a little bit of another language. It's the thought that counts. Yeah sure, our soldiers aren't gonna become fluent, but it would show the Iraqis that the soldiers actually do have some respect for the culture and customs, and aren't mindless killing machines.
If you're ever abroad and happen to strike up a conversation with a stranger, bring up some obscure local custom of theirs (e.g. perhaps their is a local festival taking place, or a type of food made only in the area), and you'll be amazed at how excited they might become just at the fact that you know of it. We don't even think of such things here because America is so gigantic and omnipresent, and almost everyone has a cusory knowledge of American culture.
(btw, I'm assuming you're American... if you're not, then
This statement is soley based upon media coverage, and may be entirely inaccurate - post corrections, not flames, below ;-)
Ok.
Notice the Poms in Iraq.
They go around in a (fairly) non-threatening manner. They smile at the kids, they try to get along. Having the experience of wandering around Belfast trying to keep the peace, they've learned to be nice and stay cool with the population, because a lot less bad shit happens that way.
The yanks, god bless 'em, seem to have a military with the Sole Purpose Of Wiping The Other Guy Out. That's great, except in Iraq, they're past that phase. Things need to cool down, everyone needs to try and refocus. I know, media is biased, but all I see of americans in Iraq are people all gung-ho.
This is the mindset that needs to change if they're going to get anywhere, because nobody wants some asshole all "yeah! respect mah authoritah,biatch!" in their face, especially one that you think is beginning to overstay their welcome in your country.
This program then, is a good idea, to promote some sort of cultural sensitivity. Not just arabic as some rather exitable people seem to comment on above, with their rants about why we should have to- any cultural sensitivity would be a good idea at this stage.
You are in a twisty maze of processor lines, all alike.
There is a lot of hype here.
Yes, it's all very totalitarian, and I wouldn't like to live in such a place... but I do believe that ant and bee colonies are the epitome of a *perfect* society. Note: perfect != nice
Cooperation is NOT the same as societal perfection. In fact, it's in many cases the opposite. We could efficiently cooperate to cannibalize our children or ethnic minorities, but how ethical or "perfect" would that be? I could risk Godwin's law and make a Nazi analogy but I don't have to--you should get the idea.
A "perfect" society, given human nature, probably isn't possible, but at the very least, it would have to be structured in a way similar to John Rawls' Theory of Justice. Note the lack of a totalitarian regime or Islamo-fascism.
Diversity isn't a weakness. In fact, it can be a great strength. Even in your ant colony example, what would happen if a bacterial infection were to hit the colony? Without genetic diversity, the entire colony would probably die. Biodiversity is very important to the viability of any population of organisms--humans included.
Diversity isn't possible if one side is completely intolerant of the other. As the grandparent expressed, Tolerance is a two-way street. I have no problem being intolerant and militarily aggressive towards of a bunch of barbaric cowards if they leave us no choice.
-Grym
*Note: The second link is gruesome, so click at your own discretion.
My only question is why this wasn't done years ago? Back when the build up started. All those soldiers were training to fight in the desert. They could have taken an hour from the day and learned the local customs and language. The human body works better when it has rests from time to time anyway.