ABSTRACT

A number of years ago, I was invited to give a talk on homeland security in Minneapolis, Minnesota. After my talk, I was approached by a U.S. military serviceman, who shared with me that he was shortly Afghanistanbound, where he would be training local policemen. In response to my question regarding his language skills, the response with a wry smile was, “Sir, I barely speak English.” Although we both sort of laughed, it was clear that the mission was inherently problematic if not guaranteed to fail from the outset. The story has stuck with me since, for a number of reasons, but primarily because it highlights the enormous complexity, relevant to military missions, where language skills present an enormous challenge. In addition, it raised questions regarding knowledge and understanding of the “other;” sending U.S. military personnel who speak only English to train Afghani policemen raises profoundly important questions regarding both the mission and U.S. understanding of local culture mores and norms. Although we both chuckled at his self-deprecating response, I think we both recognized the mission had a dubious chance of success. See Figures 6.1 and 6.2.