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FOREIGN POLICY
March 1, 2005
Today, as U.S. soldiers patrol towns and villages throughout
Iraq, Middle America is meeting the Middle East. Not surprisingly,
the wide cultural gap between American GIS and Iraqis can
cause a fair amount of friction. In 2003, for example, crowds
of Iraqis took to the streets after one GI's dog sniffed
an Iraqi woman's bag that contained a Koran -- an act deemed
a religious insult to the onlookers. U.S. soldiers often
good-naturedly give Iraqis the thumbs up, a gesture roughly
equivalent to raising one's middle finger in the United
States.
The U.S. military has long offered troops linguistic and cultural
instruction to prevent such miscues in the field. But, in
the near future, virtual reality simulations will help American
soldiers hone language skills and show their sensitive side.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has
teamed up with the University of Southern California to
produce a simulation in which soldiers can play the role
of Sgt. John Smith, whose mission is to work with locals
to rebuild a girls' school. Ralph Chatham, a DARPA linguist,
says the idea is to "put a little language skill behind
every trigger finger."
Not only do soldiers learn to converse in a more colloquial
Arabic but they are taught appropriate facial expressions,
gestures, and posture -- vital aspects of building trust
in communication. In the simulation, for example, Sergeant
Smith loses a local's trust if he fails to remove his hat
or bow slightly when meeting people. He also loses points
for walking into a cafe without greeting the owner behind
the counter. If he loses too much trust, he won't be able
to get the information that he needs to find Ghassan, a
local with access to the bricks and mortar needed to repair
the school. "I'll be happy if this could save just
one life by preventing a misunderstanding, whether it's
an American, an Iraqi, or anyone else," says Chatham.
If it works, Sergeant Smith will be due a promotion.
Copyright 2005 Gale Group, Inc.
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