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US soldier's guide to Iraq - circa 1943 - 8/12/2007 4:27:40 AM

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By Malcolm JonesNewsweek

Aug. 9, 2007 - In 1943, U.S. servicemen stationed in Iraq were issued a pocket-size 41-page book entitled “A Short Guide to Iraq.” In straightforward prose, the book gave American soldiers a primer to help them through the cultural snarls and byways of the country in which they were stationed. They learned a little history, a little geography and a smattering of vocabulary and grammar.

In light of what we know about Iraq and the Middle East today, the book’s contents look a little slight. But when you reflect on what Americans knew about a then-obscure corner of the world in 1943, it looks like a godsend. Back then there was no television to beam a country’s culture into living rooms around the world. You couldn’t Google “Iraq” and learn basic history and culture on the fly. “A Short Guide to Iraq”—recently republished by the University of Chicago Press as “Instructions for American Servicemen in Iraq During World War II”—filled a big gap in the knowledge of American troops in Iraq, and its overall message was certainly admirable: “You aren’t going to Iraq to change the Iraqis. Just the opposite. We are fighting this war to preserve the principle of ‘live and let live.’ Maybe that sounded like a lot of words to you at home. Now you have a chance to prove it to yourself and others. If you can, it’s going to be a better world to live in for all of us.”

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20203752/site/newsweek

< Message edited by Level -- 8/12/2007 5:04:45 AM >

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RE: US soldier's guide to Iraq - circa 1943 - 8/12/2007 11:53:32 AM

SimplyMichael

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I have an original of that book as well as one of Iran and Syria. It talks about how to recognize if you are entering a Christian town, a Jewish town, as well as a bit about the differences between Shia and Sunni and why it mattered. It speaks of the warmth with which you will be greeted by Muslims since we are all followers of the same book.

What is really sad is there is more information in that pamphlet about Iraq than existed in the entire Bush administration prior to the war.

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RE: US soldier's guide to Iraq - circa 1943 - 8/12/2007 6:41:52 PM

kiyari

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I recall, decades ago [Bush Sr or maybe even Reagan era], a photo in Newsday, showing our (U.S.) representative meeting with some Arab head of state... where 'our' guy was sitting there with legs crossed (thereby showing the soles of his shoes), and the Arab in the photo... his eyes were 'bugging out'.

This is a very basic insult, and how is it that our guy was not aware?

Yah, you may suggest the insult was intentional, but that would be truly moronic 'foreign policy', and indifferent (even arrogant) ignorance seems more our style.

We do after all, often assign persons to be ambassadors to non-English speaking countries, who (you guessed it) have no command of the language of their host country... we are even more idiotic, in assigning spies of similar lack.

You may recall some nonsense post 9-11, where we discarded Arabic speakers who were... of some Inconvenient sexual preference?

Doubtless all this lack of 'cultural sensitivity' (nothing touchy-feely, just the practicalities) is not for lack of appropriatly tasked and funded agencies...

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