Military preparations to attack Iran. Re: [lbo-talk] Blumenthal: Iran is next

[Yoshie Furuhashi]

On 8/10/06, Steve Palmer <spalmer999 at yahoo.com> wrote:
> Specifically, the Monterey Defense Language (www.dliflc.edu)- "the acknowledged
> leader in foreign language education throughout DoD and the federal government"
> - set up a whole new Persian Farsi program which now graduates the second
> largest group of students after Arabic (In 2004, 157, vs 521 in Arabic). This
> is Persian, ie Iranian Farsi, not the Afghan version(Dari). This was clearly
> for military purposes given the absence of diplomatic contacts.
<snip>
> The Institute produced a 'Basic Farsi Language Survival Guide', early in 2003,
> intended for 'use by advance parties [sic] or others who may not have immediate
> access to a qualified linguist'. Advance parties, of course, arrive in advance
> of a main force. It specifically mentions the Toman, Iran's currency (10 Rials
> = 1 Toman) and the helpful phrase "I have no Iranian money", as well as "We are
> Americans", "Help is on the way" and "You will not be harmed". Cheery informal
> salutations such as "Stop or I will shoot", "Follow our orders", "Put your
> weapon down", "Lie on your stomach", "Surrender" and "You are a prisoner" give
> a good flavour of the kind of rapport the guide is intended to help build with
> the local population.

Steve jaan, that's exactly the sort of guidebook given to Iraq-bound solders:

<blockquote>Iraq-bound soldiers are issued a "Language Survival Guide"
published by the Defense Language Institute. The pocket-sized 70-page
booklet covers a range of situations soldiers might encounter.
(Capital H represents a hard H, which sounds like clearing the
throat.)

A sample:

"Hello." "Do you speak English?" "I do not speak Arabic." "What is
your name?" "We are here to help you." "Stop or I'll shoot." "Are
there armed men near here?" "Speak slowly." "Where is the latrine?" "I
will take you to the hospital." "Is the water safe to drink?" "Is the
food fresh?" "Explosive."

(Michael Gilbert, "Language Classes Scarce at All Levels," The News
Tribune, 28 May 28 2006,
<http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/5772990p-5161355c.html>)</blockquote>

How do you say "Irán sería la tumba del imperialismo" in Farsi?
-- 
Yoshie
<http://montages.blogspot.com/>
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