Leaving Friends to Die: Abandoning Our Iraqi Interpreters

Every day thousands of courageous Iraqis risk their lives to support American troops. Many work as translators, acting as the public face of American forces in some of Iraq's most dangerous neighborhoods. They and their families are threatened and often killed by the insurgents, criminals, and sectarian militias profiting from Iraq's insecurity. And yet, despite the risks, they remain dedicated to protecting our troops and helping their fellow civilians. And the United States is leaving many of them behind in Iraq to die.

If they were Americans, they'd get a ceremony on the White House lawn and a photo-op with the President. But they are Iraqis, so most can't even get visas. Fewer than 2,000 Iraqis have been given refuge in the United States--an appallingly low number. To put that in perspective, by the end of 2007, Sweden will admit about twenty times more refugees than the US. Other countries like Switzerland and Belgium have also stepped up where the US has not. Our country has a moral obligation to help its Iraqi comrades--and we are failing miserably. We are failing to keep our most precious allies safe from harm. So instead, they are joining the four million other Iraqis who have fled their homes since the start of the war. For these men and women, the endless bureaucratic hurdles imposed upon them by the United States are literally a matter of life and death.

As a soldier serving in Iraq, I saw for myself how high the stakes can be for our Iraqi friends. My interpreter, Esam Pasha, was a charismatic young painter who spoke four languages and loved American movies. He bravely painted the first post-war mural on a public building--a historic piece covering a huge portrait of Saddam Hussein called "Resilience."

In addition to being talented and smart, Esam was also the most important weapon I had on the battlefield. On tense patrols, during dangerous house searches and at dark checkpoints, he often had only a few crucial seconds to help us explain to civilians why we were there and what we were asking them to do. More than once, Esam's quick thinking and careful words saved lives - both American and Iraqi. He was "one of the guys"--and we trusted him with our lives. When my unit left Iraq in 2004, Esam was left behind to fend for himself. He was repeatedly threatened, and his name added to a public death list by local insurgents. Every day I checked my email, hoping to hear news that he was still alive. After many nervous months of constantly looking over his shoulder and navigating red tape, Esam finally escaped Baghdad to Jordan, than eventually made his way to New York City. He got a student visa, has refugee status pending, and is now thriving as an artist in Connecticut. His work was featured in a gallery in SoHo, and he was even on CNN. But Esam is one of a small number of lucky ones.

People who risked their lives for America are dying every day in Iraq because the President and scores of bureaucrats in Washington are dragging their feet. Todd Bowers, IAVA's Director of Government Affairs, describes the fate of one Iraqi he worked with in Fallujah:

After US forces swept through the city during the second Battle of Fallujah, Hassan*, my Iraqi civilian counterpart, took the lead in establishing the election site that would be used by thousands of Iraqis during Iraq's first national elections.

Soon after my second tour, I received the following email from a Marine on the team that replaced mine:

"The night of 11 August 2005, Hassan was followed and executed. He was shot 2 times in the chest and 1 time in the head. It was a sad day, as he had become our friend, and we continued our relationship with him that you had established. His family has left the city."

My friend had been assassinated by the insurgency, and his family, now left without a father and husband, was forced to flee their homes.

Last week, as a part of the Department Of Defense Authorization process, there was a vote on the floor of the Senate to improve visa processing for Iraqi translators and others who work with the US forces. IAVA was proud to support this critical legislation. And thankfully, it passed. The bill eliminates the current requirement that Iraqi refugees must apply to the United Nations before our government will consider their applications, and it expedites the process for those who are in serious danger because of their association with the United States. It also expands the number of special immigrant visas for Iraqis working directly for the United States. You can learn more about this bipartisan amendment here.

This is a great first step. But we cannot stop there. We must ramp up the number of Iraqis allowed safe haven in the US dramatically--and quickly. Protecting our interpreters is not only a moral issue, but also crucial to our national security. Counterinsurgency work relies on keeping good faith with our local allies; abandoning our interpreters would send a terrible signal to anyone thinking of working with American forces. It's time we protected those who protected us.

* Hassan's name has been changed to protect his family.

Follow Paul Rieckhoff on Twitter: www.twitter.com/PaulRieckhoff

Comments

[iswearington]

this is nothing new. they abandoned the montagnards and CIDGs s ,mammasans...ba-me-ba girls , sandbag fillers...and everyone else that helped us in vietnam.whoever helps americans in iran...will be abandoned to.thats how the american military rolls.

[Veleria29]

Paul I feel your pain but haven't you realized yet that Bush and his administration does not care what happens to to the brave people who have helped the soldiers in Iraq and I am sure continue to risk their lives to do so. However from the way the civilians are treated with the bullies called Blackwater I am surprised anyone in Iraq is willing to help.
The longer this war goes on the more injustice will occur not just to the Iraqi people but to our brave soldiers in Iraq.
The people in this country are the only ones who have the power to end this war. The problem only a small percentage of Americans are fighting this war and the rest just give lip service to it. Unless they have a loved one in Iraq they go about their daily lives as if no war was going on in Iraq.

[dadw5boys]

OK first of all if THOUSANDS were helping U.S. Troops in Iraq everyday wecould leave and let those THOUSANDS you quoted help the Iraqi Military. The U.S. could pull back to to border.
Just in case you over stated and there are only a few hundred that are helping Americans then there is a problem after 6 years.

[Qbear]

Your description of your friend the 4 language fluent intereptuer and painter...sounds like the Iraqi english translators and the tossed American Farci interpretuers are A LOT ALIKE.
I doubt even if America leaves Iraq, those interpretuers will be safely brought to America...we don't allow gay/lesbian immigration as a reason to be recognized as an immigrant needing political sanctuary.

[S1m0n]

Treason is treason: no nation under occupation ever forgives it's quislings, and for good reason.

The bulk of the Iraqis injured by the occupation will never be able to exact revenge on the US, but every time an american squad decided to drag someone off to be tortured at Abu Ghraib, it was because of the way a translator translated their answers.

And every time that Iraqi was interrogated, another translator was standing by. Of course they're going to become the focus of hatred from those they've betrayed. Why would they ever have expected any less?

And of course the occupiers are going to drop them like a dirty shirt when the moment comes: occupiers never do otherwise. No one likes a traitor.

[fantagor]

The fact that we have admitted so few Iraqis into the USA proves the government is worried about Iraqis entering the country to perform acts of terrorism because of Bush preemptive war with Iraq.

The USA: #1 in creating new generations of terrorists.

Thank Heavens were #1 at something.

Randy

[Oldtimer]

Hey Paul,
Maybe the interpreters should apply at Blackwater. That way they can be whisked out of
Iraq in 36 hours!!!!!

[MyLadyMacbeth]

What can we do ?Do you have any people we can contact in the State Department?

[esquire07]

Are you still angry with moveon.org Paul ?

Since you bashed them I have not taken you very seriously.

You need to understand that Dead troops = big money for the war profitieirs. That is what it is all about.

[paulrieckhoff]

You haven't taken me seriously since I said MoveOn's ad crossed the line? Really?

Well, I guess you still take me seriously enough to read my blogs and comment about them.

[commentator]

Denmark (my country) pulled all our interpreters and their families out before we pulled out. Without the protection of the Danish forces, they'd be unprotected targets for retailiation (death, torture) from whoever had a beef with them helping allied forces.

This is the right thing to do, obviously. The callousness of some of the commentators in this thread is astonishing.

[HippyLadyLib]

Callousness is a feature of the United States. That is one reason we are not respected by anyone on the planet. Shame on us.

[julia06]

Excellent post.
The New Yorker did an excellent piece on this earlier this year.
Glad that this is getting the attention it deserves.

[realitytrumpsbull]

Are you in favor of ending the war, and pulling
the troops out, or are you trying to parley it
out for another 5 years? Big money in war,
as we've seen...no, BIG money. Like, a lot, and
stuff. REALLY a lot...

[BTN]

At least things have really improved in Iraq
(although you would never know it from the media coverage)

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f5b63014-704d-11dc-a6d1-0000779fd2ac.html

[hayes6]

As about half of the above comments show, the pro-war, anti-immigrant crowd is sickening. They have sacrificed nothing to their cause and would leave to die those who have sacrificed greatly. I'm ashamed to have them as fellow citizens and would welcome to our country those Iraqis who have aided our soldiers and diplomats.

[Mattias]

Iraq is already short of people willing to stand up on their own, becasue so many of their best and brightest have fled.

We need these people to stay and change their country for the better instead of running away.

Yes, it's dangerous. But that is because far too many Iraqis are unwilling. Think what could happen if those with the bravery and intelligence to work as 'terps would take on the burden of leadership.

[arethabaez]

Dead people can't take on the burden of leadership. Like Paul said they are being targeted and murdered. 4 million Iraqis are refugees. Most of these replies read like something you'd find on a bill o'reilly web site. Please email your Congressmen to pressure the state dept to move with haste and follow the instructions on the Statue of Liberty re: the Iraqi refugees. Remember how we trapped the Jews in Europe during the Nazi era by taking LESS than the MINIMUM quota of immigrants from every country in Europe during the whole crisis. Sure made easy pickins for Hitler. Don't let history repeat itself. More Blood will be on our hands. Even Jerry Ford accepted 150,000 Vietnamese in a 6 mo period and yet we could only muster up 700 slots this year. Allow these Iraquis to live, please. They can go back and lead after peace is established.
THANK YOU, PAUL.

[Mattias]

Please... your bleeding heart is staining your shirt.

I can tell you haven't spent a minute on the ground in iraq. Here's a fact: If people run from intimidation and death threats then the thugs and murderers gain power.

I have seen children murdered by these Islamo-nutjubs, using their religion to justify slaughter. If that were being done to me, I'd fight until every last one of them was dead.

If people want a better life they should make one instead of running away. After sitting on their asses and watching a brutal dictator destroy three generations for forty years, they now have a chance. But they prefer to play "blame America." A game of excuses and finger-pointing that people like you have made easy for the rest of the world to play.

In your arguement, peace apparently is something that magically happens. Get real. Real and lasting peace requires sacrifice. Our own American revolutionaries didn't flee to Europe and wait for peace to be established when the British "targeted and murdered" them.

No, a patriot stays and fights for a better life.

We've already sacrificed nearly 3,000 of our own. And we continue to sit in this shit hole while Iraqis with the means run away.

We should not facilitate and condone that. They must stand and figt. No visas until they take responsibility. No asylum until they make their own peace.

[iggy06]

What do you expect when we are literally ruled by the Synagogue of Satan? Order that book and these things will make sense to you Paul. Keep on truckin though.