2008/05/20 Base Saba al-Bor
Meeting
Friendly, funny and helpful
I’m sitting next to a soldier who is talking on the phone to his family or his girlfriend about his experiences in Iraq.
After I joined a meeting of U.S. forces and the Quda of Taji, the Quda is a kind of County Council, I was driven to this base.
One of the engineers attending the meeting had studied in Aachen and spoke fluently German.
The interpreters are very friendly, funny and helpful -- quite different from my experiences with most of the interpreters in Afghanistan.
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19 comments 
Being very funny can be a smart way to deal with stress, but I can be mistaken. Observe well, but I am sure you do.
@Arnon
Just wanted to know: what was the meeting about? Was the engineer an Iraqi or an American soldier? And which interpreters do you mean (what 'side' if it's appropriate to use that term)?Noa
Neither your questions nor your phrasing are appropriate. The question which side people are on distracts from the issue at hand, and can only serve to stop investigating the human condition in a war situation. It turns literature into politics. Under the guise of being critical and mindful of censorship issues and objectivity, your line of questioning reveals your lazy and resentful outlook on things.@Rutger
Rutger, maybe Noa's question is inappropriate, however to me your conclusion what this reveals is just as inappropriate. Again you always seems to know better than anybody else what drives a person and what his or hers motivations are. I think you could have made your point much stronger without the last line, your conclusion about what you think about Noa is not interesting at all and doesn't add anything in my view.Noa
Meeting was about water, irrigation and probably power.Engineer was from Iraq.
@Arnon, interesting.
@Rutger, it was just interest, nothing more nothing less. It's the detailed descriptions that help create the full picture and therefore: understanding.
@Rutger, it was just interest, nothing more nothing less. It's the detailed descriptions that help create the full picture and therefore: understanding.
@Johannes
Can I read the articles Arnon writes for NRC on his current experiences online?Noa
Yes, you can read it online but only when you have a NRC subscription.Nastasza
Re: "Again you always seems to know better than anybody else what drives a person and what his or hers motivations are."Thanks for the compliment. However, I would say you beat me to it.
@Rutger, could I borrow the codes to your NRC subscription?
@ RH CdG
'To seem' is a key word there. As in: compliments aren't often what they seem.Pablo
I am glad you are paying attention.Noa
What? That paper of the privileged, bourgeois better half of our society? Sure, no problem.Login: RHCdG
Pw: Cura_te_ipsum
@Rutger: Cura te Ipsem - meaning?
Noa
Hey, you're the Latinist. Nevertheless, it's "ipsum" (at least, Google returns more hits on that one).Rutger, I am not a Latinist but an Anglicist. 'Quid pro quo' is a relatively common expression. So please answer my question, what did you mean to say by yours?
Noa
I've tried the passwords of RHCdG but they don't work.Send me your address and you'll receive the series when it is complete, allright?
johannes@arnongrunberg.com
Johannes
Your faith in me and in my willingness to engage in illegal activity is heart warming. Next time be sure to check with me first.Noa
Latin is dead. No one speaks the language anymore. We are going to have to let the phrase speak for itself.[ Add comment ]
