Afp Some Translators Quitting After

Juan Cole 11/06/2003

AFP: Some Translators Quitting after Death Threats

AFP is reporting that some translators working for the Coalition have received death threats accusing them of being collaborators, and have quit their jobs as a result.

The US civil and military administrators in Iraq seldom know Arabic and lack of Arabic has been a major contributor to misunderstandings that have turned deadly in cities like Fallujah. Depriving the Coalition of its translators would blind it further.

About the Author

Juan Cole is the founder and chief editor of Informed Comment and Richard P. Mitchell Professor of History at the University of Michigan. He is author of, among many other books, Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires. Follow him at @jricole.