Foreigners who speak Arabic in the Middle East are often assumed to be working for the C.I.A. or Israel's intelligence agency, the Mossad.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
We need spies that look like their targets, CIA officers who speak the dialects terrorists use, and FBI agents who can speak to Muslim women who might be intimidated by men.
Before I got into politics, I wanted to be a missionary to people in the Middle East. I thought it would be better to speak with them in their own language.
At the end of the day, Americans know that the ones they really can trust, in all the Middle East, it's only Israel.
The CIA will only hire people with impeccable credentials to be a translator. 'Impeccable credentials' means you've never lived outside the United States.
On the flip side, I enjoy covering the Arab world, I've spent my entire career here in the Middle East, but I would never call myself a war correspondent.
I worked in the Mossad for a few years.
Almost all Iraqis with any previous experience in the intelligence business are Sunni Arab, increasing the risk of penetration of the new intelligence apparatus by the insurgency.
Being published in Arabic is a strong and consistent wish I have. I live in the Middle East and want to be in some sort of an unpragmatic dialogue with my neighbors.
Saudi Arabia is the country that in the end will determine the ability of the Arabs to reach a compromise with Israel.
I am confident the Obama administration will work professionally with any Israeli government.