"Criminal, get out of my country," the Iraqi national yelled in Arabic, heckling the troops in a mock Iraqi village. "I don't want you in my country. You're killing people."
Those are harsh words for someone who professes to love America, but Mr. Thanon is just doing his job. He is training troops for Iraq, and he wants them to be ready.
...
The training represents a change in philosophy for the military, said David R. Segal, director of the Center for Research on Military Organization at the University of Maryland. Army troops have long received language help as they prepared for battle, but cultural training was nonexistent in such conflicts as the Vietnam War, he said.
Winning over the Iraqi people, who play a key role in this mission, is crucial to success, Mr. Segal said. "This is a war where cultural knowledge may be more important than the number of bullets that you have," he said.
Many of the participating Iraqis migrated to the United States after the 1991 Persian Gulf war to escape oppression under Saddam Hussein's regime. Some are now American citizens.
Their work with U.S. troops is coordinated by defense contractors such as Goldbelt Eagle, which is paid $15 million to provide role players at five military bases. All participants must pass rigorous screenings by a private investigator and the government.
http://www.washtimes.com/national/20041228-102810-3142r.htm
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