Dearth of Arabic Translators in Federal Prisons
By Daveed Gartenstein-Ross
My friend Joel Mowbray has a front-page article in today's Washington Times about the shortage of Arabic translators in the federal prison system:
The federal Bureau of Prisons is holding 119 persons with "specific ties" to international Islamist terrorist groups, yet has no full-time Arabic translators or a system to monitor the communications, The Washington Times has learned. A congressional aide said Bureau of Prisons officials maintain an informal list of 17 employees who are proficient in Arabic. The prison officials acknowledge, however, that none of the workers had been tested to determine Arabic fluency or undergone a special screening or background check, the aide said. Capitol Hill is starting to notice. "It's ludicrous to think that the Bureau of Prisons doesn't have a single full-time translator to monitor their communications," said Sen. Charles E. Grassley, Iowa Republican, in a statement given to The Washington Times before Thursday's multiple terror bombings in London. Mr. Grassley called the current system "a recipe for disaster."
Comments: In response to Mowbray's questioning related to the article as well as inquiries from members of Congress, "prison officials said last week that they had hired one designated, full-time Arabic translator and plan to hire one more." However, Mowbray notes that "the employee had not begun work as of today and there was no indication of any fluency test or special background check." This is a situation worth following.
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