Regardless of one's opinion about U.S. presence in the Middle East and the War in Iraq, it should be clear that the inability of U.S. forces to communicate with the local populace in Arabic has tragic consequences, with innocent lives lost because soldiers cannot talk to the people they have to deal with. The shortage of skilled interpreters in combat units is a major problem. Although I do not know how many Arabic speakers are in the U.S. military now, a decade ago a friend of mine was one of only three individuals in the entire military who could deal with both Arabic and Farsi, a rather important combination of languages in today's world.

A number of companies have stepped forward to offer solutions to the language barrier in Iraq (and the Middle East in general). IBM today made news by offering to donate $45 million of English-Arabic speech translation software and products to the U.S. military. While these systems may not offer the same flexibility and skill as a human translator, they can be the difference between life and death for Iraqi civilians who happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and for military personnel involved in actions in Iraq.

IBM's action was prompted by news of Sgt. Mark Eckeran, the son of an IBM employee, who lost both legs below the knees to an explosive device while he was on a tour of duty. While looking at what to do in honor of Ecker, IBM was informed by a number of employees who had served in Iraq that lack of interpreters often put them in harm's way. While IBM's decision may not help Ecker directly, the hope is that by facilitating communication, some of the human cost on all sides in the conflict might be reduced. LISA lauds the generosity of IBM and we sincerely hope that this donation to the U.S. military will help save lives and keep those people safe who want nothing more than to see peace in their land.