Found in Translation

Chapter 2: Waging War and Keeping the Peace in Translation
1
. Quotes and details provided by Peter Less and his daughter Nettie in an interview the authors
conducted in December 2011.
2
. A video clip of an interview on YouTube with Peter Less describing his experiences can be found at
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8G0q4 DhhVYE.
3
. For more details of Less’s experience as an interpreter at the Nuremberg trials, we recommend
reading a profile about him from the International Association of Conference Interpreters, available at
www.aiic.net/ViewPage.cfm/article1277.htm.
4
. See also Francesca Gaiba, the Origins of Simultaneous Interpretation: The Nuremberg Trial
(Ottawa, ON: University of Ottawa Press, August 1998). Gaiba includes brief biographies of each of
the Nuremberg interpreters.
5
. Details provided by Rajiv Joseph in an interview the authors conducted in December 2011.
6
. The sources of the quotations are as follows. Ian Martin, in the Boston Standard:
www.bostonstandard.co.uk/news/local/face_to_face_with_an_afghan_war_lord_1_3357101. Cory
Schulz, in the New York Times: www.nytimes.com/2009/09/22/opinion/22foust.html. Nathan Bradley,
in McSweeney’s: www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/column-12-who-we-trust. Tim Hsia in the New York
Times: http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/22/jacob-the-interpreter. Michael Griffin is the author of
the forthcoming book, the Broken Road: America’s War in Afghanistan, in which he dedicates an
entire chapter to military interpreting. He covers, among many other things, the involvement of military
contractors.
7
. According to an article in the Armed Forces Journal by Lieutenant Colonel Paul T. Darling,
available at www.armedforcesjournal.com/2011/02/562294 4 .
8
. Jesús Baigorri-Jalón gives another spin on interpreters and war, by claiming that “wars have been and
—unfortunately—continue to be schools of interpreters.” See “Wars, Languages and the Role(s) of
Interpreters” at http://hal-confremo.archives-
ouvertes.fr/docs/00/59/95/99/PDF/BAIGORRI_BEIRUT_FINAL.pdf.
9
. See the New York Times page on interpreters in Iraq, available at

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http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/iraq/interpreters/index.html.
10
. An op/ed piece from Newsday that includes Obama’s quote is www.newsday.com/opinion/oped/rubin-
will-u-s-honor-vow-to-iraqi-aides-1.3254 773.
11
. The full text of the visa program is available at
http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/info/info_3738.html.
12
. See the stats on Danish visas for interpreters in the following Washington Post article:
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/21/AR2008012102170.html.
13
. Details on the Canadian visa program for Afghan interpreters are available at
www.canadaforvisa.net/immigration-minister-says-550-afghan-interpreters-will-be-in-canada-in-
months.
14
. Despite attempts to provide visas for interpreters in Australia, the government was widely criticized in
the local media for not doing enough to find them employment and provide further help. See
www.smh.com.au/national/betrayed-jobless-iraqis-in-despair-20110605-1fnjb.html.
15
. Daoud Hari, The Translator: A Tribesman’s Memoir of Darfur (New York: Random House, 2008).
16
. Limited support exists for interpreters in conflict zones, even though many such individuals are
interpreters for humanitarian aid work. One resource dedicated to helping these kinds of interpreting is
InZone, a project of Professor Barbara Moser-Mercer from the University of Geneva started in 2006.
For more details on the project, see http://virtualinstitute.eti.unige.ch/home/index.php?
module=content&type=user&func=view&pid=87. Red T (www.red-t.org), another nonprofit
organization, also supports interpreters in conflict zones.
17
. The translation backlog was exacerbated by the U.S. military’s dismissal of many translators because
of sexual orientation under the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy. This issue is addressed in more detail in
the book Unfriendly Fire by Nathaniel Frank (New York: Thomas Dunne Books, 2009). To see an
excerpt from the book in which Frank addresses the warnings of 9/11 that went untranslated, see this
story from National Public Radio: www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1054 4 1652.
18
. See the official Justice Department report detailing the severe nature of America’s translation problem
at www.justice.gov/oig/reports/FBI/a1002_redacted.pdf.
19
. Majd, who is the author of the Ayatollah Begs to Differ (New York: Doubleday, 2008), made this
observation on the television talk show Real Time with Bill Mahr. See the interview on YouTube at
about six minutes into the clip: www.youtube.com/watch?v=JywNMOzApBI.
20
. To see an example of a job posting for a media analyst position, visit
www.translatorscafe.com/cafe/job95168.htm.
21
. Translators who worked under the George Washington administration included educator John Tetard,
Hebrew scholar Isaac Pinto, and merchant John Pintard. See the website of the Offices of Language
Services at the Department of State for more details: http://languageservices.state.gov/content.asp?
content_id=270&menu_id=108.
22
. Quotes and stats provided by Joseph Mazza in an interview the authors conducted in December 2011.
23
. You can see a picture of the button and the embarrassing mistranslation at this site:
www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/03/06/clinton-goofs-russian-translation-tells-diplomat-wants-
overcharge-ties.
24
. Quotes and stats provided by Hossam Fahr in an interview the authors conducted in September 2011.
25
. Quotes and stats provided by Harry Obst in an interview the authors conducted in May 2011.
26
. For Obst’s firsthand account of his incredible career, check out his fascinating memoir, White House
Interpreter: The Art of Interpretation (Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse, 2010).
27
. You can find the Time magazine’s “Top 10 Embarrassing Diplomatic Moments” at
www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804 ,1880208_1880218_1880227,00.html.
28
. To see the original Kennedy speech, visit www.youtube.com/watch?v=hH6nQhss4 Yc.
29
. Quotes and stats provided by Olga Cosmidou in an interview the authors conducted in October 2011.
30
. Quotes and details provided by Rob Gifford in an interview the authors conducted in December 2011.
See also Rob Gifford, China Road: A Journey into the Future of a Rising Power (New York:
Random House, 2007).
31
. For examples of insensitivity among journalists who fail to use interpreters, see Edward Behr, Has

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Anyone Here Been Raped and Speaks English? (London: New English Library, 1985), for which the
title says it all.