| For example, just last week Americans found out that only 13% of CIA employees speak a foreign language. Looking deeper into the agency's hiring practices, we see something even more frightening. Only 18% of CIA analysts, the people paid to read and understand what's going on overseas, are bilingual. They only know English. Maybe we can ask Al-Qaeda or Iran or Saudi Arabia or China to adopt English as their official language.
Sadly, some politicians in Washington and Austin ridicule studying a foreign language and refuse to fund it. We know for a fact that children learn another language easier than adults, but Americans generally have to wait until high school or even college to expand their skills. If learning a foreign language is better at a young age, then why do we tell our children to put off the hard work of studying them? Instead we pay big money for them to pick up a football, baseball or basketball?
Foreign intelligence also requires more than just language skills; it requires cultural skills. No Child Left Behind has hurt this effort. Standardized testing is quickly pushing aside "nonessential disciplines" such as history, geography, art and literature. This information is the health food of mental exercises. If children don't get cultural skills from schools, then where are they going to turn? Hollywood? MTV? Video games?
A good way to build our intelligence capabilities is to encourage overseas travel. Travel brings history, geography, art and literature alive. I know that three years living in Germany made my education richer. Even though we lived on a US military base, my mom and dad made sure we got out and learned about our host country. We also traveled to Rome, London and Paris as well as numerous small villages all across Europe. I'll never forget standing at Check Point Charlie and looking over the Berlin Wall.
Good intelligence then requires investing in human beings. We need agents who can read foreign newspapers, travel overseas and learn firsthand what is happening. Americans need to be welcomed into homes and business around the globe. This will only happen if Americans are trusted. If foreigners believe we are the "good guys," then they will pass on information vital to our national security.
Individuals can help build trust, but our government is American's face to the rest of the world. Our government must be trusted. Our leaders must obey our own laws as well as legally binding treaties. They must act with honor. Who among us would trust a friend who constantly goes back on his word?
We can't fix our intelligence problems over night. It will take hard work. I can say with all certainty, however, that relying on torture not only produces a false sense of security but also makes things worse. Torture and warrantless wiretaps are the lazy man's solution to intelligence. It's time for us to exercise our intelligence to protect American lives. |
