Right Hand, Left Hand

FoxNews is reporting that the government is having a hard time find Arabic-speakers. No kidding. We're perfectly happy to turn away Sephardic or Mizrahi Jews who know Arabic, because they can't be trusted to be accurate. Meanwhile, those trustworthy Muslim converts we hired, who happened to get their religious training in Syria, are falsifying transcripts, stealing documents, and shipping them FedEx to Damascus.

Notice the "volunteer" part about the Jews. Notice that there are millions of Arabs and Muslims in this country who are supposed to be eager to be seens as patriotic Americans. Or, at least, who want not to be suspected of being otherwise. I'm sure they're breaking down the doors to help translate. Where are the postings on CAIR and AMA and the rest of the crew, urging patriotic Arab-Americans to help out? Where are the Middle-East Studies departments offering their skills for the benefit of a country that pays their salaries, supposedly for this very purpose?

One of my favorite lines in American diplomatic history ("Nuts," doesn't count), was when the German foreign minister during WWI, Zimmerman, he of the Telegram, said to the American ambassador that if America joined the war, there would be "half a million Germans ready to rise in rebellion." "In that case," replied the Ambassador, after he realized Zimmerman wasn't joking, "we shall have half a million lampposts to hang them on."

We hear so much about the benefits of diversity because they are true. But only so long as we can actually count on the loyalty and love of the immigrants who provide that diversity. Violence against innocents is wrong, period. But social pressure and societal suspicion and disapproval are powerful, non-violent forces. Maybe it would be better if they really were a little worried about being seen as disloyal.