Associated Press

July 22, 2003 Tuesday

HEADLINE: Translator Boosts American Effort in Iraq

BYLINE: BORZOU DARAGAHI; Associated Press Writer

DATELINE: ZAGANIA, Iraq

BODY: On the surface the meeting is going well. The town elders nod in agreement as a U.S. Army captain outlines plans to revive the small farming town's security and municipal services.

But off to the side, someone whispers: "The Americans are liars. They're only here for our oil."

George Kazour comes to the rescue. The Lebanese-American translator urges the others not to listen to the man.

"I know the mission of the troops here," he says to the elders in their native Arabic. "They're not here to fight or kill anybody. They're here to help you get on your feet. You have to help them feel more secure in order for them to help you."

Perhaps the Army's greatest weapons in the hunt for Saddam Hussein and the search for security aren't satellites or precision missiles, but men like Kazour, a 50-year-old former educator and Pittsburgh food wholesaler whose cajoling banter and rapport with average Iraqis has yielded numerous tips. He has also helped American soldiers navigate tricky cultural and political waters.

"What we need here is an army of Georges," says Sgt. Gary Lippman.

American bases and patrols in central Iraq have come under near nightly attacks, with nearly 30 soldiers killed since the end of formal war operations at the beginning of May. Leaders of the U.S.-led coalition occupying Iraq suspect Saddam loyalists. But they've grown frustrated at their inability to get locals to point to Iraqis responsible for the attacks.

Enter Kazour, who jokes and shames the locals into talking. During a raid in the town of As Sadah , the site of nightly rocket-propelled grenade attacks on American patrols, locals blamed outsiders for the attacks. Kazour, wearing the same uniform as the American soldiers swarming through town, had none of it.

"Be brave and honest," he told them. "You either stop the attacks or give us the names."

Sure enough, the attacks in As Sadah have died down, and a number of locals have showed up at the base with tips on militants. Some promised to come back with times and places of pro-Saddam meetings.

Lt. Col. Mark Young, commander of the 3rd Battalion 67th Armored Regiment of the Army's 4th Infantry Division, says before Kazour arrived last month, his mission to secure this area east and north of the provincial capital of Baquba using local translators was much more difficult.

"The locals don't trust each other," he says. "They don't want to give a tip or intelligence to a local translator. Seeing George with us and in our uniform allows them to give us information. They know he's not going to pass it on to some local thug."

Base leaders say they use Kazour more as an adviser rather than a translator. "He can give us a sense of mood or and attitude," says Maj. Jim Brogan. "We're struggling not only with communicating with Iraqis, but in understanding their ways."

Occasionally, Kazour tells his bosses the man they just spoke to was lying. "Because he's from the region he sometimes can help me understand some of the cultural and religious issues in the area," says Young.

A father of three, Kazour was a schoolteacher in Lebanon before he immigrated to the United States in 1976. He taught college-level Arabic and worked for a Middle Eastern food wholesaler in Pittsburgh before taking a job as a $70,000-a-year translator for Titan, a Denver firm that screens, trains and provides the Department of Defense with civilian contractors.

"I thought I could serve my country," says Kazour, a registered Republican.

He thought he might be assigned a job translating documents or conducting interviews for the Pentagon. Instead on June 10, just 10 days after he was hired, he arrived in Baghdad with a flak jacket, helmet and army uniform and was shipped to the dusty, dilapidated old military base turned headquarters for Young's battalion.

On raids, patrols and civil service missions, he's right there at the front with the commanding officer. He says he misses fresh fruits and vegetables and is a little tired of the Army's meals-ready-to-eat. But on the plus side, he earns an extra 15 percent bonus for being in a war zone.

"I never dreamed I would be going on combat operations," he said. "It's scary. But I think I've gotten used to it.