National Security Language Initiative

[Mansour, L. DR DFL]

Kollegi-
With all the shortcomings and entailments the come with this renewed
interest of the government and its contractors specifically in Russian,
can we agree it is generally good for our field?  
As "gumanitarii" we should be happy for our students and, yes, our
country that languages are going to receive much more of the attention
they deserve, even if for only a limited time.  AND we should start
looking for ways to make this work.  There are SEELANGERS who remember
the positive changes that came with "Cold war" language initiatives.
Far from offering a deal with the devil, as some seem to consider the
present changes, they got Americans learning and working in foreign
languages -- including reading literature, traveling and studying
abroad, teaching culture, and more. 
Larry Mansour
USMA Russian
Lawrence.mansour at usma.edu


-----Original Message-----
From: Slavic & East European Languages and Literature list
[mailto:SEELANGS at LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU] On Behalf Of Chris B. Clough
Sent: Thursday, January 12, 2006 9:43 AM
To: SEELANGS at LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU
Subject: Re: [SEELANGS] National Security Language Initiative

Unfortunately, the agencies in question have a perceived need for
secrecy, which puts the idea of freelancers out of question. The costs
implied to issue security clearances and amount of work entailed to
conduct a background investigation are such that they want a long
return on their investment.
In light of this, the restrictive policy on issuance of clearances is
the primary hindrance, in my opinion. I would not venture a guess as
to possible solutions.


Chris B. Clough

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