Uncle Sam's push for Pashtu speakers

WASHINGTON - The Pentagon will spend hundreds of millions of dollars to improve foreign language skills in the United States military in a bid to fix a deficiency that has complicated operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In Iraq, very few of the 155,000 US troops fighting insurgents and training Iraqi security forces speak Arabic. And the scarcity of troops who speak or understand languages such as Pashtu and Dari has hampered US military efforts in Afghanistan.

"Right now, our two hot languages are Arabic and Pashtu," Lynne McCann, chief of the Army Foreign Language Proponency Office, said. McCann said the Army also is looking for increased proficiency in Chinese and Korean.

The Pentagon plans more language instruction at military academies and semesters abroad.

- REUTERS