European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 26, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Friday july 26, 1991 the stars and stripes a Page 3iraqi-born . Soldier heeded Cal arabic language skill filled key need in War by Chuck Roberts staff writer Erlenheim Germany a when sgt. Emad Al Baa was told to report to his commanders office the night before thanksgiving he knew his past was catching up with him. To his friends and co workers at the 29th Supply and service co at Wiesbaden a Germany he was the sergeant in charge of training who looked italian or maybe Spanish. But the army knew that Baa was an iraqi native whose knowledge of Middle Eastern languages and culture was needed following the iraqi invasion of Kuwait. A Biu i had another reason then to fight the War Quot said the 30-year-old Baa. After fleeing to Iran in 1966, his family eventually settled in Kuwait. His parents and sister were trapped there during the War. After the cease fire Baa found his family safely together at his. Sisters Home. His father Al a had been beaten by iraqi soldiers but otherwise his family escaped the War unscathed except for lacking food. Before his tearful family reunion Baa a a pre thanksgiving Call had taken him to the United states saudi Arabia Iraq Kuwait and Back to the United states before his May s return to Germany where he saw his youngest son for the first time. Upon receiving his orders in november Baa had joined 13 other handpicked soldiers at . Military intelligence schools. After the group arrived in saudi Arabia in january Baa was assigned to the 207th military intelligence brigade. His arabic background was immediately put to use As he patrolled campsites to make sure the area was free of terrorists. If he met a kuwaiti while on patrol Baa said he would speak with a kuwaiti dialect so that the person would think of him As a a Home boy Quot and speak freely. He used the same technique with arabs from s \ \ \ is had another reason then to fight the War a sgt. Emad Al Baa different regions. Baa said there Are More than 20 dialects in the arabic language which he said is considered the second most difficult language to learn after chinese. Even arabs have difficulty understanding dialects of different regions Baa said. His Job also was to smooth relations with the local arabs which had a personal Benefit for Baa. He said he never ate any meals ready to eat during his month of counterintelligence because the local natives shared their food with Baa and his colleagues. As he gained their Trust the arabs showed their Friendship toward Baa through customs such As holding his hand while walking or exchanging kisses on the top of the nose which Baa said Drew a few interested looks from his fellow soldiers. When the ground War began Baa was assigned to a site where prisoners were taken for an initial interrogation before being sent to one of the two Camps operated by the . Joint interrogation forces. For three Days the three hours of sleep he managed to grab each Day while interrogating thousands of prisoners came while standing up or leaning against a vehicle. Baa said he tried to make the prisoners feel comfortable around him. If a prisoner was sad Baa would act sad. Although he detests cigarettes Baa became a smoker to blend in better with the iraqi soldiers who were heavy smokers. Baa said he portrayed himself As an american Soldier who spoke arabic. But when he suspected that a prisoner was lying he would suddenly Tell them he was an iraqi Ana speak to them in their own dialect. A right then he gets scared and he starts giving me information right away Quot Baa  identified one Soldier assigned to an iraqi execution squad by the dark outline remaining after the state dept ordered to pay for worker s disabled child Washington apr a Federal judge wednesday ordered the government to pay $900,000 to a state department worker saying her employer was to blame for permanent brain damage her child suffered after she gave birth while on assignment in Liberia. Nyenpan Tarpeh Doe ii now 9 years old and receiving care in wheat Ridge colo., was blinded and suffered severe brain damage while being treated in Monrovia Liberia for spinal meningitis three weeks after his birth in May 1982, according to the ruling by . District judge Louis f. Oberdorfer. During his illness the baby spent a night in a cockroach and rat infested Monrovia Hospital that lacked facilities to administer oxygen. Although he was moved to a better Hospital the next Day doctors refused to evacuate him from the country for 12 Days according to the ruling. By then the boy had suffered permanent brain damage and he now needs Complete care the ruling said. The figure May go higher. The $900,000 covers costs incurred so far in the child a 9-year life the judge said he will Rule later on How much the government must pay for the Cost of the boys future medical care. The boys Mother Linda Wheeler Tarpeh Doe was an accountant for the state department s Agency for International development on assignment in Monrovia. The lawsuit was filed by Tarpeh Doe and her Mother Marilyn Wheeler who is acting As the child a guardian while the Mother is on another overseas assignment. Oberdorfer upheld the women a claim that the state departments office of medical services failed to properly supervise or. Theodore e. Lefton the medi Cal officer then assigned to Monrovia. The department had received numerous complaints that Lefton often was not available to provide medical care but it did not immediately reassign him or step up its supervision of the care he provided the ruling said. A the situation was Rife with the potential for a serious mishap resulting directly from or. Lefton a inaction a Oberdorfer wrote. A the state department owed a duty to plaintiff to provide her with a level of medical care higher than that available from local facilities in Liberia a Ober Dorfer wrote. A defendants promised Tarpeh Doe the Best possible medical  a the judge denied Tarpeh does argument that she was never told that she could have been evacuated to have her baby in the United states. But he also rejected the governments argument that she did not take her sick baby to the Hospital soon enough. Lefton a negligent treatment led to the baby a brain damage the judge wrote. He said Lefton administered no tests when he first examined the ill baby and referred his care to a physician to whom he had never made a referral before. The judge ordered the government to pay $901,162.71, including $322,443.53 for the Cost of medical care until october 1990, with a share of that to go to the state of Colorado which has been covering medical costs $4,969.18 for other expenses paid by the Mother and $573,750 for the value of the boys lost earning potential. A spokesman for the . Attorneys office which defended the lawsuit could not immediately be reached for comment. Triangular military Patch worn by those soldiers had been removed. When Baa asked him what his Job was the prisoner said he was an infantry Soldier. But Baa tricked the Soldier into telling the truth by telling him that another Soldier already had revealed everything about him. Baa a a role in the War completed a Long round trip to the area of his birth and one filled with tension and fear. When his father was jailed for his political activities in 1965, Baa and his Mother brother and sister crossed the Shatt Al Arab River and entered Iran during the night. His father had been sentenced to die but was saved when an army major helped him escape. Baa said his childhood in Iraq was marked by fighting Between the baath party and the communists for control of the country. A they sleep with a sword under their Pillow was the phrase people lived by then Baa said. His father rejoined the family in Iran and they later moved to Kuwait in 1966 where Baa graduated from High school. He started College at Idaho state University in 1980. During a visit with his family in 1982, Baa took his iraqi passport to the iraqi embassy in Kuwait for renewal. When he went Back the next Day to pick it up he was told it had been lost. Baa said the a lost passport was a ploy to Force him to return to Iraq and be drafted As a Soldier for the War with Iran. To escape he asked the iraqi embassy to Issue him a temporary passport to Iraq. With this passport which was stamped As valid to Iraq and his student visa he bought a ticket to the United states at Kuwait International Airport. When Baa approached the customs counter he turned the passport to a Blank Page before giving it to the customs official. Luckily the agent was preoccupied and stamped his passport for departure to the United states. When his plane landed in new York Baa was so grateful to be accepted somewhere that he decided to become a . Citizen and join the military. A i just Felt that i am in the states now a he said. A i want to be an  critical of . Readiness in Gulf will retire fort Lewis Wash. A an army commander who several weeks before the Allied offensive against Iraq contended that american troops were not ready for Battle says he wants to retire. It. Gen. Calvin Waller said he will ask president Bush for permission to retire sept. 30. A a it a time to move on a Waller commander of fort Lewis said in a statement tuesday. Waller 53, was Deputy commander of . Forces in the persian Gulf during operation desert shield. Waller had said in december that . Forces would not ready to go to War on Jan. 15, the United nations deadline for iraqis withdrawal from Kuwait. He added that he would advise the president against attacking the iraqi forces until enough forces were in the Gulf. At the time the statement appeared to undercut Bush a strategy of steadily increasing pressure on iraqis president Saddam Hussein. Allied forces began bombing Iraq and Kuwait air a Han a month late ground War. Shortly after the deadline and Iraq surrendered a Little More than a month later following a Short Waller a 32-year Veteran who served in Vietnam and Korea is one of the highest ranking Blacks in the army. He assumed command of fort Lewis in August 1989. He was deployed in saudi Arabia from november through March. Some soldiers at fort Lewis expressed Surprise at Waller a announcement. A for me being a Young Black officer he was an inspiration a it. Richard Swoope said. A the was a role Model for All