Iraqis who worked with the US occupation Army in Iraq after the war in 2003 experienced extraordinary challenges and risks as a result of their jobs. My thesis examines the experiences of these Iraqis who worked for the US Army in Iraq and who eventually immigrated to the United States. The study explores this experience by focusing on (a) the immense need to hire native Iraqis to mediate between US troops and locals due to the poor linguistic and cultural preparations of the US Army, (b) the significance of these local linguistic and cultural mediators and their critical roles, and (c) the risks these Iraqis experienced and their immigration and adjustment experience in the US.
Drawing attention to the unknown destiny of thousands of Iraqis who helped America in Iraq, this study engages the testimonies of six of US-affiliated Iraqis and four US veterans of Iraq. My ethnography and data analysis reveal that these native Iraqis provided the US Army with an abundant and cheap source of linguistic, cultural, and mediation services without which the US troops would not have had the ability to function in Iraq. However, these Iraqis occupy a historically awkward and ambiguous position as natives who collaborate with invading forces. As a result, at least hundreds of them were murdered by insurgent and extremist groups. In this thesis, I provide evidence that the courage and the
services these Iraqis provided qualify them to be considered as honorable members of the US armed forces and to be rewarded as the “unknown soldiers” of the Iraq war. The US government made serious and sincere endeavors to protect the lives of these Iraqis and their families by legislating Special Immigrant Visa programs since 2006 to allow some of them resettle in the US. However, since US forces will withdraw completely from Iraq on December 2011, I contend that the US has a moral responsibility to protect the lives of thousands of other Iraqis who assisted America and who remain in Iraq fearful for their lives and those of their families.