The Christian Science Monitor reports that Uncle Sam wants US Muslims to serve and is taking positive steps to make them feel welcome in our armed services. We should do this simply because we are a society that values freedom of religion. But there is a practical side, indicated in the article–Muslims in the military have valuable language skills and knowledge of the culture in countries in which they may be called to serve. Lack of human intelligence (HUMINT) is one of our weaknesses in the war on terror.
Hat tip: Dispatches from the Culture Wars.
Lack of understanding of how Muslims think was from the very start, and still is, a serious weakness of your and our war in Iraq. You need Muslims, or people very close to them, not just as ordinary GIs but among your decision makers.