All Good Things: BBC Arabic Takes a Hit

Last week, I learned that earlier this year, the BBC World Service discontinued broadcasts in ten foreign languages. Among these was the BBC's Arabic Service, which had been broadcasting to the Arab world for more than eighty-five years. For me, this marks not only the end of one of the more consistent and reliable Arabic audio streams, but also the end of the BBC Xtra podcast.

al Jazeera: BBC Arabic radio goes off air after 85 years

Middle East Economy: Hundreds of jobs lost following BBC Arabic radio transmisson stoppage

Arab News: End of an Era: BBC Arabic Radio goes off air after 85 years

Zawya: BBC's Arabic radio service bids farewell to the world after 85 years of broadcasting

Daily Mail: BBC World Service is to cut 382 jobs and will AXE Arabic and Persian radio stations under plan to make more of its broadcasts 'digital only'

For the uninitiated, there are actually two BBC entities that sort of coexist like conjoined twins in the same ecosystem. The domestic British Broadcasting Corporation, often affectionately referred to as "Auntie Beeb," provides domestic programming to the British audience (though some of those program(me)s are subsequently proliferated to other countries on outlets such as BBC America). "Auntie Beeb" is funded by the infamous licensing fee, by which any Brit who owns a television (and maybe a radio?) pays a fee for it, which goes to support the BBC, public broadcasting style. The other twin is funded by the British Foreign Office, and focuses on the production of content aimed at informing and engaging an international audience.

The Arabic service celebrated its eightieth anniversary in 2018, and the History Extra podcast - a production of the BBC domestic service's BBC History magazine - used the occasion to interview one of the BBC's executives, Wissam El Sayegh. Five years later, and even under these unfortunate circumstances, it's still worth the listen.

I experienced the BBC's Arabic Service in three contexts. The first was in either late 2007 or early 2008, when I discovered the BBC Xtra podcast. That was not too terribly long after its 2005 debut. It's since jumped around a bit, but you can catch the last few episodes here, at least for a limited time. I retain a cache of dozens of episodes of Xtra from the period ranging from around 2007 to around 2013, and a handful of later episodes. I had started studying Arabic in mid-2005, with very few resources easily available to me, and Xtra was great because it's consistent format helped me to learn words and build an understanding based on what I knew was going on. I paired Xtra listening sessions with lessons from ArabicPod.

The second incarnation, which I would have experienced intermittently starting around the same time, was the live Internet stream of the BBC's actual Arabic Service, which would broadcast the Xtra programs, but also offered other programs and live news coverage. Same idea: listen, identify different segments, and learn words and phrases. The live stream was the Internet-accessible version of the BBC's aforementioned long standing Arabic radio service, which broadcast across the Arab world. During my own stint living in Kuwait, when I drove alone, I'd regularly tune the actual, bona fide radio program in on 90.1 FM - though if I'm being honest, I was usually more likely to tune in the BBC World Service's English programs on 100.1 FM.

I had noticed a couple of months ago that my previously successful efforts to access the BBC Arabic Service via the Radio Garden app had begun to fail. As stations occasionally disappear and reappear, I didn't pay it much mind, but then I decided to do some Googling, and discovered the sad news: that not only had the BBC shut its Arabic service down, I'd missed the whole thing. I managed to download the crew's farewell special. Even though my Arabic was never strong, and has deteriorated significantly since I left Kuwait more than a decade ago, I was able to get the gist of the various conversations. It was a bittersweet listen.

The BBC's official position is that this was a difficult decision to make, that it was driven by the restrictive budgetary environment in the United Kingdom following Brexit, and that their goal is to focus on digital content. So, maybe there's room to hope that some incarnation of the BBC's Arabic radio content may return at some point. In the meantime, I'll pat myself on the back for saving as many episodes as I did, and continue to enjoy those episodes when I resume my Arabic studies... Soon, hopefully.

Operation Open Range

I started formulating a bunch of deliberate plans for things I intended to accomplish with my life. In 2010, I executed my plans for Operation Carnivore, which involved equipping for and then deploying to the Middle East. In 2012, I executed Operation Cobalt, which involved returning home for a few months. Later in 2012, I executed Operation Highlander, which involved equipping for and going to graduate school in Scotland. Highlander's extension, Operation Bold Brigand, involved additional planning. With Highlander/Bold Brigand completed, it was time to plan the next phase of my life.

Operation Carnivore, and to a lesser degree Operation Cobalt, involved some rough plans because some of the details were up in the air. Given that the next few months of my life are currently a bit fluid, I've had to formulate some plans that utilize that fluidity, while still engaging in activities that will facilitate what I hope and intend to be doing in the near future. Hence, Operation Open Range: a plan for which both the name and goals hint at limitless possibilities. Here's what's on the agenda.

* * *
Arabic:

A big part of Highlander was making myself unemployment-proof. Although my current background and credentials ought to accomplish that for me, the current lousy job market and healthy doses of paranoia mean that I'm still pursuing additional credentials. The first element relates to my Arabic language skills.

I've already talked about Arabic before. My Arabic's not what it ought to be after having studied it for nearly eight years, but it's probably better than I give it credit for. For example, before I left Scotland, I sent the crew at Lionel's a post card written entirely in Arabic, and when I listen to BBC Xtra podcasts, I can usually decipher their topics of conversation and pick out one detail or another, and I'm getting better. What I'd like to do is to spend 2014 focusing on Arabic, and take the Defense Language Proficiency Test by the end of the year. Apparently the Defense Language Institute (DLI) has some guides, so I'll check those out in the next few days.

As far as listening exercises, I'll keep focusing on those BBC Xtra podcasts and hopefully add in some Radio Sultan of Oman live streaming. For reading and vocabulary, I'll be looking at my existing vocabulary list, as well as the DLI's Emirati and Libyan Language Survival Kits (LSKs). I've got my work cut out for me.

* * *
Certifications:

The second element of my continued pursuit of credentials is focused mainly on security credentials to shore up my existing risk management background.

I had originally intended to get my MSc in Strategic Studies, my Physical Security Professional certification, and my Postgraduate Diploma in Terrorism Studies. I got the living daylights out of my MSc in Strategic Studies - summa cum laude, baby! My advisor in Aberdeen dissuaded me from pursuing that Terrorism Studies credential, though I may consider it again if it's still available in a few years; but I really want that PSP certification to solidify my physical security chops. For that one, I'll be reading The Design and Evaluation of Physical Protection Systems by Mary Lynn Garcia, and ATTP 3-39.32 Physical Security from the U.S. Army.

As I've searched for jobs in my field, I've found that many of them require certifications compliant with DoD 8570.01-M, so in addition to those other efforts, I'm going to read CompTIA Security+: Get Certified Get Ahead: SY0-301 Study Guide by Darril Gibson in order to study for the Security+ certification. I'd rather not have to get back into network security, which I used as a professional means to an end for several years, but I have to work both smart and hard. As with Arabic, I've got my work cut out for me.

Physical Training:

I've wanted to complete a modified version of the BUD/S Warning Order workout for several years now, but I have little to show for that ambition. Though I hope to be on my way within a few weeks, I really have no excuse for not having started pursuing this goal yet. The version I've come up with substitutes yomping (hiking in boots with a pack) for running, and continues the pre-BUD/S workout's emphasis on swimming.

Business Development:

Over the last few years, I've made intermittent progress in developing a number of tools and deliverables that can be put to use if I either get another job in security, or start my own security company. Basically, I'm trying to both plan for the establishment of a business, and create actual deliverables and/or tools that I can actually use or market. So, in addition to applying for jobs (lots, and lots, and lots of jobs) and continuing my professional development (lots, and lots, and lots of professional development), I'm trying to both plan, and establish what we former network security goons would call a "Plan of Action and Milestones" (or "POA&M") for making the various finished products. Just a few mornings ago while standing in the shower, I had an idea for some marketable Arabic language resources. That joins a long list of potential deliverables.

Writing Projects:

As those who have followed any of my blogs shall be well aware, I am a pathological writer. I'm currently working on what I plan to be my first book, a study of Orcadians who served with the Gordon Highlanders during the First World War; an expansion of my postgraduate dissertation on the Dhofar Rebellion; and an article about United States Central Command's General Order 1X. I have POA&Ms for each of these, as well, but they'll be enduring projects - particularly the first two.

Special Projects:

From week to week, there's stuff that comes up that doesn't fit neatly into any of these categories. So, on each week's list, there will be a section for special projects.

* * *
So, that's what I'm up to. That's Operation Open Range. I've scheduled it to run from January 2014 through the end of 2015, though I hope to finish many of those goals sooner than that and either advance them, or restart them on a continuous cycle. Time will tell, I suppose.

Topic: Arabic

Beyond being useful for the defense, foreign policy, and international business fields, the Arabic language is immensely useful in a variety of academic disciplines, such as world history, the history of science, philosophy, astronomy, chemistry, and ethnography, among others. I've found Arabic to be an invaluable skill for my own professional, academic, and personal interests.

I started studying Arabic in 2005, shortly after completing my undergraduate studies. My initial instruction utilized the Ahlan wa Sahlan textbook and audio lessons by Mahdi Alosh. I completed an initial, condensed, first-year Arabic program during the Summer of 2005, and continued a sporadic regimen of independent study. In 2009, I got a bit more serious with the independent study program as a result of a friend's urging to join him in doing ten thousand repetitions of something in 2009; he did knife draws, and I did Arabic flash cards. I don't think I made it to ten thousand flash cards viewed, but I was pretty solid for the first six or seven months of 2009, and I've tried to continue regular study since then. Over the years, I've either used or amassed a massive stockpile of stuff to use in my studies.

First and foremost, there are the reading resources. For example, Google Translate isn't perfect, but it's pretty valuable. Then, there are the Desert Sky Arabic vocabulary lists, and a discussion of Arabic in Frank Herbert's "Dune". It's interesting how the unfolding events of history can impact everyday life, because several years ago, my list of links included this defunct link to a list of Libyan proverbs by way of Moammar Qaddhafi's propaganda organization, the Libyan Jamahiriya Broadcasting Corporation. Fortunately, I had the foresight to save both the Arabic phrases, and the poorly written Libyan receipes, both of which will probably be posted here at one point or another. As likely as this is to get a "Boo! Hiss!" reaction from the spectators out there, Wikipedia's another great text resource, with its Glossary of Islam, glossary of Christian terms in Arabic, guide to Algerian Arabic, and list of Arabic star names.

Listening exercises are also helpful - in fact, quite important. Sources of listening material are a bit more scarce, but they're out there if you look hard enough. The best one I've found is the BBC's Xtra podcasts, which are just shy of half an hour in duration, discuss current events, and are broadcast in Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), as opposed to one of about a dozen regional dialects. The BBC also runs a live stream, though it's mostly just the Xtra shows plus a five minute news bulletin every half hour. The U.S. Department of State also runs Radio Sawa, though it's mostly music, which isn't terribly helpful for study. After my 2012 trip to Muscat, I discovered that the Sultanate of Oman's Ministry of Information runs a live stream that's not only fairly reliable, but has a variety of programs for both adults and children, the latter being somewhat useful for students of Arabic. Finally, QuranEnglish.com offers podcasts of the entire Quran; although it's classical Arabic, that tends to be at least similar to MSA. (In all honesty, if you're going to be studying Arabic and the Middle East in any substantive way, you're eventually going to have to familiarize yourself with the Quran and Quranic Arabic.) The really valuable stuff - and let me tell you, it's pretty rare - are the materials which combine audio and text. There are two fantastic examples of this: ArabicPod.net, and the Defense Language Institute's (DLI) Language Survival Kits (LSK). Not surprisingly, ArabicPod tends to be a bit colloquial, and the DLI tends to be fairly narrow in its scope, but they're both valuable in their own ways. The combination is outstanding, particularly when you take the dialects available from the DLI LSKs and combine them with the colloquial vocabulary and grammar instruction from ArabicPod.

My efforts to learn Arabic, and my use thereof, are a big part of my life. Expect to read more about both.