US Latrines Not Melting Pots

Apparently US military command at a base in Baqouba, Iraq, have declared that Iraqi and other foreign personnel are not welcome to use American latrines.

FOB WARHORSE, Iraq — The sign taped to the men's latrine is just five lines:


"US


MILITARY


CONTRACTORS


CIVILIANS


ONLY!!!!!"




It needed only one: "NO IRAQIS."




Here at this searing, dusty U.S. military base about four miles west of Baqouba, Iraqis — including interpreters who walk the same foot patrols and sleep in the same tents as U.S. troops — must use segregated bathrooms.



Other soldiers traced the regulations to what they called cultural differences between the Iraqis and the Americans.



"We've had issues with locals," said Staff Sgt. Oscar Garcia, who mans Warhorse's administrative hub. "It's not because we're segregating."



Garcia said some Iraqis squatted on the rims of unfamiliar American-style toilets or had used showers as toilets, forcing private contractors who maintain the facilities to clean up after them.



Another soldier at the administrative hub who declined to give his name or rank cited conflicts over hygiene habits. "We can't accept people washing their feet where I brush my teeth," he said.

And people wonder why they hate us?