By Bryan Bender The Boston Globe
Published: December 26, 2006
WASHINGTON: The armed forces, already struggling to meet recruiting goals, are considering expanding the number of noncitizens in the ranks, including disputed proposals to open recruiting stations overseas and put more immigrants on a faster track to U.S. citizenship if they volunteer, according to Pentagon officials.
Foreign citizens' serving in the U.S. military is a highly charged issue, which could expose the Pentagon to criticism that it is essentially using mercenaries to defend the country. Other analysts voice concern that a large contingent of noncitizens under arms could jeopardize national security or reflect badly on Americans' willingness to serve in uniform.
The idea of signing up residents who are seeking U.S. citizenship is gaining traction as a way to address a critical need for the Pentagon, while fully absorbing some of the roughly one million immigrants that enter the United States legally each year.
The proposal to induct more noncitizens, which is still largely on the drawing board, has to clear a number of hurdles. So far, the Pentagon has been quiet about specifics, like who would be eligible to join, where the recruiting stations would be, and what the minimum standards might involve, like English proficiency. In the meantime, the Pentagon and the immigration authorities have expanded a program that accelerates citizenship for legal residents who volunteer for the military.
more...Will they limit recruiting to
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=1082518&mesg_id=1082518">English-speaking foreigners?
To keep the immoral war going, they've already raised the age limit, and lowered the recruiting standards:
Earlier this month, however,
The Associated Press reported that the Pentagon announced that "the Navy and Air Force met their recruiting goals last month while the
Army and Marine Corps exceeded theirs."
The Army, which is bearing the brunt of the work in Iraq, did the best. It signed up 6,485 new recruits in November compared with its target of 6,150 meaning 105 percent of its goal.
All the services turned in similar performances in October as well, meaning they so far are meeting their goals for the 2007 budget year that began Oct. 1.
Channel
CBS 5 in San Francisco reports that
one big reason for this results is that all branches of the military are offering rich financial rewards for those enlisting, as much as $40,000 in some cases. The
Kalamazoo Gazette reports on another reason the military has
raised the age limit at which men and women can enlist. In 2005 the age limit was 35 since then, the Army has raised it to 42, while the other branches of the military have set it at 40.
In October,
AP reported on a third reason for the increase in recruitment during the year -
lower standards in those being recruited. The US Army, for instance, was able to recruit 2,600 more soldiers using the lower aptitude standards.
more...Next...
USA>Military
from the December 27, 2006 edition
The Pentagon builds Islamic prayer rooms and hires imams to make military life more appealing.By Richard Whittle | Contributor to The Christian Science Monitor
WASHINGTON As US troops battle Islamic extremists abroad, the Pentagon and the armed forces are reaching out to Muslims at home.
An underlying goal is to interest more Muslims in the military, which needs officers and troops who can speak Arabic and other relevant languages and understand the culture of places like Iraq and Afghanistan. The effort is also part of a larger outreach. Pentagon officials say they are striving for mutual understanding with Muslims at home and abroad and to win their support for US war aims. Among the efforts to attract and retain Muslim cadets:
West Point and the other service academies have opened Muslim prayer rooms, as have military installations.
Imams serve full- and part-time as chaplains at the academies and some bases.
Top non-Muslim officers and Pentagon officials have taken to celebrating religious events with Muslims overseas and here in the US.
"There is a message here, and that is that Muslims and the Islamic religion are totally compatible with Western values," says Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England in an interview.
more...Is this Bush's new policy: Send them over there, so we don't have to apologize to them here?
Last update: December 20, 2006 8:23 PM
This letter was sent to hundreds of constituents by the office of Republican Rep. Virgil Goode Jr. of Virginia:
Thank you for your recent communication. When I raise my hand to take the oath on Swearing In Day, I will have the Bible in my other hand. I do not subscribe to using the Koran in any way. The Muslim Representative from Minnesota was elected by the voters of that district and if American citizens don't wake up and adopt the Virgil Goode position on immigration there will likely be many more Muslims elected to office and demanding the use of the Koran. We need to stop illegal immigration totally and reduce legal immigration and end the diversity visas policy pushed hard by President Clinton and allowing many persons from the Middle East to come to this country. I fear that in the next century we will have many more Muslims in the United States if we do not adopt the strict immigration policies that I believe are necessary to preserve the values and beliefs traditional to the United States of America and to prevent our resources from being swamped.
more...By RACHEL L. SWARNS
Published: December 23, 2006
White House officials said they were aware that some Democrats and Muslims were urging President Bush to admonish Representative Virgil H. Goode Jr., Republican of Virginia, and Dennis Prager, the conservative commentator, for suggesting that the first Muslim elected to the House had no place in Congress. Were aware of the situation, said Dana Perino, a spokeswoman for Mr. Bush, but no judgments have been made. Mr. Goode said the election of Keith Ellison, a Minnesota lawyer who converted to Islam as a college student, posed a threat to American values. Mr. Prager, a presidential appointee to the board that oversees the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, said Mr. Ellison should not serve if he could not swear on a Bible, though he has apologized for those remarks. Mr. Ellison plans to use the Koran during a private swearing-in ceremony next month.
more...End the immoral war now!
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