The Revolving Door

Matt, over at Today in Iraq, says it better than I could ever: Hey! Suppose we recruit all those unemployed Iraqi soldiers from when we disbanded their army and - this is the good part - we deploy them to Iraq! Then we sneak out all the Americans. Think about it. It would be the best of both worlds. We'd still occupy the country but no one would know because all the soldiers would be Iraqis! Isn't that a great idea? I can't believe no one at the Heritage Foundation thought of it already. -m

Military considers recruiting foreigners: Expedited citizenship would be an incentive
By Bryan Bender, Globe Staff | 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 putting more immigrants on a faster track to US citizenship if they volunteer -- according to Pentagon officials.

Foreign citizens serving in the US 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 foreigners who are seeking US 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.

Read this absolutely astoundingly bizarre proposal here.