Illegal immigrants as neo-conservative cannon fodder.

In a syndicated column published last February, Wall Street Journal editorial page editor Max Boot, a Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, urged the creation of a mercenary army called the "Freedom Legion" in order to offset diminishing recruitment numbers and pursue the neo-conservative vision of a "global democratic revolution." Boot wrote that "there is a pretty big pool of manpower that's not being tapped: everyone on the planet who is not a U.S. citizen or permanent resident."

"The military would do well today to open its ranks not only to legal immigrants but also to illegal ones and, as important, to untold numbers of young men and women who are not here now but would like to come," he continued. "No doubt many would be willing to serve for some set period in return for one of the world's most precious commodities--U.S. citizenship. Open up recruiting stations from Budapest to Bangkok, Cape Town to Cairo, Montreal to Mexico City."

This proposal (which Boot reiterated in a second column on the subject in June) is what can be expected from someone who regards U.S. citizenship as a commodity, rather than a singular blessing and a solemn responsibility. A court martial that began on October 5 at Parris Island, South Carolina, suggests that at least some people have been carrying out a plan similar to Boot's, albeit without official sanction.

Gunnery Sergeant Hubert A. Lucas is one of four people accused by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) of "selling and delivering counterfeit documents to illegal aliens in order for them to join the service," reported the Village Voice, citing official investigative reports. The NCIS "found 23 recruits who may have fraudulently entered the Marine Corps" as part of a scheme that was carried out between 2001 and 2004. The illegal alien recruits were supplied with bogus green cards and stolen or forged Social Security numbers.

The Voice reports that there are roughly 37,500 foreign nationals from over 200 countries currently serving in the U.S. armed forces. Legal residents are permitted to enlist, and the law provides for expedited naturalization of those who serve in the military. Individuals in the U.S. illegally cannot serve in the military. However, the second combat casualty of the ongoing Iraq war was Marine Lance Corporal Jose Gutierrez, a 28-year-old Mexican citizen who entered the U.S. illegally.