Dying for whose country?

February 15, 2005

The U.S. military has been kicking up its recruiting efforts of

late—but it's an uphill battle that has seen a disproportionate number

of recruits coming primarily from poorer demographic groups. To make

it a little easier to get the names of the right people to contact,

the government has written recruitment into policy. For example, No

Child Left Behind requires secondary schools that receive federal

funds to provide the contact information of their students to military

recruiters on request.

But even with this newfound assistance, the military is having a heck

of a time getting Americans to enlist—and so it's begun looking

abroad, finding foreigners who are willing to enlist in exchange for

various immigration perks. One U.S. military recruiter reportedly took

a trip to a high school in Tijuana, fueling " rumors that would-be

immigrants could get U.S. citizenship by serving in the Army. "

While the military insists that undocumented or illegal immigrants

cannot serve in the U.S. armed forces, recruiters often promise

expedited citizenship and money for education to provide incentives

for non-citizens at home and abroad. As well, in 2002 President Bush

signed an executive order that provides " expedited naturalization " for

non-citizens serving on active duty.

The U.S. government has even found a way to get citizens who live in

other countries to fight for U.S. corporate interests. American and

private contractor companies such as Inveco International,

Halliburton, Blackwater, and Triple Canopy have been recruiting people

from El Salvador, Brazil, Colombia, Nicaragua, Chile, Fiji, Nepal, and

the Philippines to work in Iraq as guards of security installations,

U.S. embassies, and oil pipelines and other private security detail.

Media reports from Colombia, Brazil, and El Salvador report that the

companies are targeting those with prior military training and

backgrounds. The salaries offered are often much higher than what

those workers would in their own country, though still costing the

companies roughly one-quarter of what it would take to pay a U.S.

citizen. Makes perfect economic sense. Plus, when they die, Americans

won't need to hear about it.

- Onnesha Roychoudhuri

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