Forraje de Cañón

Why would the military be in favor of limited amnesty for illegal aliens? Here's one reason:

A senior US defense officials today urged the Congress to fast track a section of the stalled immigration bill that would allow the military to recruit illegal aliens, after recruitment figures released by Pentagon showed that the Army failed to reach its targets for May.

The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors, or DREAM, provision in the immigration bill was expected to help boost military recruiting by allowing illegal aliens to enlist as way to obtain citizenship, Bill Carr, acting deputy undersecretary of defense for military personnel policy, told a veterans' group representatives.

"In other words, if you had come across (the border) with your parents, yet you were a minor child and have been in the U.S. school system for a number of years, then you could be eligible to enlist," he said. "And at the end of that enlistment, then you would be eligible to become a citizen.

Carr's remarks came as Defense Department figures showed that the Army only recruited 5,101 active-duty soldiers in May, 399 short of its 5,500-soldier goal. The Army National Guard fell 12 percent short of its goal while the Air National Guard numbers were 23 percent below the target.

Cannon fodder is cannon fodder. And with a military draft being a rather unpopular option right now, the president's push on the immigration issue is beginning to make sense.

HT: C Bowen at The Daily Burkeman