By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
June 11, 2007 – A senior defense official expressed hope today that a provision in the stalled immigration bill that would have allowed some undocumented aliens to join the military won't fall off the radar screen. The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors, or DREAM, provision in the immigration bill was expected to help boost military recruiting, Bill Carr, acting deputy undersecretary of defense for military personnel policy, said today during a telephone conference with veterans' group representatives.
The DREAM provision offered a way for high-achieving children of undocumented or illegal residents to join the military and, ultimately, become citizens, Carr explained.
"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."
Because the provision would have applied only to the "cream of the crop" of students who have demonstrated top aptitude, it would have been "very appealing" to the military, Carr said. "It would have been good for readiness," he said.
While President Bush returns to Washington to help revive the stalled immigration reform package, Carr said talk is already taking place to see if at least the DREAM provision of the stalled bill can proceed.
At this point, he said, "we are not sure if the Congress would be interested in resurrecting that segment of the bill."
Certain non-citizens have been eligible to enlist in the military since the Revolutionary War. Today, about 35,000 non-citizens serve in the military, and about 8,000 permanent resident aliens enlist every year, said Marine Maj. Stuart Upton, a Pentagon spokesman.
The 2006 National Defense Authorization Act established uniform citizenship or residency requirements for enlisting in the military. President Bush's executive order allowing non-citizens to apply for citizenship after only one day of active-duty military service remains in effect, Upton said.
Article sponsored by criminal justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have authored books.
Friday, June 15, 2007
Bush Thanks General Who Oversaw Iraqi Training
By Meghan Vittrup
American Forces Press Service
June 14, 2007 – President Bush welcomed the former commander for Iraqi military training to the White House today to hear his assessments and thank him for his service and commitment to Iraq. Bush met with Army Lt. Gen. Martin Dempsey, former commander of Multinational Security Transition Command Iraq, to evaluate the effectiveness of the training.
He noted that Dempsey recently returned from Iraq, where he oversaw efforts to train and equip Iraq's security forces "to prepare them for the day when they will be responsible for the security of their country."
Bush also thanked Dempsey for his service. "It's an extraordinary country where people volunteer to go into combat zones to protect the security of the United States of America," he said. "(There is) no more important mission for our military than Iraq and Afghanistan."
Earlier this week, Dempsey told Pentagon reporters that Iraqi troops have made significant progress in being able to support themselves. However, he said, they still need more troops to make up for the lack of technology required to defend their country.
The training in Iraq is "all about helping them move from a force that is today very firmly focused on internal security," he said.
This will be a vital step toward the day when "they'll need to protect themselves against external threat, as well," Dempsey said.
Article sponsored by criminal justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have authored books.
American Forces Press Service
June 14, 2007 – President Bush welcomed the former commander for Iraqi military training to the White House today to hear his assessments and thank him for his service and commitment to Iraq. Bush met with Army Lt. Gen. Martin Dempsey, former commander of Multinational Security Transition Command Iraq, to evaluate the effectiveness of the training.
He noted that Dempsey recently returned from Iraq, where he oversaw efforts to train and equip Iraq's security forces "to prepare them for the day when they will be responsible for the security of their country."
Bush also thanked Dempsey for his service. "It's an extraordinary country where people volunteer to go into combat zones to protect the security of the United States of America," he said. "(There is) no more important mission for our military than Iraq and Afghanistan."
Earlier this week, Dempsey told Pentagon reporters that Iraqi troops have made significant progress in being able to support themselves. However, he said, they still need more troops to make up for the lack of technology required to defend their country.
The training in Iraq is "all about helping them move from a force that is today very firmly focused on internal security," he said.
This will be a vital step toward the day when "they'll need to protect themselves against external threat, as well," Dempsey said.
Article sponsored by criminal justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have authored books.
Defense Department Supports Afghan Poppy Eradication
By Sgt. Sara Wood, USA
American Forces Press Service
June 14, 2007 – A top priority for U.S. government officials working in Afghanistan is eradicating poppy plants and creating alternative livelihoods for farmers, a Defense Department counternarcotics official said today. Richard Douglas, deputy assistant secretary of defense for counternarcotics, counterproliferation and global threats, spoke to military analysts in a teleconference from Kabul, Afghanistan. He said the Defense Department is working with U.S. Central Command, the U.S. State Department, and the British government to combat the narcotics problem in Afghanistan.
"It's Afghanistan's future and their fight, but we do what we can to support the combatant commander as well as the Drug Enforcement Administration in carrying out the effort here," Douglas said. "It's a very important effort. As you are well aware, there are some huge challenges here, but we're doing what we can to help (Navy Adm. William J. Fallon, commander of Central Command) and his folks here get their arms around it and make a contribution."
The State Department is leading a reassessment of the approach to poppy eradication, Douglas said, including a focus on creating viable alternative crops for farmers. The partner agencies also are looking at attacking the money that comes from the narcotics trade in Afghanistan and funds drug traffickers and the Taliban, he said.
"I think it's pretty clear at this point that the Taliban and other armed insurgents have awakened to the value to them of this source of income, and part of our challenge here is to help the combatant commander help other actors over here, both from the United States and from other countries, get a better handle on where this money's going, because as we've learned in our own hemisphere, an important way to hurt the drug trafficker and to hurt the terrorists that work hand in glove with them is to go after the money," Douglas said.
This is Douglas' fourth trip to Afghanistan since taking office in January 2006. He said there are challenges on the ground, but he sees progress in the fight against drugs in Afghanistan.
"It's not an easy problem to solve, but I do believe that the State Department and the British government appreciate the nature of the challenge," he said. "I think they've been taking a serious approach not only to the strategy but also reassessing the best way to go about this."
Article sponsored by criminal justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have authored books.
American Forces Press Service
June 14, 2007 – A top priority for U.S. government officials working in Afghanistan is eradicating poppy plants and creating alternative livelihoods for farmers, a Defense Department counternarcotics official said today. Richard Douglas, deputy assistant secretary of defense for counternarcotics, counterproliferation and global threats, spoke to military analysts in a teleconference from Kabul, Afghanistan. He said the Defense Department is working with U.S. Central Command, the U.S. State Department, and the British government to combat the narcotics problem in Afghanistan.
"It's Afghanistan's future and their fight, but we do what we can to support the combatant commander as well as the Drug Enforcement Administration in carrying out the effort here," Douglas said. "It's a very important effort. As you are well aware, there are some huge challenges here, but we're doing what we can to help (Navy Adm. William J. Fallon, commander of Central Command) and his folks here get their arms around it and make a contribution."
The State Department is leading a reassessment of the approach to poppy eradication, Douglas said, including a focus on creating viable alternative crops for farmers. The partner agencies also are looking at attacking the money that comes from the narcotics trade in Afghanistan and funds drug traffickers and the Taliban, he said.
"I think it's pretty clear at this point that the Taliban and other armed insurgents have awakened to the value to them of this source of income, and part of our challenge here is to help the combatant commander help other actors over here, both from the United States and from other countries, get a better handle on where this money's going, because as we've learned in our own hemisphere, an important way to hurt the drug trafficker and to hurt the terrorists that work hand in glove with them is to go after the money," Douglas said.
This is Douglas' fourth trip to Afghanistan since taking office in January 2006. He said there are challenges on the ground, but he sees progress in the fight against drugs in Afghanistan.
"It's not an easy problem to solve, but I do believe that the State Department and the British government appreciate the nature of the challenge," he said. "I think they've been taking a serious approach not only to the strategy but also reassessing the best way to go about this."
Article sponsored by criminal justice online leadership; and, police and military personnel who have authored books.
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