AN ARMY OF ONE

"An Army of One" is the new motto the U.S. Army uses to recruit the MTV2 generation. It's pathetic, and 180 degrees out of whack, considering that instilling team unity at the expense of individuality is the most important goal of basic training. But the motto strangely fits for recruiting individuals, with no allegiance to the United States, who may want to infiltrate the US Army for whatever reason. A translator/spy or terrorist "army of one" can do a lot of damage. You'd think that after hand grenades have twice been thrown into tents full of troops while on the Iraqi border before the last two wars that the U.S. Army would get a clue. Akbar and Muhammad may just be the tip of an iceberg.

Michelle Malkin warns of the magnetic attraction of our current policy:

If Osama bin Laden snuck into our country illegally, bought fake immigration papers and changed his name to Osmundo Ben Ladeno, could he join the U.S. military?

You betcha!

Last week, the Army announced that Pvt. Juan Escalante, a 19-year-old illegal alien from Mexico who had used a $50 bogus green card to enlist, would be allowed to remain in the armed forces. Wait, there's even more good news for ID fakers looking to infiltrate the military: Thanks to President Bush's executive order allowing non-citizen soldiers to obtain expedited naturalization benefits, Escalante – an admitted, two-time lawbreaker – will be rewarded with American citizenship. Army officials at Fort Stewart, Ga., have promised to actively assist Escalante in securing legal status.

...If homeland defense experts understand that employing illegal aliens who used false IDs to get contracting jobs at military installations is an obvious national security concern, then why can't the Pentagon see that allowing them to join the ranks is even more threatening to our laws, order and sovereignty?