An American Foreign Legion for Iraq

The United States needs to invite Mexicans to enlist in its Armed Forces, in exchange for American citizenship. This is much better than the alternatives of either a draft, or abandoning parts or all of Iraq to become the next Afghanistan.

Around the world, tens of millions of young men and women yearn to migrate to the United States. Surely many thousands of them will make suitable recruits. The most logical nationals to supply distinct units in a new American Foreign Legion are Mexicans.

The U.S. has precedents of inviting foreigners to American service and citizenship. Some of these were already legally resident in the U.S., such as Irishmen in our country’s first century of warfare. Others started their service before setting foot in the United States, such as Filipinos fighting under Douglas MacArthur in the Second World War.

Eight years ago in Brussels, I met an old Belgian who regretted turning down a similar offer. After years of CIA service dating from the Nazi occupation to the early Cold War, he could not bring himself to renounce his loyalty to the Belgian crown. “I should have,” regretted the towering ninety-year-old as he shook his beret-capped head. “I should have.”

Foreign recruiting and deployment will be swiftest and most fruitful if focused on one or two countries. The new citizen-soldiers must form their own Spanish-speaking units, including bilingual English speakers.

The American Foreign Legion will have to be recruited abroad. Current illegal immigrants have already risked their lives once (at least). Most of them will not want to risk deportation by presenting themselves but then failing recruitment criteria.

The concept of a Foreign Legion is an old one. When the British shaped Iraq in the 1920s, they used a host of imperial troops from India and elsewhere. Those troops were not exactly foreign to Britain, but neither were they full British nationals before their service. The French Foreign Legion has operated similarly.

The obvious host to pilot the American Foreign Legion is the U.S. Army, because of the nature of manpower needs in Iraq. The Army will have to go bilingual.

Spanish is the obvious second language to adopt. Among Spanish-speaking countries, Mexico is the obvious first partner. Although the servicemen and -women will join as individuals, their home country will have to tolerate a certain degree of American recruiting on its soil. Many Mexican-Americans already serve in the U.S. forces, and Mexico is eager to facilitate migration to America.

To ensure quality recruits, the U.S. Army must administer basic literacy and math competency exams. For recruits lacking in education, intelligence exams can reveal which are most capable of the requisite quick schooling. In the developing world, many very intelligent individuals simply do not have access to rudimentary education. The American Foreign Legion can provide it.

To ensure committed recruits, the Army must psychologically screen candidates for their backgrounds and motivations. The last thing the U.S. needs is to deploy duty-shy soldiers who later fight for drug lords or other causes opposing our own.

To lure the best possible recruits, the U.S. Congress must pass legislation guaranteeing irrevocable citizenship to those who sign on, with the sole exception of conviction for desertion. Recruitment contracts must be straightforward, with no stop-loss clauses or the like – fixed-term contracts that any recruit’s peasant family can understand.

To guarantee full-length service, the Army must keep the foreign recruits abroad for the duration of their service. Under current federal tolerance of illegal immigrants, it would be too easy for foreign recruits to abuse the American Foreign Legion as a ticket to U.S. entry followed by desertion.

To instill the greatest pride among its new recruits, the United States should administer the oath of citizenship upon completion of basic training.

Legions of would-be migrants are knocking at America’s door. We can help them and ourselves by making a place for them in the U.S. Armed Forces.