Should the U.S. Offer Iraq Statehood?

Sierra Times ^ | May 5, 2003 | J. Neil Schulman

[ChemistCat]

I accept that Marxist, leftist philosophies are going to generate terrorists as readily as do the Islamicists. However, it grieves me deeply when someone raised to be a conservative, Christian person can turn that way, and I think it's one heck of a cautionary note.

For some reason our current President is unwilling to do the hard job of securing our borders. I don't mean closing our borders--I mean securing them. For example, we need to provide a legitimate, controlled way of allowing laborers to come and go as they are now, with more safety for all concerned and real accountability for those who hire and house them. Not one person should be dying of thirst in the desert, raped by smugglers, left to wander the country uncontrolled, looking for work that might or might not be there. The current situation is unacceptable in so many ways, but we have let the Democrats set it up as if it's an issue of racism against Hispanics...it's not, but the President has let them get away with that. I agree with you that we could fix that.

That has nothing to do with the concept of giving Iraq statehood...we have 2 million Americans in prison right now, so by your argument, all US States should be removed from the Union, since we have non-law-abiding citizens in substantial numbers in our midst.

[nomad]

The civil war answered the question of LEAVING the union, but I thought this article was about them ENTERING the union? Our criminals, as American citizens, are a problem only we should deal with, but you certainly can`t support the concept of importing more from ANY country?

However, you are still missing the point, given the fact that we are capable of creating our own, we don`t need to import any more terrorists and should in fact be doing every thing in our power to prevent their entry. Besides there IS a difference between some thug sticking up a liquor store for crack money and some Islamo-nuts flying planes into buildings in a hair-brained attempt to destroy our way of life. That craziness just seems to justify a more intrusive Government, look at the whole Homeland Defense machine, while I personaly trust GW, what if another Slick Willy gets into office? Judging from the anti-individual rights vitriol the left spouts those Islamo-creeps could just get their wish. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure or, keep them the hell out!

[ChemistCat]

Um, that post wanders enough that I can't track your argument. Either that, or I'm too tired to follow it. I'll read it again tomorrow, I guess.

[Praxeas]

You're forgetting one of the biggies. What a great source of cheap labor this would be.

Except as a state, everyone would get at least the minimum wage.

They would also get two US Senators, a bunch of representatives in the House, they would vote for president, and they would be subject to our laws, such as the ADA, the Civil Rights Act, Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, etc. etc.

[Falconist]

I think Iraq should be put on the path to Statehood. Offering nations U.S. Statehood would be less imperialistic than altering their governments by replacing leaders through coups like we do now. In the past, we ruled by proxy through the Shah of Iran, Pinochet of Chile, Noriega of Panama to name a few. Offering Iraq statehood would enable the Iraqis to govern themselves and participate in the government of the USA as a whole.

Also, making nations states of the union will add to America's wealth and power rather than draw on it. Once we finish rebuilding Iraq, if Iraq bacme a state, it will ad 25 million to America's population and $1 trillion to the GDP. Right now, our allies nor our "colonies" pay any taxes to maintain our armed forces. With statehood, they will have to.

And I think we should make Iraq, Liberia, and Afghanistan states. I think we ought to offer statehood to every Canadian province. I think we ought to purchase Greenland from Denmark and Siberia from Russia.

www.falconistparty.org

[gogeo]

I think that any new states should at least be in this hemisphere.

[Falconist]

I think we should expand in this hemisphere too. I think we should buy Greenland from Denmark, offer each Canadian province U.S. Statehood, and admit every Latin American nation into the union first as a territory and then as a state. The USA should emcompass ALL of America from pole to pole.

But Iraq, Afghanistan, and Liberia should be encouraged to join the union too. Once we rebuild those nations, other nations will want to join the USA too. Eventually, we will become the United States of Terra and unify the world under the government and rule of law of the U.S. Constitution, the prosperity of free-enterprise, the health and saftey protection of American law, the freedom of the U.S. Bill of Rights, the flag of the stars and stripes, and hopefully above all the cross of Jesus Christ.

[gogeo]

One world governemnt, only on our terms?

[Falconist]

Well if you look at the contenders for world leadership, China, India, Islam, the EU (led by France and Germany) and the UN, I think America is the best candidate for the job. I don't trust anyone else.

Even though America does some bad things in running its empire, America has been the most benevolent imperial power. No nation has rebuilt nations after conquering them since Greece and Rome. Germany, Korea, Japan can attest to that.

I would like to see U.S. Statehood extend to every nation excluding Israel. I see Israel remaining a seperate nation yet including in its borders Israel proper, Lebanon, the Siani Penisula, and Syria.

I would like to see the world united under the U.S. Government. But probably, we should remain in our own hemisphere for now. Maybe 200 years down the road, a UST will be possible.