[Sabertooth]

The presidential order applies to anyone serving in the armed forces on Sept. 11. Qualifying foreign nationals may now apply for citizenship right away, rather than first wait three years.

So this is a one-shot deal? Nahh, it's a precedent.

What's wrong with the three year wait? It's still faster than the five years of residence required for non-military immigrants.

Before people go rah-rah over this, consider the potential for abuse if we adopt a policy of immediate citienship for resident immigrants upon enlistment in the military...

We do have a fifth column in this country, and while their numbers aren't large, they do tend to be foreign-born. Do we want a situation where folks can get residence one day, enlist the next, and immediately apply for citenship? Or, with many in Washington trolling for votes via Amnesties for Illegals, such as Section 245(i), do we want a situation where where an Illegal gets Amnestied one day, enlists the next, and then becomes eligible for automatic citizenship?

I'm perfectly comfortable with the basic status quo, where we allow immigrants to serve in our military and they're rewarded with a two year reduction in their waiting period for citizenship.

[FITZ]

You're right --- a reduction in the waiting time but not instant citizenship. I think anyone can think it's only fair to reward those who are willing to give over those coming just to take.

[nanny]

There you go again, trying to interject common sense into a situation that calls for emotions. Shame on you.

While foreigners in the military are not a new thing, this is a very different time in our history and we need to be cautious