Does Uncle Sam Want Foreign Recruits?

Re “Defend America, Become American,” Commentary, June 16: Just when I think I’ve become too cynical, and find what appears to be a pristine kernel of truth in a Max Boot column, (“With combat dragging on in Iraq “ -- my gosh, The Times’ biggest shill for the war is coming clean) he follows it up immediately with “and plenty of jobs available at home” to explain that “there aren’t enough volunteers.”

Oh, Max, so afraid of leveling that you have to toss in blarney like that to cover your hero’s behind? How low will this game of verbal limbo go?

Blaise Jackson

Escondido

*

Boot’s preposterous idea to offer American citizenship to anyone, anywhere, willing to fight our war in Iraq would be laughable if it weren’t so sad. But that’s the American way, isn’t it, Mr. Boot? When a job is too unpleasant, let’s find some desperate foreigners to do it for us. Boot’s “well, war is always unfair” dismissal of this fact shows just how morally bankrupt conservatives are these days.

The idea that people are “so desperate to move here” that they will fight our battles for us shows how little Boot and his ilk understand the illegal immigration issue.

People are desperate to improve the quality of life for themselves and their families. They are desperate for better wages and healthcare. They are not desperate to fight a phony war just because George Bush tells them to.

Here’s an idea. If Boot is really interested in getting an international presence in Iraq, why don’t we go the proven route of appealing to the U.N.? Maybe because that doesn’t fit in with the Republican playbook?

Lisa Zhito

Nashville

*

Instead of prostituting the privilege of American citizenship (exactly how are we going to vet such applicants when we can’t even protect our borders), why doesn’t Boot look to the existing citizenry who voted to support this war president (his words) and his war in Iraq? Where are all those tough-talking, yellow-magnet-sporting millions of voters now? The military should simply be targeting the young, Bush-supporting voters to walk the talk, since they consider themselves the uber-patriots of America.

Alice Neuhauser

Beverly Hills

*

I’d like to offer an alternative to Boot’s ideas to bolster our military ranks. Stop fighting unnecessary wars!

Michael Walker

Goleta

*

Congratulations to Boot for his nifty proposal to make infiltration of the armed forces by foreign terrorists easier. It would be the supreme irony for a country that struggled for its liberty against Hessian mercenaries to struggle for it with them.

Donald Schwartz

Los Angeles