http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071112/ap_on_re_as/afghan_citizen_ceremony_1 ;_ylt=AgF.F1ekK.J1RmlFDh.IboiROrgF
Troops made US citizens in Afghanistan By JASON STRAZIUSO, Associated Press Writer1 hour, 41 minutes ago Sixty U.S. service members from countries including Cuba, Ethiopia, the Philippines and Vietnam became American citizens on Monday during a ceremony in Afghanistan. Maj. Gen. David Rodriguez, the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, congratulated the soldiers on their new citizenship and thanked them for the oath they took to defend the United States. "Today they will swear a second oath to the country they've already pledged to defend," Rodriguez said at a ceremony coinciding with Veterans Day. "An oath of allegiance to the nation they are supporting as a member of her armed forces, deployed in harm's way, defending the citizens of the world from terrorism. "There is no better way to recognize the sacrifices they are making here than to grant them the right to call themselves U.S. citizens," Rodriguez said at the main U.S. base, Bagram. A day earlier, more than 150 American soldiers in Iraq were sworn in as U.S. citizens during a ceremony at the Balad Air Base in Balad, north of Baghdad. Citizenship is not a requirement to join the U.S. military, but serving in the armed forces is a way to qualify for citizenship, said spokesman Maj. Chris Belcher. Christopher Dell, the deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, told the soldiers that their presence in Afghanistan, in uniform, is the "greatest possible testament to your readiness for citizenship." "As you sit here today you have already sacrificed tremendously for our country," he said. "You have left your families behind, endured difficult training and placed yourself in great danger, all to serve America before you could truly call her your own." Dell recounted how Gen. John Shalikashvili, a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, traveled to the U.S. from his birthplace in the Republic of Georgia at age 16, joining the military as a private and eventually earning the rank of four-star general. "As you know better than I, by becoming a citizen you are opening up a door for yourself within the military," Dell said. "Gen. Shalikashvili's story is just one of many tales that inspire us to dream the American dream. It is my hope that today each one of you holds your own part of that dream within you." More than 20,000 service members have become U.S. citizens since 2002, Rodriguez said. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
