In a strange development, the US government has denied entry into USA to Rohan Coombs, a US Marine, 43, who served in Japan, the Philippines and Iraq for six years, according to an Associated Press (AP) report on October 24. This has exposed on one hand the US immigrant policy, and on the other non-availability of servicemen for deployments for war beyond borders. Coombs was born in Jamaica, immigrated to US legally as a child with his family and was taken into services there. America enlists 8,000 non-citizens in the US armed forces every year, who serve alongside American troops. As of May 2010, there are 16,966 non-citizens on active duty.
If non-citizens die while serving, they are given citizenship and a military funeral. If they live and get in trouble with the law, as Coombs did, they can get caught in the net of 1966 immigration law that greatly expanded the list of crimes for which non-citizens can be deported. Coombs is another man, who served America, faced death for the sake of Americans, risked life to become a POW on behalf of Americans, but he is locked up in an immigration detention centre and facing deportation from the country he had vowed to defend by giving blood, toll and sweat.
This is how America does to those who fight for it, who extend hands of friendship to it, who safeguards its interests in other countries, beyond borders, in Afghanistan or Iraq. The saying goes America is friend of nobody, and Henry Kissinger rightly said once that friendship with America is more harmful than the enmity.
Pakistan is the ally of America since virtually its inception, it has lost thousands of lives in the war against terror since 2001, the war still goes on, but the recent reprimand of Pakistani delegation who was debriefed in the name of Strategic Dialogue in Washington on October 22-23, a six-month deadline given to decisively act against the Taliban terrorists in North Waziristan, the $2bn aid package along with strictest conditions all speak of Pakistan being the stooge, yet it is disowned by the benefactor.
ALYA ALVI
Rawalpindi
