Posted on 06/22/2006 4:22:57 PM PDT by West Coast Conservative
The U.S. Military Academy is welcoming its first cadet from Iraq, a 19-year-old who wants serve his country's army after witnessing violence in Baghdad.
Incoming Cadet Jameel acknowledged Thursday that attending West Point posed potential dangers to him and his family in Iraq. But he said it was worth it for a chance to serve at the school, which he called "the best military academy in the world."
Jameel was interviewed on the condition his first name be withheld and no pictures were allowed. West Point officials said the conditions were set by the U.S. Army to provide security for the cadet and his family.
"If you live in Iraq, you get this determination with everyone you see dying in front of your eyes and every child slaughtered," said Jameel, whose school in Iraq was once struck with an improvised explosive device.
"You are at risk when you're walking down the street," he said. "It's better to die holding a rifle than to die walking down the street as a civilian."
Jameel comes to West Point under a long-running program that allows foreign students to come to the U.S. service academies. The Air Force Academy also is taking in an Iraqi citizen this year.
West Point is taking in 13 other foreign students this summer from counties including Cameroon, Malaysia, Rwanda and Thailand. The Air Force Academy in Colorado enrolled 20 international cadets this year, including the first from Iraq and Afghanistan. And the U.S. Naval Academy is taking in 12 international midshipmen.
The international slots, set by law, do not take opportunities away from domestic students, said Maj. Robert Romans, head of the academy's international cadet program.
Jameel on Monday will begin West Point's six-week basic training course with 1,320 other incoming cadets. Jameel says he's ready for the grueling ordeal, which includes long runs, longer marches, drilling and a lot of orders shouted in candidates' ears.
Romans said Jameel was one of four Iraqi candidates but the only one admitted. Jameel, who comes from a family steeped in military service, said his parents supported his choice.
He risked his safety during the application process by routinely traveling to a U.S. military compound in Baghdad to work on a training regimen of running, push-ups and sit-ups, Romans said.
Jameel plans to major in engineering and join the Iraqi military after graduation. He also hopes to someday meet President Bush, whom his family considers a hero after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein.
"I'm going to help rebuild the Iraqi army because most of the officers now in the Iraqi army, they are not very well qualified," Jameel said. "I'll try to transfer what I learn here."
To declare that those 10 additional slots 'would have gone to American boys & girls' assumes facts not in evidence...
Assume there are 1,000 slots. Congress declares that 100 will be International slots. Now there are 900 slots remaining.
With the issue of foreign students aside, I think the kid has the right idea.
Shame we can't get our elected officials to see this.
Thanks for the courteous reply. I better understand how it could benefit America.
"Or... assume that there are ~1,000 slots (they actually admit ~1,200 per year due to attrition, total is limited to 4,000). Congress adds 10 slots in 1963 for International Cadets. Now there are 1,000 slots remaining for 'mericans.
To declare that those 10 additional slots 'would have gone to American boys & girls' assumes facts not in evidence... "
If 10 additional slots are created and not allocated to international cadets, to whom will the slots go if not to domestic cadets? The only other option is that they remain unfilled.
You can argue that the slots were created for international cadets and would have not existed otherwise, therefore they would not have been available to anyone, foreign or domestic.
However, once Congress creates those slots and mandates that they are for international cadets then those slots are not available to domestic cadets. Anytime a resource is allocated for a particular use there is an opportunity cost associated with that allocation. In this case we have 10 slots that can not be filled by domestic cadets. That's the opportunity cost, and that's fine. But why try to argue that there is no opportunity cost involved? The fact that Congress is involved in mandating slots and allocations in no way saves us from the principles involved in allocating limited resources.
Let me settle this for all time.
Congress determines the number of slots based on Department of Defens/Department of the Army anticipated requirements (determined through trend analysis of junior officer attrition) for each Fiscal Year.
They come up with a number X that is the total of new Second Lieutenants that the Regular Army will require.
West Point, the Reserve Officer Training Corps, and finally the Officer Candidate School are all then responsible for supplying certain portions of this total.
The slots for the international students DO cost the U.S. government money, but they do not take slots away from U.S. students! If you are attending the U.S. Military Academy, it's because it was determined there would be a need to insert your Social Security Number into a spreadsheet somewhere on earth in four years' time. If you are not, it's because your application was not as attractive compared with the other nominees.
The maximum possible effect on U.S. students here is that there will be a couple more guys taking up space in the barracks or chow hall, and that's IT. This in no way affects the likelihood of any U.S. applicant gaining admission.
The authorization for foreign students to attend U.S. military academies is based on anticipated requirements for international military-to-military coordination and cooperation. This has absolutely nothing to do with the calculations performed to determine the number of U.S. officers to commission each year.
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