GIS UNDER FIRE AFTER MARRYING IRAQI GALS

New York Post ^ | October 7, 2003 | By DAN KADISON and MARSHA KRANES

[F14 Pilot]

October 7, 2003 -- It's been no honeymoon for two Florida National Guardsmen who met and married Iraqi women while serving in Baghdad. The love-struck soldiers - Sgt. Sean Blackwell, 27, of Pace, Fla., and Cpl. Brett Dagen, 37, of Walnut Hill, Fla. - have been in hot water since mid-August, when they defied their commander's orders and marched down the aisle with their Iraqi sweethearts.

[ASA Vet]

As long as the followers of both let me alone

Fat chance of that happening.
I think heathens are even higher on their hate lists than other supernatualist groups.

[AmericanInTokyo]

With so many (not all, though) American women of the 21st century either grossly overweight/obese, or weighed down with scarred histories and deep 'issues' toward men steeped in negative karma, many often not truly seeking an equal, harmonious, yin/yang partnership but rather an outright overbearing dictatorship over their male spouses in marriage, is it any wonder that some young-blooded American guys overseas are not going to fall head-over-heels over some alluring and pretty alternatives?

At any rate, we can't really be judge, jury and executioners in our FR armchairs here, if we only have a few facts on the story. At any rate, a superpower that projects it's influence and sends it's young boys around the world to very nook (why did I use that word?) and cranny, had better be prepared for this kind of local fraternization. It has been that way since the Mexican War of the 1840s, and men's hormones and imaginations are not about to change.

[Ingtar]

That is a rule in Islam that it is better for couples to be from the same religion, that is why these servicemen converted to Islam.

Yes. This is true. And if the daughter converts from Islam, the family kills her before she can be disgraced. There have been several stories along this line out of Afghanistan.

[AnnaC]

Did these guys ever consider how wrong the timing was? Did they ever consider that might be putting their wives in danger(when those opposing US occ. finds out)? A soldier can not have his family in an area which is hostile. And at the moment Iraq has to be considered hostile. These guys were only thinking of one thing (or with one thing!). It is simply this these guys were ON DUTY! That means having orders to obey. Did one of their commanding officers say " OH yeah by the way ... as you head in this location stop and get married" ? They could have and should have waited for a more appropriate time.... if this is true love! They would not have been the first nor the last having to wait to get married. They deserve to be reprimanded.

[boxerblues]

I dont doubt that our guys are smart, but knowingly disobeying an order is not something most would do.

[twigs]

Unfortunately Islamic love spilled into our border September 11, 2001.

[ASA Vet]

In Adak, Alaska there has never been one GI or Sailor married to a local

A guy I work with was stationed in Antartica.
His marriage to a local Spheneniscidae didn't work out.
She couldn't adapt to summer.

[Prodigal Son]

but knowingly disobeying an order is not something most would do.

LOL. That wasn't my experience in the military.

[Prodigal Son]

Unfortunately Islamic love spilled into our border September 11, 2001.

Oh, it spilled into our borders long before that.

[fortaydoos]

That is the thing about being in the Army: lots of people are only too happy to have you die for them, but God forbid you ask them to treat you with a modicum of respect.

If these boys want to marry Iraqis, seems to me to be none of our business. Why is so hard for people to imagine that an arab woman might actually love a U.S. soldier, and vice-versa?

The enemy isn't the average arab, it is the saudi princes financing terror attacks. Saudi princes blissfully immune from any US response it seems too.

[twigs]

Sigh. Yes, it did, didn't it? You are very correct.

[foolscap]

From someone I know who is currently in this situation I was given to understand that one can divorce after three years and still be on tract for US citizenship. They may not be full US citizens but will have legal resident status. This may not be true but I was told that after that period one has their work permit and can stay in the country on their own merit. I will have to look into this some more to be sure because you may be right. I do believe that the laws were changed recently and that the seven year limit was no longer required. I'd like to find out more about this. I know for a fact that the American spouse must sign paper saying they will be financially responsible for their immigrant mate for a period of ten years. I believe they can divorce after three but the former spouse is still responsible until the ten year term has expired.

[ASA Vet]

They deserve to be reprimanded

Assuming they're either Article 15'd, or found guilty at a courts martial,
yours is a a much more appropriate punishment than hanging.

[TheEngineer]

After three years or so of marriage they can leave them and have a whole new life in a better country. It's a small price to pay. There is the possibility they really love these GI which would make for a happy ending. I hope it is the latter.

... But an American woman would never marry a man for material gain. /sarcasm ;-)

[TheEngineer]

From someone I know who is currently in this situation I was given to understand that one can divorce after three years and still be on tract for US citizenship. They may not be full US citizens but will have legal resident status. This may not be true but I was told that after that period one has their work permit and can stay in the country on their own merit. I will have to look into this some more to be sure because you may be right. I do believe that the laws were changed recently and that the seven year limit was no longer required.... I know for a fact that the American spouse must sign paper saying they will be financially responsible for their immigrant mate for a period of ten years.

Everything that you said here is basically correct.

I believe they can divorce after three but the former spouse is still responsible until the ten year term has expired.

Not sure about this one. I know that the former spouse is at least responsible for providing a ticket and travel expenses for return travel to the country of origin.

[ASA Vet]

A conditional legal resident married to a US citizen can become an on their
own permanet resident after two years from the date of obtaining the
conditional legal resident status.
This is done by completion of a "removal of conditions" application.

Three years from the legal resident status date they
can apply for citizenship as a spouse of a citizen.

[MissAmericanPie]

How pie in the sky of you. Love always finds a way my foot, lust always finds a way is more like it. The only love involved is the love of these women for the idea of being Doctor's in America.

A majority of these kinds of marriages, along with the mail order bride industry marriages last less than five years. Just long enough to get the rest of the family over here for the wrong reasons. Certainly not patriotic reasons.

[Redbob]

Our boys are indeed desperate!

(Don't they have brothels in Iraq?)

[ASA Vet]

The ten year financial support thing is correct.
A ticket is not part of it since the spouse or ex-spouse
could have obtained US citizenship or legal resident status.
(I've signed 3 of those over the last 35 years, only 1 is still effective.)