Thread: Chairman of Joint Chiefs gives emotional testimony

Chairman of Joint Chiefs gives emotional testimony on immigration
Gen. Peter Pace credits his immigrant father for his success
MIAMI (AP) -- The nation's top general testified emotionally Monday about the importance of immigrants in the military, recalling his father's struggles as an Italian immigrant and his own service in Vietnam.
Marine Gen. Peter Pace paused several times as he spoke at a Senate committee hearing on immigration and appeared choked up as he discussed his parents' hardships and his siblings' success now.
"My dad came here, sometimes worked three jobs, but the jobs were there for him and the opportunities were there for him," Pace, the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, said at a field hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee. "There is no other country on the planet that affords that opportunity to those who come."
Pace also discussed serving in Vietnam next to immigrant soldiers, including the first Marine that Pace said he lost in combat. He said he was "still on active duty today for one primary reason, and that is I still owe those who served with me in Vietnam."
The hearings are part of the national debate on the current state of U.S. immigration law and how any changes would affect the military.
The Senate has approved a bill that would allow a majority of the estimated 12 million foreigners living in the country illegally to eventually become legal permanent residents and citizens, and that would approve a guest worker program. A bill approved by the House would make illegal immigrants felons with no provision for future guest workers. House and Senate negotiators have not worked out a compromise.
Pace pointed out that 200 awards or medals have gone to non-U.S. citizens in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and that 101 non-U.S. citizens have died in military action since the 2001 terrorist attacks.
Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Massachusetts, said it would be an affront to the members of the military who are immigrants to make felons of their family members. Kennedy cited statistics that showed about 24,400 non-U.S. citizens currently are on active duty in the armed forces.
"It is an insult to their dedication to our defense," Kennedy said.


The Senate hearings are designed to solicit opinions on the importance of immigrants who serve in the military. The committee likely chose Miami for a field hearing because about 60 percent of the city's population is foreign born, well above the national figure of about 11 percent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.







Find this article at:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/07/10/ ... index.html

"My dad came here, sometimes worked three jobs, but the jobs were there for him and the opportunities were there for him," Pace, the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, said

Well, hooray for him, but was he ILLEGAL? These idiots never mentioned illegals once. They just talked about all the good immigrants did. It is pitiful, their ignorance, just pitiful. John Warner evaded the question twice on CNN today. They keep saying immigrants, when that is NOT the topic.

And Monsieur Kennedy you have got the nerve, have you ever heard of mercenaries? No one said to sign up illegals for military service then give their illegal family members everything and the kitchen sink.

Pace pointed out that 200 awards or medals have gone to non-U.S. citizens in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and that 101 non-U.S. citizens have died in military action since the 2001 terrorist attacks.
Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Massachusetts, said it would be an affront to the members of the military who are immigrants to make felons of their family members. Kennedy cited statistics that showed about 24,400 non-U.S. citizens currently are on active duty in the armed forces.
"It is an insult to their dedication to our defense," Kennedy said.

How many active duty military are U.S. Citizens? How many awards have gone to American soldiers and how many Americans have died in recent wars?

As for you Teddy, we would not be making anyone a felon, they made themselves criminals. The soldier made a choice and so did his family members. The soldier chose to become a citizen.

Maybe we should remove the eligibility for non-U.S. citizens to serve in the military and earn citizenship because they become anchors for the rest of their family. This is an opportunity and a gamble. Also, the vast majority of our military men and women are not deployed in Iraq or even in a war zone. Let's put it this way Teddy, there are 24,000 non-citizens in the US military earning citizenship, instead of returning home and applying for citizenship. It's a different path and more noble than amnesty but it is still just a path to citizenship.

Teddy, since you seem to hear and aid whiners, what special perks are my children getting for serving in the military that will compare to citizenship? What perk will I received that will compare to giving citizenship to the soldier's family? What reuniting family bonus will I receive that compares to citizenship?

Dixie

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 10_pf.html

General Speaks of Immigrant Father
Congressional Hearing Turns Personal

By Glenn Frankel and Daniela Deane
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, July 11, 2006; A03



MIAMI, July 10 -- A congressional hearing on immigration came to a dramatic pause Monday when Gen. Peter Pace, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, choked up as he talked about his Italian immigrant father and the opportunities that America had given to his family.

A hush fell over the auditorium at Miami Dade College as Pace, a Marine who was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., and grew up in Teaneck, N.J., was overcome with emotion and struggled to continue reading from his statement as the opening witness at the field hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Pace was explaining his family's origins to the committee and the opportunities he and his three siblings enjoyed in America when he lost his composure, much to the surprise of the 150 people gathered in the hearing room and to the five senators, who sat riveted as the general paused.

After he composed himself, Pace described his older sister, who went to law school, and his older brother, who, like himself, attended the Naval Academy and was a Marine.

"There is no other country on the planet that affords that kind of opportunity to those who come here," Pace concluded. The audience burst into applause.

Pace's father was born in Italy in 1914, immigrated to the United States and became an electrician in New York City, raising four children there. The first Marine to be named chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Pace has been chairman since September 2005 after serving as vice chairman for four years.

Pace, whose last name means "peace" in Italian, is a 1967 graduate of the Naval Academy and has served in Thailand, Korea and Japan.

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), who was at the hearing, said Pace made an "enormously moving comment and statement" and added: "We just hope our colleagues in the Congress can hear it."

Field hearings are being held around the country on the separate House and Senate immigration bills currently before Congress. The subject of the Miami hearing, chaired by Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John W. Warner (R-Va.), was the contributions immigrants have made to the armed forces.

The House bill calls for tighter border controls, 700 miles of fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border and funding for local law enforcement agencies along the border. It also calls for tougher deportation standards and stringent enforcement of rules governing employers who hire undocumented workers.

The Senate's immigration bill, co-sponsored by Kennedy and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), includes similar provisions. But it also outlines a method for an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants to become U.S. citizens and calls for a guest-worker program that would provide legal residency status for as long as six years.

In recent weeks, the White House and Senate Republicans have indicated a willingness to tackle border security first, but only if the action later triggers some or all of the Senate bill's residency-related provisions.

House GOP leaders have dismissed such features as the guest-worker program as an unacceptable "amnesty" for lawbreakers. They were the first to call for field hearings as a means of showcasing popular support for their approach while also delaying negotiations with senators on a final bill.

After Pace's emotional testimony, Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) asked the general whether his parents were still living. Pace replied that his mother was still alive.

"When you have Italian blood in you, sometimes it wells up and grabs your heart," he told Graham.

Graham said, "It takes a strong Marine to cry."

Deane reported from Washington.

Shame on you, Pace. We share the same background and I assure everyone, his father was a legal immigrant NOT an Illegal Alien. And I can also guarantee that he never took a dime of assistance from the government. That would have destroyed their pride.

Wonder what Pace's agenda is?

The Romans started hireing Goth and Hunnic Mercenaries to protect themselves, it was the begining of their downfall, funny how history repeats itself.

Here is the REAL ISSUE on this emotional testimony.....immigrants have played a BIG PART in our military, their sacrifices should be honored as ALL VETERANS sacrifices should be honored...but, immigrants serving in our Armed Forces are NOT ILLEGAL ALIENS.

In short, his testimony amounts to a smoke screen in a feeble attempt to play a guilt card.

An Illegal Immigrant who joins the Military to gain favor such as Citizenship is a Mercenary, i don't care how many Metals he wins, he will always be a Merc lacking the true honor of a patriot. A Person who joins the Military as a matter of the Princple of defending his country without gaining favor of any kind is a True Soldier and Patriot. As a matter of History as i already stated, many countries that hired Mercenaries into their armies contrubuted to their downfall.