Help Mohammed !!

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No way, no way.

What he did might have been an honorable thing, or alternatively it might have been the self serving work of someone who knew his government was over, and now its time to make friends with the new leaders...

I think the rules for becoming a citizen are in the Constitution... And I dont think telling the Marines where a POW is located qualifies as a way of fast-tracking our law, especially when we have non-citizens in our own military, risking their own lives on a daily basis.
 
I agree with Lone_Gunman, a Green Card for Mohammed and his family should be plenty. There's one group raising a bunch of cash and a group in W. VA. who will take him as a neighbor. A Green Card would make it reality and then he could go for U.S. citizenship on the normal timeline.
 
I wouldn't even give him a green card, unless he goes through the normal channels.

If he is an honorable man, then Iraq would be better served by him staying there, and rebuilding it into a nation where freedom and human rights are high priorities.

If all the good men of the world move to the USA, then the rest of the world becomes bad by default.
 
Any one ask him if he wants to come here? He's apparently a stand-up guy, and many of his type are needed n Iraq now. Don't get me wrong, if he wants to come, I'm not against helping him out, but if he's inclined to stay and help make Iraq a better place, I'm all for it.

Giving him & his family some short term shelter and cover certainly makes sense, but for how long - it's not clear that he's a political refugee. He may emerge as a local hero, a guy 'that did the right thing', and maybe become a force for good in the neighborhood.
 
Nope, I cant find them either LawDog, but there is a required period of legal residence in the US before application for citizenship, and I would see no reason why this fellow should be an exception.

Is there any reason to believe he even wants to be a US citizen?
 
Chalk me up in the "green card is adequate" school. If he wants to come. If so, I hope he does become a citizen on schedule.

I think there's a long-term benefit to rewarding people who help us in some major way - makes it more likely to happen again. That outweighs the downside of pulling a clearly good guy out of Iraq.

If he chooses not to come, some other reward (probably financial) should be given. About $50k oughta do it - that's double what Saddam's been paying Palestinians who blow themselves up :rolleyes: and should set him up just fine.

Let's remember: the guy didn't just bring info, he volunteered to go back and get MORE, which was key to the success of the whole mission. That is *valuable* as hell and deserves appropriate compensation.
 
Is there any reason to believe he even wants to be a US citizen?
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Nope. And there aren't any reasons to believe the opposite, either.


Nope, I cant find them either LawDog, but there is a required period of legal residence in the US before application for citizenship, and I would see no reason why this fellow should be an exception.
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USC: Title 8, Chapter 12, sec. 1427 does list an exception for the requirement of legal residence: any alien who has made extraordinary contributions to US intelligence activities.

Finding US Prisoners of War is a "US intelligence activity".

Does the contribution of Mr. Mohammed fall under the heading of "extraordinary"?

IMNSHO, under wartime conditions, in defiance of a regime that regularly doled out torture, rape and execution for far lesser deeds, and directly under the nose of Saddam's tin-plate Gestapo, not just once, but multiple times -- hell, yes.

At the very least, Mr Mohammed (and family) is deserving of asylum in the United States, under USC: Title 8, Chapter 12, section 1158.

LawDog
 
The required waiting period for a legal US Permanent Resident (Green Card holder) to be eligible for citizenship is 5 years, or 3 years if the Green Card was obtained by marriage and the GC holder is still married to the same citizen.

Citizenship must be requested with Form N-400, which costs $260 to file and has a processing time of 6-12 months.

I'd have no issues with a Green Card for the guy, but let him wait in line just like everyone else for citizenship.
 
You guys are harsh. Here's a man who risked his life, and that of his wife and kid, walking miles back and forth to get the US the intel needed to free PFC Lynch, and he's sitting in a refuge camp somewhere. He's supposed to eat his ration and be thankful while Ms Lynch gets a tickertape parade and whatnot?

Least we can do is offer him a nation's gratitude, I say, in the form of the option of citizenship -- honorary if he prefers. Either that or offer him a position in the provisional government if he so chooses.

-0-
 
I've read a number of articles regarding Mohammed and I recall reading that he would like to move. From all appearances, he and his wife are both intelligent, upstanding people who took a risk and did the right thing -- that won't be overlooked by the military in Iraq. It's his call and he may decide to stay in Iraq, but he'll always be looking over his shoulder.
 
Well, looks like the majority here is in favor of letting this guy in; maybe I was harsh earlier...

Heck, I guess we might as well let him in, the floodgates are open already, what will one more hurt?

Plus, this one is a lawyer, and our country is in dire need of more of them anyway.
 
Mohammed is a better American ALREADY than most of the embarassing and shameful "Americans" that call themselves "celebrities" and were born here. It will be to this nation's shame if we do not show appropriate gratitude for what this man did for our nation. In my family, when a good stranger saves your kin's life, you set a place at the supper table for that man and call him friend. This man and his family deserve to be citizens. Some folks forget he didn't just risk his life, but also the life of his wife and child.
 
A better American?

He is not an American at all!

He did the right thing, to be sure, by helping with the POW extraction, but that does not equate into being an American.

He might be a helpful, considerate, moral person, but this does not make him an American.
 
And, unless I'm mistaken, a lot of the lower-level functionaries/neighbors/government officials in post-Saddam Iraq are going to be the same guys holding the same jobs in Saddam's Iraq.

Oh, well. Letting those who tried to help us fend for themselves is a Grand Old Tradition for the United States in that neck of the woods.

After all, those who tried to help us before, answered our call and all that, were left twisting in the wind with their squishy parts hanging out for the knacker -- so old Mohammed should have known better, right?

His own fault, really, doing a favour for a people who betrayed anyone doing the same thing to torture, rape and death 10 years ago.

Thank some of y'all for reminding of that. Forgot where I was for a second, forgive me, won't happen again.

LawDog
 
Or he could just join the military and subvert the process.
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Ah yes, all those foreign nationals that join the military to learn first hand about what it means to be an American, serve a country that is not wholly theirs, endure constant xenophobic wisecracks from less enlightened comrades, all while getting crappy pay they think is good and defending your right to say such dumb things.

I suppose the Marine that was posthumously given citizenship subverted the process too?
 
Lone Gunman:

Being an American is more than being born in this nation. I have met people who are American citizens that I wouldn't turn my back on for exactly one second. Does that mean I think Mohammed embodies more of what it means to be an American than, say, someone like Jane Fonda? Yes, I certainly do. Being an American should mean you reward those who help your people. Not hold to some didactic "well, he's still NOT an American and should get in line along with everyone else". Excuse me, but Mohammed is NOT "everyone else". This man deserves to be an American a LOT more than some people born into American citizenship by the graces of fortune deserve to be one. Being an American is more than where you are born or what papers you fill out. It's about who you are inside and what you stand for. But if I have to explain that, you wouldn't understand anyway.
 
Where will the line be drawn though?

Are we going to grant citizenship to everyone who ever risks anything to help us?

This wont be the last time an American POW is released because of info provided by a non-citizen.

Unless you are going to consistently provide citizenship to everyone who helps us, then I dont see how you can justify doing it for this guy.

Should the reward for morality be US citizenship?
 
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