Will Obama be first Commander in Chief to oversee a military force with foreign recru
Will Obama be first Commander in Chief to oversee a military force with foreign recruits?
By Judi McLeod Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Touted as what is destined to be history's president of firsts, Senator Barack Obama could be the first Commander in Chief to oversee a military force with foreign recruits?
Ugandans, who want a career in the United States military, can sign up at the annual convention of the Uganda North American Association (UNAA), scheduled to run between August 29 and August 31.
"American military recruiters will set up a booth at this year's UNNA convention in Orlando, Florida, and seek out professional Ugandans, said Lt. Frank Musisi, himself an officer in the U.S. Army." (AllAfrica.com, April 6, 2008). "Lt. Muisisi, who comes from Kalangala District on Lake Victoria, is the current president of UNAA, a 501 (c) non-profit organization.
The recruitment of the UNNA convention, which wraps up only about two months before US presidential elections, will be the main attraction at the convention.
When Democrats took control of Congress, they promised to make increasing the size of the military one of their top legislative priorities in 2007.
While their incessant threats to withdraw troops from Iraq found media headlines, they've been working on increasing the size of the military with noncitizens.
Analysts warning that a large number of noncitizens under arms could jeopardize national security, and the potential for rankling the courageous, all-volunteer American troops already serving their country, make foreign recruitment for the US military a hot topic.
It takes no imagination and even less conspiracy theory to reckon that having a few footmen in strategic places would make it easier during the first 100 days if a President Obama gets to make good on his electoral promise to pull the troops out of Iraq.
"I'm the only major candidate who opposed this war from the beginning—and as president, I will end it." (Sen. Barack Obama, in a taped video to the Caucus for Priorities, 2007).
Will Ugandans in the US military feel loyalty to the United States of America or to a president they see as a radical agent of change?
Most know about Obama's ties to Kenya and that co-President Raila Odinga has claimed a tribal kinship with the Illinois senator.
Few realize the fever pitch of Obama support in Uganda, home of UFOs--Ugandans for Obama.
Part of the Eastern African region that could some day be included in the United States of Africa, some Ugandans and Kenyans see Obama as much the president of the United States of Africa as he would be the president of the United States of America.
The United States of Africa is the name given to the possible future unification of Africa as a national and sovereign federation of states similar in formation to the United States of America, and patterned on the United States of Europe.
Its biggest booster is Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi, who extolled its virtues at a 2000 summit in Lomé, Togo. Another cheerleader for the United States of Africa is Alpha Oumar Konare, chairperson of the African Commission, who praised the notion on the occasion of the commemoration of Africa Day on May 25, 2006.
"In a world of increasing globalization, where the small guys often get drowned out by the bigger players, especially on issues such as trade, some African leaders believe the only way for the continent to prosper is to unite. They want to replace the current African Union (AU), a largely administrative group for the 53 countries from Egypt to South Africa, with a proper African government that would control a two million-strong continental army, direct the fight against Aids, and speak with one voice in international negotiations." (The Independent, June 30, 2007).
UFO founder Bernard Sobiti, calls Obama a "lyric" and "an irresistible political rockstar".
Uganda People's Congress communication chief Benson Ogwant Echonga said: "In Obama, we see a new America".
Out of Uganda come Obama branded shoes, T-shirts and key holders.
Odinga, who just completed a three-day tour of America, where he charmed senior Bush administration figures and key members of the U.S. Congress, has said that the Illinois senator's father, from western Kenya's Luo tribe, was his maternal uncle.
Whether or not they are cousins, Obama did go to Kenya in August 2006 and was photographed in the company of a man promising to introduce sharia law if elected.
Obama also interrupted his New Hampshire campaign to speak by telephone with Odinga.
As reported by the Investor's Business Daily, Obama's half-brother Abongo "Roy" Obama is a Luo activist in Kenya and a militant Muslim who argues that the black man must "liberate himself from the poisoning influences of European culture" and urges Barack to embrace his "African Muslim heritage". Having Barack Obama embrace his "African Muslim heritage" is a theme recently echoed by Mummar al-Gaddafi.
Tribal kinsmenship between the two notwithstanding, Odinga and Obama are related in political style.
Odinga is described as "Your Agent for Change" on his homepage. Obama's campaign slogan is "Change we can believe in."
Odinga described his pact with Kenyan Muslims as "harmless".
Obama dismisses any questions about his alleged Muslim ties as smears and has even set up a war room to deal with slurs.
And like Obama, Odinga is not short on charisma.
Speaking to an applauding overflow audience in Washington at the start of a three-day official visit last Tuesday, Odinga gave Americans an accounting of the post-election violence in Kenya, saying it had "nearly destroyed" the country.
Tragically, post-election violence in Kenya included the deaths of about 35 women and children burned alive in a church.
Odinga related a joke he attributed to Prof. Ali Mazrui. The joke asks which would be the first country to elect a Luo president: Kenya or the United States. The question has actually been answered in Kenya's favour, Mr. Odinga said with a broad grin. "Kenya has a Luo president who has not been sworn in," he declared to laughter and applause from an audience of roughly 300.
But the real joke may be on everyone who cares about America because Barack Obama, who had the audacity to tailor-make the official Presidential Seal for his podium before his campaign discarded the idea, could be the real "Luo president of the USA who has not been sworn in."
(Tomorrow's CFP: Are nasty letters to the editor arriving at your blog or website originating from Obama's "war room"?)
Judi McLeod is an award-winning journalist with 30 years experience in the print media. A former Toronto Sun columnist, she also worked for the Kingston Whig Standard. Her work has appeared on Newsmax.com, Drudge Report, Foxnews.com, and Glenn Beck.
Judi can be emailed at: judi@canadafreepress.com
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