Dual Citizenship

Dual Citizenship

A Threat to National Security

Dual citizenship poses a threat to our ability to act as a sovereign nation in our own national interest. It makes it much more difficult to deal with problems in our foreign relations and in domestic policies. It is a problem because those Americans in this status have conflicting national loyalties for this country and another country. In turn, these conflicting loyalties are manipulated by those foreign countries in the national interest of those countries. It is an issue that has been ignored by the media and most political organizations. The problem is especially important in our relationship with Israel and Mexico. On June 16, India also became part of the problem when the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) conferred dual citizenship on Indian national settled abroad.

People with dual American-Israeli citizenship have riddled the foreign policy apparatus of recent administrations dating to Truman, and do so most pervasively in the current GWB administration. These people are using their position to drive American foreign policy to defend Israeli occupation of Palestinian land, the invasion of Iraq, and otherwise sway our policies in the national interest of Israel and at the expense of American national interests.

The Israeli government has also appealed to Jewish Americans-the vast majority of whom are patriotic Americans- by offering them dual citizenship and then appealing to their Israeli nationalism to blindly support Israel. The following people have been offered dual American-Israeli citizenship and have held high positions in the GWB administration:

· Dov S. Zakheim- Former Under Secretary of Defense, Comptroller, and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for the Department of Defense
· Stephen Cambone-Under-Secretary of Defense for Intelligence
· Richard Perle-"Prince of Darkness"
· John R. Bolton-Under Secretary, Arms Control and International Security
· Robert Zoellick-recently (2005) promoted to Deputy Secretary of State
· Douglas Jay Feith-Under Secretary of Defense and Policy Advisor and number 3 man at the Pentagon.
· I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby-Cheney's chief of staff
· Paul Wolfowitz-Defense Department
· Philip D. Zelikow -Executive Director, 9-11 Commission
· Michael Ledeen-A fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, Ledeen holds a Ph.D. in History and Philosophy from the University of Wisconsin. In 1983, on the recommendation of Richard Perle, Ledeen was hired at the Department of Defense as a consultant on terrorism. While being investigated as a security risk by his supervisor, Noel Koch, it was learned from the CIA station that Ledeen had been carried in Agency files as an agent of influence of a foreign government: Israel.
· Elliott Abrams-National Security Council Advisor.


Dual citizenship also influences an agenda to defend the transfer of our job market to foreign job seekers, both legally and illegally in the country. These people are taking unskilled, semi-skilled, and skilled jobs at wages below what an American family needs to sustain itself and provide a stable future for our children. Dual citizenship conflicts the motives of worker, civil rights advocates, government employees, and private employers who should be taking on the issue; furthermore, the Mexican government is exasperating the situation with blatant attempts to influence our domestic agenda.

The threat from India is important because thousands of Indian nationals are using H-1 visas to legally come to America and take high tech jobs at the expense of our citizens. US employers are even advertising job openings in this country that blatantly give preference to H-1 visa holders.

Let me be clear; it is the job of unions to organize all workers. The evolution of the American labor movement to organize foreign workers has been a progressive step. On the other hand, as citizens, progressives in the labor and civil rights movements are also obligated to insure that our country act to promote the general welfare of our nation and generations to come. It is not inconsistent, therefore, to advocate for organizing all workers in this country and simultaneously advocate that preference be given to citizens for jobs. Furthermore, citizens should be speaking with one voice at a time when corporate executives without allegiance to our country exercise so much influence on our government. Those executives place profit far above the interests of the nation when it comes to the availability of cheap labor.

Unfortunately, the only political forces in this country that are seriously addressing the issue are the far and extreme right. An internet search will largely bring up web sites that vilify Jews and foreigners for our problems. Such bigots will find only wrath in my presence. Ironically, the other major categories of folks who post sites are people that are advocating for the immigrants or attorneys who want to make a buck on them. The frustration of Many Americans is leading many to go down to the Mexican border and draw attention to people illegally crossing the border. The majority of these people do not seem to be jingoists who vilify those crossers, but taking the actions that they are is putting them on the ground with people that do.

Americans should be required to choose a single national citizenship. For progressives, taking on this issue truly means speaking truth to power: it is not easy to challenge our own conflicted colleagues in this predicament. Because Jews and Latino immigrants are among the most abused scapegoats in modern history, many will try to suppress attempts to address the problem from the redoubt of misanthropy. Still, the corrupt influence from dual citizenship is happening right under our noses at a time when the very social fabric of American communities is crumbling from neglect, and no one is talking about it. Ending dual citizenship will not end the problems addressed here, but it will make it possible for us to address them without the direct interference of other governments and residents with conflicted loyalties.