U.S. Armed Forces Defend Other Borders -- Not Ours

By Wayne Lutton
Volume 14, Number 4 (Summer 2004)
Issue theme: "Hispanic indicators: a statistical review of the Hispanic experience in the United States"

America's borders - and the nation they protect - are at risk. Year after year, illegal aliens flout our laws and threaten our security as they surge across our frontiers, and pass through our ports of entry, by the millions. In the ranks of this silent invasion are drug smugglers, foreign agents, fugitives from justice, and terrorists. As the late President Reagan pointed out years ago, the U. S. has "lost control of our own borders and no nation can do that and survive."

The American public is constantly told that we can't seal our borders and better screen entrants through our ports of entry. The fact is, Congress and the White House have never tried. As the following list indicates, official Washington is more than willing to deploy the U. S. Armed Forces to help secure the borders and ensure the political and economic stability of foreign countries. Of the 192 countries in the world, the United States maintains diplomatic relations with all but Bhutan, Cuba, Iran, and North Korea. All of the countries, except Vatican City, are members of the United Nations. At last report, the United States has troops in 135 countries. The list below is taken from the Department of Defense, Active Duty Military Personnel Strengths by Regional Area and by Country (309A) September 30, 2003.

Afghanistan

Albania

Algeria

Antigua

Argentina

Azerbaijan

Australia

Austria

Bahamas

Bahrain

Bangladesh

Barbados

Belgium

Belize

Bolivia

Bosnia and

Herzegovina

Botswana

Brazil

Bulgaria

Burma

Burundi

Cambodia

Cameroon

Canada

Chad

Chile

China

Columbia

Congo

Costa Rica

Cote D'lvoire

Cuba

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Djibouti

Dominican Republic

East Timor

Ecuador

Egypt

El Salvador

Eritrea

Estonia

Ethiopia

Fiji

Finland

France

Georgia

Germany

Ghana

Greece

Guatemala

Guinea

Haiti

Honduras

Hungary

Iceland

India

Indonesia

Iraq

Israel

Italy

Jamaica

Jordan

Kazakhstan

Kenya

Kuwait

Kyrgyzstan

Jamaica

Japan

Laos

Latvia

Lebanon

Liberia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Macedonia

Madagascar

Malawi

Mali

Malaysia

Malta

Mexico

Mongolia

Morocco

Mozambique

Nepal

Netherlands

New Zealand

Nicaragua

Niger

Nigeria

North Korea

Norway

Oman

Pakistan

Paraguay

Peru

Philippines

Poland

Portugal

Qatar

Romania

Russia

Saudi Arabia

Senegal

Serbia and Montenegro

Singapore

Sierra Leone

Slovenia

Spain

South Africa

South Korea

Sri Lanka

Suriname

Syria

Sweden

Switzerland

Tanzania

Thailand

Togo

Trinidad and Tobago

Tunisia

Turkey

Turkmenistan

Uganda

Ukraine

United Arab Emirates

United Kingdom

Uruguay

Venezuela

Vietnam

Yemen

Zambia

Zimbabwe

About the author

Wayne Liutton. Ph.D. is editor of The Social Contract.