Invade-the-World-Invite-the-World Personified

Neocon Max Boot explains in the LA Times his latest brainstorm about how to turn the Republic into an Empire:

Uncle Sam Wants Tu: The military could ease its manpower shortage by letting foreigners join up.

I note that there is a pretty big pool of manpower that's not being tapped: everyone on the planet who is not a U.S. citizen or permanent resident...

The military would do well today to open its ranks not only to legal immigrants but also to illegal ones and, as important, to untold numbers of young men and women who are not here now but would like to come. No doubt many would be willing to serve for some set period in return for one of the world's most precious commodities — U.S. citizenship. Open up recruiting stations from Budapest to Bangkok, Cape Town to Cairo, Montreal to Mexico City. Some might deride those who sign up as mercenaries, but these troops would have significantly different motives than the usual soldier of fortune.

Hey, great idea, Max! It worked like a charm for the Roman Empire in the 5th Century AD.

Last year I wrote, "One main breakdown could be between those who want to hammer the rest of the world into being just like America and those who fear that trying to do that will only end up making America just like the rest of the world." Boot is a particularly sinister exemplar of those whose overweening ambition would just end up making America as God-forsaken as the rest of the world.

Here's a better idea: If we can't find enough American citizens to start more stupid wars, then let's not start them.