Declare War on Mexico! Return the POWs! Cede the Gadsden Purchase!

A close associate has pointed out to me that even though we are waging war in two countries and have toppled two governments in response to the September 11, 2001 attack on our country, it is likely that in the past two decades illegal aliens from Mexico have committed more crimes, harmed more people, destroyed more property and cost our economy far more than the 9-11 tragedy.

While that attack was concentrated in both space and time, thus highly visible and creating more of an impact on the American psyche, the long-term damage to our country and citizens from the influx of illegal aliens is more subtle, but ultimately far more dangerous, he notes.

Thus, it only makes sense, based on our past actions against Islamo-terrorists, that we should attack the country that is sending the most illegal aliens into the United States, that being Mexico.

As my associate puts it, "After the September 11 attacks our economy lost 1,000,000 jobs, billions in damages, and some 3000 people murdered.

"If we look at the illegal immigration issue as it stands today, we have an invasion force of between 10-20 million people. The physical damage and economic impact to towns, cities and states along the border is in the billions, and that doesn't even address the crime issues, especially in areas with high drug and gang activity. So why haven't we toppled Mexico's government yet using the same logic?"

He further points out that the 10-20 million illegals, some with no skills, are free to roam the country and do as they please, but try getting in legally on an H1-B visa. That visa, for skilled workers, requires a company sponsor, but if workers on those visas lose their jobs, they also lose their right to be in this country.

Based on all the inequities in the current system it is obvious that something needs to be done and right now! So war just might be the solution.

Declaring war on Mexico also would provide us with an opportunity to redress some centuries old grievances. It is fashionable among some so-called, self-anointed 'leaders' in the Hispanic community to claim that the United States 'stole' the American southwest from Mexico, and thus modern-day Mexicans have a right to invade and 'reclaim' that area for Mexico.

Some American politicians are saying the same thing. (I was going to call them 'stupid' American politicians, but that would be redundant.)

Considering the fact that the American Southwest and California were sold to the US by the Mexican government, and the fact that it was less land for the same money as the Louisiana Purchase, and that vast tracts of that land were inaccessible mountains and inhospitable desert, nobody 'stole' anything, except perhaps the Mexican government, which put a major bait and switch over on America.

We got a far better deal with the Louisiana Purchase that included some of the most arable land in the continental United States, portions of at least three major navigable rivers, plus access to the western Great Lakes, and I don't hear the French complaining about it. Do you?

So let's get real here.

There is however, one fly in the ointment, so to speak, but one which could provide the key to the entire issue, the Gadsden Purchase.

The Gadsden Purchase was worked out between the government of Mexico, and the US Congress in 1853 to settle ongoing border disputes between the two countries. It was a tract of land along the southern border of what is now New Mexico and Arizona.

Congress couldn't agree on how much land to authorize in the purchase, due to concerns about the looming Civil War and whether the new lands would be pro- or anti-slavery. Also, the biggest reason behind the purchase, aside from definitively setting the border between the US and Mexico, was to provide a workable route for a southern transcontinental railroad, running from New Orleans to the Pacific, parallel to the Union Pacific route across the plains further north.

For a number of reasons, it was never built, probably because so few people live in the region even now that it would have been a money loser from the get-go.

Citizens of Mexico weren't very happy about the Gadsden Purchase, for starters because they didn't get all the money they agreed to - a million dollars of what was sent to Mexico literally 'went south' along the way and never showed up for delivery.

It has been a point of contention for a century and a half, although no one who was alive back then is still with us, and no one alive now was actually involved in the issue from either side. (I shouldn't have to say that, but judging from the rhetoric I see on the immigration issue it is obvious that we need to put this all in perspective on occasion.)

So, with that as a basis here is my plan. First we declare war on Mexico.

Then we get the Democrats in the US Congress to bemoan the state of the American military, and get their public relations firm, the leftist mainstream American media, to run thousands of front page stories about the military being spread too thin to actually do any fighting in Mexico.

Then we call for a cessation of 'hostilities,' and initiate 'diplomacy' to break the 'deadlock.' Then we import some real, first-rate genius-type State Department negotiators, hopefully some leftovers from the jimmy carter era. Remember, those are the guys who gave away the Panama Canal, stranded Taiwan, and helped set up the Islamic-fascist republic in Iran.

In quick order they emerge from their negotiations with a 'breakthrough' announcement.

We agree to cease hostilities, and Mexico agrees to stop sending 'enemy combatants, spies and troops' across our border. We agree to give a strip of land along the southern edge of the original Gadsden Purchase back to Mexico, equivalent in value - in today's dollars - to the $1 million that was never paid in 1853. (Any American citizens within the area who don't want to become part of the expanded Mexico will be compensated for their losses at the rate of $100,000 per acre, plus all relocation expenses.)

Then, and here is where it really gets good, we declare all illegal Mexican aliens currently in the US to be Prisoners of War. We immediately begin a roundup of all POWs, with the full cooperation of the Mexican government, with the stated purpose of allowing them to go back home without penalty.

Since the Gadsden Purchase was supposed to be a railroad route, obviously there is plenty of land there that is perfect for laying down some tracks. We take about 300,000 of the most able bodied illegal aliens - excuse me, POWs - and put them to work building a spur from the Columbus, San Antonio and Rio Grande RR route, down through the territory in question and back up again. Track for the Union Pacific went down at the rate of a mile a day back in the 1800s, with no modern machinery and far less labor. We should be able to ten times better today.

Then the President of the United States issues an emergency executive order under his wartime powers authority, to take as many empty Amtrak passenger cars as necessary - I figure about 10,000 would be good - the nice ones with plush seats, rest rooms and air conditioning, and we start taking the POWs home in style.

The American military will provide self-contained meals, like the ones our troops eat, and down in the newly expanded country of Mexico the International Red Cross will set up a vast sea of tents housing living quarters, administrative offices, medical facilities and processing rooms to help everyone move expeditiously back to their home of origin.

If we take 24 trains a day, one every hour, with 50 cars per train, and 60 passengers per car, we can help return 72,000 POWs each and every day. That means a million every two weeks. That means in just six months we would have the issue under control, or at least well on its way toward resolution, depending on just how many illegal aliens are actually in the country and how many of them are Mexican POWs! Oh, and only the southern facing doors on the passengers cars will be able to open, just so no one gets off on the wrong side and in the confusion heads north instead of south.

Now, tell me we haven't come up with a workable solution to an unimaginably complex problem here. (For the record, it isn't me or most of the rest of mainstream Americans who think it's unimaginably complex. But Congress does, which tells you all you need to know about the American Congress as it stands at the moment.)

Yes, I think we have found it. A solution that works out in everyone's best interest, and should even have John Kerry glowing about our new found friends and respect in the international community. It will cost some money up front, but by this time next year we should be seeing major benefits, and best of all we won't have to listen to all the crying and whining from Congress about how hard they are working on finding a solution to the immigration issue.

Could someone please pass this along to John McCain?