State of Emergency: The Third World Invasion and Conquest of America

Military Review,  May-June, 2007  by Kenneth G. Heckel

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STATE OF EMERGENCY: The Third World Invasion and Conquest of America, Patrick J. Buchanan, Thomas Dunne Books, St. Martin's Press, New York, 2006, 308 pages, $24.95.

In State of Emergency, Patrick J. Buchanan delivers an apocalyptic analysis of the potential implications of unconstrained Third World migration to the United States. Describing the changes taking place in American society today, Buchanan draws parallels to the fall of the Roman Empire and the transformation of post-World War II Western Europe. Using demographic data and trends, he points to declining birth rates and the aging population of the American majority ethnicity and sees signs that our society is losing its identity. For Buchanan, the result of this trend, in combination with uncontrolled migration, will cause the death of American culture and the emergence of a new melting pot of Third World civilizations.

While Buchanan acknowledges America's history as the land that welcomes immigrants, he clearly views the current situation as an invasion rather than a migration. The difference between the two, Buchanan argues, is that today's immigrants do not fully embrace their new nation's laws, customs, and culture. Rather, they maintain roots in their native countries and use American soil solely as a springboard to economic prosperity.

Immigration promises to be one of the central themes in the 2008 presidential race. Debate on national security issues surrounding Mexican immigration has already occurred on Capitol Hill, without clear resolution. Buchanan's ultra-conservative, nationalist argument presents a plan for securing America's borders and controlling the integration of immigrants into our society. His final chapter proposes a host of actions: an immediate moratorium on immigration, denial of amnesty for illegal immigrants, construction of a 15-foot twin-fence barrier across the Mexican-American border, refusal of medical care to children born to illegal immigrants, elimination of chain migration, the end of dual citizenship, and deportation of any immigrant with a felony record, gang association, or drunken driving arrest.

While Buchanan exhaustively details the negative consequences of immigration on the American population, he omits any discussion of the positive benefits of globalization, the primary benefits of which are national and global economic progress. The migration of a new labor force into the United States and the transference of industrialized processes to low-cost countries enable the global economic pie to grow. While Buchanan supports preserving a nation-state that defines our lives through physical barriers and cultural boundaries, he ignores a common assumption held by most economists: that if America is to survive 21st-century globalization, it must embrace the diversity that comes with joining other nations in free commerce.

Thomas Friedman's The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, updated 2006) presents the counterargument to Buchanan's protectionist stance. Friedman questions whether the dissolution of nation-states is indeed perilous. As globalization takes root and national economies continue to extend across the world in search of efficiencies, Buchanan's "walled American fortress" loses feasibility and credibility.

Whichever side of the immigration debate one sides with, State of Emergency offers a powerful perspective on one of America's greatest challenges. The book provides ample context for the political positioning we are likely to see from some presidential candidates as 2008 approaches.

MAJ Kenneth G. Heckel, USA,

West Point, New York

COPYRIGHT 2007 U.S. Army CGSC
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning