It is a testament to just how nasty the immigration debate has become that a measure that would bring the fearful out of the shadows , encourage tertiary education in a section of the workforce that needs more of it and supply the undermanned army with recruits has gone nowhere .
Meanwhile , a vicious circle of no confidence threatens the western alliance : if italy , for instance , concludes that a weakened america will not last the course in afghanistan , then it will commit even fewer troops to the already undermanned nato force there-which in turn prompts more americans to question the project .