Only 64 Days Remaining!
Obama Implies War Hero Un-American
Tonight signifies the opening of the Democratic National Convention – a convention hoping to produce the re-election of a president who, after four years, still blames the Bush Administration for America’s problems. Worse, while he doggedly refuses to accept personal responsibility for his own presidency, he has apologized for, denigrated and treated dismissively, our military and law enforcement heroes.
On Dec. 14, 2010, a Border Patrol agent was killed by a firearm allowed to “walk” across the border in an ill-conceived operation known as “Fast and Furious.” Our Attorney General not only stonewalled the Congressional investigation into the case, but waited more than a year to apologize to Agent Brian Terry’s family. He did so by email. President Obama claimed Executive Privilege to aid in the “stonewalling.”
On Nov. 5, 2009, the president appeared at the Tribal Nations Conference, addressed the group on what amounted to “housekeeping” issues, gave a “shout out” to an attending Medal of Freedom winner (Obama says “Congressional Medal of Honor), returned to a discussion of the conference and only then, after this long monologue, in an “oh by the way” fashion, finally mentioned that there had just been a shooting at Fort Hood, saying in part:
“What we do know is that a number of American soldiers have been killed, and even more have been wounded in a horrific outburst of violence.”
On Sept. 17, 2009, President Obama presented Staff Sergeant Jared Monti’s Medal of Honor posthumously, to his parents, at a White House ceremony. On June 23, 2011, addressing members of the Army’s 10th Mountain Division, President Obama said, in part:
“…First time I saw 10th Mountain Division, you guys were in southern Iraq. When I went back to visit Afghanistan, you guys were the first ones there. I had the great honor of seeing some of you because a comrade of yours, Jared Monti, was the first person who I was able to award the Medal of Honor to, who actually came back and wasn’t receiving it posthumously.”[1]
On December 12, 2010, Sgt. Sean Collins was killed in Afghanistan. His family received a letter of condolence from Democratic Senator Maria Cantwell, in which she expressed sorrow for the death of “Bryn” – not Sean. Sgt. Collins’ father requested a phone call from President Obama to Sean’s mother, but after several days, he was reportedly informed that the President could not fit the call into his schedule.[2] The President had no such conflict however, in calling the owner of the Philadelphia Eagles to passionately praise him for giving convicted felon Michael Vick a second chance at pro football. He had no problem with finding time to call his hero of the contraception wars, Sandra Fluke, to praise her bravery. But, when it came to consoling the mother of a soldier killed in action, there just wasn’t time.
During February, 2012, U.S. soldiers removed several hundred pieces of extremist material, including Korans on which extremist messages had been written, from the Parwan Detention Facility in Afghanistan. According to U.S. military officials, these materials were being used to exchange extremist messages. Following their removal from the library, the items were burned in a pile of garbage.[3]Instead of rewarding these soldiers, Obama promised Afghan President Hamid Karzai that:
“We will take the appropriate steps to avoid any recurrence, including holding accountable those responsible,”[4]
By March 2, six U.S. soldiers had been killed and another five wounded by our so-called Afghan allies, including a Major and a LCOL, shot point blank as they sat at their desks in the Interior Ministry. Obama noted in a Feb. 29th interview, that his apology had “calmed things down.”
Then there was the leaking of classified information regarding the Osama Bin Laden operation. Attacking ads run in response to the leaks, by former SEALs who formed the Special Operations OPSEC Education Fund Inc., Obama noted simply, “I don’t take these folks too seriously.”[5]
The treatment afforded to his former political opponent and Vietnam war hero Senator John McCain, was no less stunning. In October, 2010, during the run up to the 2010 mid-term elections, President Obama participated in a radio interview aired on the Latin station, Univision. Once again, this former Community organizer and agitator took the opportunity to demonstrate just how far away he remains from any desire to unify Americans. “Referring specifically to Republicans such as Senator John McCain, who are stressing border security and supporting strict immigration laws like Arizona’s anti-illegal immigration measure, Mr. Obama said:
‘Those aren’t the kinds of folks who represent our core American values.’”[6]
That he would make this remark against any American can only be seen as treacherous. Leveling such a charge against a man who served honorably in the U.S. Military and withstood the horrors of a North Vietnamese prison camp – even turning down early release to abide by the rules governing POWs – says far more about Obama than it does about McCain.
While President Obama has suffered no shyness in repeatedly reminding Americans that he is the Commander-in-Chief, not even a two ton sand sculpture of his likeness can give him the stature that he has shown so clearly he does not deserve.
[1] President Barack Obama, (June 23, 2011), White House.gov Speeches & Remarks, Remarks of the President to Soldiers of the 10th Mountain Division in Fort Drum, New York retrieved November 15, 2011 from http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/06/23/remarks-president-soldiers-10th-mountain-division-fort-drum-new-york
[2] Megyn Kelly, (January 6, 2011), America Live, as posted on FoxNation.com, Too Busy for Fallen Soldier’s Family, But Plenty of Time for NFL’s Eagles?, retrieved January 7, 2011 from http://nation.foxnews.com/culture/2011/01/06/too-busy-fallen-soldiers-family-plenty-time-nfls-eagles
[3] Deb Reichmann (AP), (Feb. 21, 2012), Army Times web-site, Angry Afghans Protest Koran Disposal at Bagram, retrieved March 2, 2012 from http://www.armytimes.com/news/2012/02/ap-angry-afghans-protest-quran-disposal-at-bagram-022112/
[4] UPI, (Feb. 23, 2012), UPI web-site, Obama Apologizes for Burning of Koran,” retrieved March 2, 2012 from http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2012/02/23/Obama-apologizes-for-burning-of-Korans/UPI-66781330001572/
[5] Investors.com staff (Aug. 30, 2012), Investors.com web-site, Form Letters For Navy SEALs, Personal Note For A Rapper, retrieved Sept. 3, 2012, from http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials/083012-624186-navy-seal-families-get-form-letter.htm
[6] President Barack Obama (Oct. 25, 2010), Story by John McCormack, (Oct. 25, 2010), The Weekly Standard, The Blog, Obama to Latinos: “Punish” Your “Enemies” in the Voting Booth, retrieved December 18, 2011, from http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/obama-latinos-punish-your-enemies-voting-booth_511932.html