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Written by Lt. Col.Terrence Lakin, MD
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Friday, 09 April 2010 |
The Honorable Barack Obama
President of the United States of America
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, D.C. 20500
Dear Mr. President:
For more than seventeen years, I have had the privilege of serving my
country as a member of the U.S. Armed Forces, including overseas assignments in
imminent danger/combat areas in Bosnia
and Afghanistan.
The United States
is an example to the rest of the world of a stable, civilized democratic
government where all men are created equal and the rule of law is cherished and
obeyed. The U.S.
military teaches and promotes the rule of law and civilian control of the
military to many other nations and militaries around the world.
Every soldier learns what constitutes a lawful order and is encouraged to
stand up and object to unlawful orders. This is called "the duty to disobey." My officer's oath of office requires
that I swear to support and defend the Constitution of the United
States.
I recently received deployment orders for a second deployment to Afghanistan.
My orders included a requirement to bring copies of my birth certificate. I
will provide a certified copy of my original birth certificate with common,
standard identifiers, including the name of an attending physician and a
hospital.
Every day in transactions across the country, American citizens are required
to prove their identity, and standards for identification have become even
stricter since the terrorist attacks on 9/11.
Since the fall of 2008, I have been troubled by reports that your original
birth certificate remains concealed from public view along with many other
records which, if released, would quickly end questions surrounding your place
of birth and "natural born" status.
Many people mistake the online Certification of Live Birth for an original
birth certificate. Until the summer of 2009, the Hawaiian Department of
Homelands would not accept this Certification of Live Birth to determine native
Hawaiian identity--the Department insisted upon also reviewing an original
birth certificate.
Many do not understand that the online document was from 2007, generated by
computer, laser-printed, and merely a certification that there is an original
birth certificate on file which may or may not be sufficiently probative. An
original birth certificate is the underlying document that presumably includes
a hospital and attending physician's or midwife's name that should lay to rest
the "natural born" dispute.
In 2008, after pressure from the news media, Senator McCain produced an
original birth certificate from the Panama Canal Zone; a Senate Judiciary
Committee hearing examined and affirmed his "natural born" status and
Constitutional eligibility to serve as President.
The U.S. Senate was silent about your eligibility, despite statements from
Kenyan citizens that you were born in Mombassa, including your paternal
grandmother and the Ambassador from Kenya
to the U.S.
during a radio interview. Hawaiian state officials claim they cannot release an
original birth certificate without your consent.
I have attempted through my chain of command for many months to get answers
to the questions surrounding your eligibility. I also sought answers,
unsuccessfully, through my Congressional delegation.
You serve as my Commander-in-Chief. Given the fact that the certification
that your campaign posted online was not a document that the Hawaiian
Department of Homelands regarded as a sufficient substitute for the original
birth certificate and given that it has been your personal decision that has
prevented the Hawaiian Department of Health from releasing your original birth
certificate or any Hawaiian hospital from releasing your records, the burden of
proof must rest with you.
Please assure the American people that you are indeed constitutionally
eligible to serve as Commander-in-Chief and thereby may lawfully direct service
members into harm's way.
I will be proud to deploy to Afghanistan
to further serve my country and my fellow soldiers, but I should only do so
with the knowledge that this important provision of our Constitution is
respected and obeyed. The people that continue to risk their lives and give the
ultimate sacrifice to the service of our country deserve to know they do so
upholding their vows to the oath of office and the Constitution.
Unless it is established (by this sufficient proof that should be easily
within your power to provide) that you are constitutionally eligible to serve
as President and my Commander-in-Chief, I, and all other military officers may
be following illegal orders.
Therefore, sir, until an original birth certificate is brought forward that
validates your eligibility and puts to rest the other reasonable questions
surrounding your unproven eligibility; I cannot in good conscience obey ANY
military orders.
Respectfully,
Terrence Lakin
Lieutenant Colonel, United
States Army
Dr. Terrence
Lakin, MD is an active duty Army Lieutenant Colonel who serves as Chief of
Primary Care at the Pentagon's TRICARE health clinic.
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