The Army has revoked the Afghanistan deployment orders for Army reservist Maj. Stefan Frederick Cook, the plaintiff in a lawsuit arguing that President Obama has no authority to send him to war because, he believes, Obama is not a “natural-born citizen” and thus not eligible to be president. Cook’s lawyer, leading “birther” Orly Taitz, said the Army’s move is proof that Obama was not born in Hawaii. Whoa. Really?If the military isn’t backing Obama’s legitimacy as commander-in-chief, then all the sudden this is a real issue, right? If Obama wants to quash this growing controversy, all he has to do is release his “true ‘long-form’ birth certificate,” as Cook requested. Against all possible logic, Cook has a point... It would be illegal for him to follow an 'illegitimate' president’s orders.
However, since it is a "volunteer" army - and Stefan volunteered - he's likely AWOL now. But why would anyone want to pursue this in a court martial? the Army probably just doesn't want to deal with the politics of the "birther" crowd, or worse. It doesn't make Obama look clean to let Stefan out... but doesn't want to keep this thing in the news or talk about it. And if he does, then it's to make the right wing look even more desperate and nutty than usual.
Or, perhaps Stefan has found the solution to the age old Army problem of the Catch 22? The solution? He turned it around on his superiors.
I'm a Black senior citizen , independent voter, not a racist or birther. However, I do wish BO would keep his promise to be transparent. How hard is it to post the long form of a BC? This certainly is not good for the morale of our military. Why is BO spending so much money to hide his BC...it certainly arouses suspicions. Why do they keep his Kenya grandmother away from reporters?
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure Cook is a coward, just another chickenhawk trying to justify his cowardice.
ReplyDeleteI could be wrong, though. This guy's a Freeper and a conspiracy theorist who just might have cooked this scheme up with Taitz months ago.
And if you'd bother to actually read the news accounts, the reason he isn't going has nothing to do with the Army agreeing to his lunatic ravings: he isn't a normal Reservist - he's IMA. They're allowed to back out of orders up until they get on the plane, because they volunteer for them in the first place.
I mean, it's simple. His suit against Obama was dismissed - no grounds. And now he's facing a court martial - check out Articles 88 and 94 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ, to those of us who lived under it). Oh, and by the way, here's how the Military Officer's Association sees it.
So, if you're looking for reality, you'll find it somewhere between chickenhawk and self-promoting conspiracist. Your choice on where to look for it.
Cook has done nothing to be court martialed.He has not refused to obey orders. He did not commit mutiny or sedition.Legally using the courts is not a court martial offense in the UCMJ Uniform Code of Military Justice.
ReplyDeleteTry again. (You've never been in the military, have you? It's a strange, very linear mindset, and chain of command is everything.)
ReplyDeleteUCMJ:
Article 94 MUTINY OR SEDITION
(a) Any person subject to this chapter who... with intent to cause the overthrow or destruction of lawful civil authority, creates, in concert with any other person, revolt, violence, or disturbance against that authority is guilty of sedition...
("revolt," incidentally, does not always involve rocks, and "disturbance" covers a lot of ground)
More importantly, though:
Article 88 CONTEMPT TOWARD OFFICIALS
Any commissioned officer who uses contemptuous words against the President, the Vice President, Congress, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of a military department, the Secretary of Transportation, or the Governor or legislature of any State, Territory, Commonwealth, or possession in which he is on duty or present shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.
Thanks to his IMA status, he's safe from some of the more esoteric charges such as AWOL (Art 86) or Missing A Movement (Art 87). But he's still opened himself up to charges.
First off, this guy is a Major. By that time in your career, you had better know the rules. UCMJ can reach beyond your military career, and from what I've read this guy is done. I read that he was fired from his civilian job for this action. Stuff like this will haunt him for a long time to come. However, being a reservist may give him a shred of hope for not being prosecuted further. I agree that he needs to be punished. Refusal of a lawful order by a ranking officer (especially the prez) is a punishable UCMJ offense (and a serious one at that).
ReplyDeleteI am surprised that he is using legitimacy as his excuse. I don't know if there is a cover-up or anything like that, but lawful orders are lawful orders. I don't think this one joker is going to be able to even attempt this as his defense. Makes you wonder what kind of precedence this may set for others. This probably won't be the last soldier to try something like this especially if they see there is no severe consequences like fines, confinement, etc. I don't think this story is over by a long shot.
And now the story grows and more officers get involved: http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/news/story/778482.html
ReplyDeleteOh, by the way, in regard to those officers, it turns out that Gen (ret) Childers doesn't want to be involved. It seems he never agreed to be a party in the lawsuit - several months ago, he signed a motion Taitz filed requesting that a judge unseal specific personnel records. And Taitz just kept on using his name without his knowledge. She's well known in the birther community, and these are the type of tactics she uses all the time.
ReplyDelete