President Obama Needs to Prove His Constitutional Eligibility to Be Commander-in-Chief

American Thinker ^ | April 08, 2010 | Terrence Lakin, MD

[neverdem]

Last week, I entered Walter Reed Army Hospital to notify the Department of Defense that I would refuse to obey any orders from my commanding officers -- including President Obama -- until the president produces his original birth certificate. After nearly eighteen years of wearing the military uniform of the country I have proudly served, including overseas assignments in imminent danger/combat areas in Bosnia and Afghanistan, I felt compelled to take this step. 

I made this decision from much deliberation, after lengthy consultations with many friends, family members, and colleagues, and I firmly believe that all servicemen and women, and the American public, have the right to know the truth about President Obama's constitutional eligibility to serve as Commander-in-Chief.

As military officers, we all take a solemn oath upon commissioning into the Uniformed Services. In this oath, we swear to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Upholding the law is an essential part of our role as citizens; in the military, we are the ultimate protectors of that law. The Constitution is our social compact, which safeguards all of us and ensures the "equal rights" that we are entitled to as American citizens. 

Since Nuremberg, My Lai, and even Abu Ghraib more recently, the military has been taught the hard lessons of following illegal orders. Any reasonable person looking critically at the information and evidence currently in the public domain about Obama's birthplace would have questions about President Obama's claim to be a natural born citizen. I made the decision to disobey all military orders, including my deployment order to Afghanistan, in pursuit of the truth of whether President Obama can legally occupy the high post that he holds today and which entitles him to send servicemembers into harm's way. 

The United States serves an example to the rest of the world of a stable, civilized, democratic government, where all men are equal under the law 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 military forces 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 deployment orders for a second tour in Afghanistan included a requirement to bring copies of my birth certificate. I would be glad to obey this order and 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; standards for identification have become stricter since the terrorist attacks of 9/11.

Since fall 2008, I have been troubled by reports that the president's original birth certificate remains concealed from public view along with other records which, if released, would quickly end questions surrounding his place of birth and "natural born" status. Many people mistook 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 something on file which may or may not be sufficient proof of a birth in Hawaii. An original birth certificate could be the underlying document that presumably includes a hospital and attending physician's or midwife's name. Such a document should lay to rest the "natural born" dispute. This controversy was further escalated by media reports that gave two different hospital names for Obama's birthplace -- even today, the public does not know what doctor delivered the then-future president or which hospital was the site of his birth. No eyewitnesses have stepped forward to affirm that he was born in Hawaii in 1961. Under immigration laws in force at the time, if born in Kenya to a father who was not a U.S. citizen, Barack Obama had no right to American citizenship of any kind, and he could never qualify as "natural born." This is why determining his actual birthplace is crucial.

In 2008, after pressure from news media, President Obama's rival, candidate 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 strangely silent about President Obama's eligibility despite statements from Kenyan citizens that he was born there, evidently including his paternal grandmother and the Ambassador from Kenya to the U.S. during a November 2008 radio interview. Hawaiian state officials claim that they cannot release an original birth certificate without Obama's consent, declaring that the public has no "tangible interest" in seeing this vital birth record.

I attempted without success through my chain of command for over a year to get answers to the questions surrounding the president's eligibility. I was told that I have no standing to make this inquiry, and moreover, that no one in DoD could answer this question. I made inquiries, unsuccessfully, through my congressional delegation, which simply referred my questions back to DoD. No one I spoke to was able to offer any evidence that the president is "natural born." The burden of proof, it seems, must rest with the White House-- with president Obama himself, as these records are his, and he has chosen to conceal them at considerable legal expense. Remarkably, there is no enforcement mechanism for the Constitution's Article II, Section 1 requirement that the president be a "natural born" citizen -- voters have largely relied on an honor system and a free press to vet candidates for the highest political office in the nation.

While President Obama's records remain hidden, public consternation is growing. The American people have the right to know that their president is constitutionally eligible to serve as Commander-in-Chief and thereby may lawfully direct servicemembers into harm's way. I will be proud to deploy to Afghanistan to further serve my country and my fellow soldiers, but I should do so only with the knowledge that this important requirement of our Constitution is respected and obeyed. Those in uniform who continue to risk their lives and give the ultimate sacrifice to the service of our country deserve to know that they do so upholding their vows to the oath of office and to the Constitution.

Until an original birth certificate is brought forward that will validate the Commander-in-Chief's constitutional eligibility and put to rest the reasonable questions surrounding it, I cannot in good conscience obey any of my military orders. Unless it is established (sufficient proof that should be easily within the president's power to provide) that he is constitutionally eligible to serve as president and Commander-in-Chief, I and all other military officers are at risk of following illegal orders.  

There is no legitimate privacy right to information necessary to prove that President Obama is legally eligible to serve as Commander-in-Chief. 

I remain at risk of arrest and court-martial, but am mindful always that my oath of office is to the Constitution. It fills me with great sadness that on 31 March, I declined a direct order from my Medical Brigade Commander. This is a man I honor and wished to meet in order to thank him for his unquestionable valor and courage, and yet I could not obey his order. Now, he could order my arrest at any time.   

I hope that President Obama will demonstrate his respect for the U.S. Constitution and release his original birth certificate. My bags are packed, and I look forward to joining my fellow soldiers in Afghanistan, but I will deploy only with the knowledge that I am following legal orders under a lawful Commander-in-Chief. 

For those readers wanting to follow my ongoing story, the American Patriot Foundation has set up a legal defense fund to help me, and they tell me that they will be posting up-to-date information about my case. Their website is .

Dr. Terrence Lakin is an active duty Lieutenant Colonel who serves as Chief of Primary Care at the Pentagon's TRICARE health clinic; he has been selected for promotion to Colonel.

[Eye of Unk]

I would rather spend the money on a VERY well trained team, multi national, best of the best so to speak, most possibly recently retired.

Just do a snatch and grab and hide the prize in some remote part of the globe in humane comfort until after the election.

[Artemis Webb]

You make a great point. And I agree that what’s good for the goose...

[Natural Born 54]

That might be expressed as “repeat the truth often enough and people will believe it”!

[ASA Vet]

[Natural Born 54]

Yes, he is very brave. It’s a special kind of courage because his life is going to be hell for a long time.

[Artemis Webb]

Which thread of michgirl are you responding to?

[Eye of Unk]

That is always something I try to keep in mind, would you say FR has more trolls lately or perhaps a different strategy?

I feel a different agenda from certain posters, now this may be just me and what threads I actually read but it appears as if the percentages are different, almost as if real trusty Freepers are sitting back kind of silent and non-committal while the liberals here can’t help but try to stir the pot or throw more fuel on a fire, any fire, any topic.

Maybe again its just me, but all aside from the Tea Party threads, the Orly Taitz and BC threads, the threads like this and the big ones about any Obamacare issue is that they all seem to have one common direction.

Create division from within. Be a termite, act like an American but you are really a German (WW2 reference), agree to outlandish ideas, especially ones that can be manipulated by the MSM. bait, goad, taunt or act like a lecturer, its the feeling of it all has changed.

It reminds me of drums in the jungle.

[michgirl]

Love that pic!

Calls for a big Mike Meyer SHAG BABY!

Shag baby shout out from Michigan!

[Natural Born 54]

It was, I believe post #63. I hit the “reply” button 3 times trying to get the “To” part of the form to fill in and then I gave up and typed her name in. Mod removed the comment so now I know why it wouldn’t function properly. I just guessed that FR was acting up a bit as it does once in a while. The comment had been removed but my cache copy of the page still had it at the time. New one for me. Now I can’t remember the whole comment well enough to guess why it was removed.

[dennisw]

I know all that but when we demand the original 1961 birth certificate we have a double edged sword that can do what you want and also look for messy frauds (such as 0bama was born a bastard) on the 1961 original BC

I agree with you that 0bama having a Kenyan daddy disqualifies him as natural born. But this was never brought up prior to the 2008 election. There is very little precedent on that. So I say you hit 0bama with a one-two punch

[Eye of Unk]

Some threads should have no moderation.

[ASA Vet]

But this was never brought up prior to the 2008 election.

I believe it was in fact brought up right here on FR earlier in 2008, but the same as now, no where that it would matter.

[Natural Born 54]

You would have a much better basis for judging this than I do since I have only been reading daily and posting since last Aug. I did lurk off and on prior to that for years but not steady enough to get the feel you have. What I have noticed is a lot of different screen names participating that I’ve either never seen before or have seen very rarely. Mostly these are old timers from ‘98 thru ‘01. They usually have something of value to say, too. I have had the notion that many are getting re-involved due to the present dire circumstances.

Odd, it almost seems like I had the opposite impression of the atmospherics here. But I do get some kind of vibe similar to drums in the jungle, like some undercurrent.

[Natural Born 54]

Moderation does do one good thing. It prevents the few comments that the other side could jump on and use to mischaracterize FR. However, I can’t remember what was in that comment that was objectionable.

[neverdem]

"My deployment orders for a second tour in Afghanistan included a requirement to bring copies of my birth certificate. I would be glad to obey this order and provide a certified copy of my original birth certificate with common, standard identifiers, including the name of an attending physician and a hospital."

Perhaps its due time to have a Veterans March with an emphasis of challenging Obama’s legal right to give orders to our Armed Forces.

The Colonel and the birthers are right. Obama could easily prove he meets Constitutional muster. There could be at least 2 reasons he doesn't present proof:

1. He is NOT a natural born citizen.

2. He so disdains our country and the Constitution, he takes pleasure in thumbing his nose at concerned citizens.

I'm not a birther. I don't know. It's obvious that he doesn't want to resolve the question. The question is why.

[chiefqc]

Aw come on you can’t fool us it’s you mac daddy, right?

[Artemis Webb]

Ask your mama if I’m your daddy.

[michgirl]

hey posers are abundant and we know the tricks by now.
Obama dedicates his life to the rules for radicals (Alinsky).

And Alinsky dedicated his life and writings to Lucifer the fallen angel because he was the first radical.

http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2010/03/the-biggest-hustle-in-human-history-.html

Hope you and others will read this article...and I hope someone will post it on freep since I am not familiar with the posting html process!!

[john mirse]

Me and Little League: I'm sorry, but every time I hear or read about how President Obama is stonewalling when it comes to the release of his Hawaii long form birth certificate, I can't help but think about the time I ran home many, many years ago when I was 10 years old, and I anxiously told my parents that the Little League people won't let me join a team until I showed them my birth certificate.

Obama, what are you hiding?