I was going to write about a different subject this week, until I came across this letter. It was written by a man who walked the walk, until the war in Iraq changed that equation forever. And while it focuses on that war, it is a devastatingly accurate portrait of our current Commander-in-Chief, in all his feckless, lead-from-behind, hypocritical glory. In addition, it unambiguously, if inadvertently, illuminates why America’s foreign policy is a shambles from Ukraine and Iran, to Syria and North Korea, and why for a substantial number of Americans, the debacle in Benghazi will never, ever be swept under the rug:

Dear President Obama,

My name is Brian Kolfage, I’m a triple amputee and retired Air Force veteran who was severely wounded on September 11, 2004 in Iraq.

I nearly died in a war that most of your colleagues supported overwhelmingly, including the two presidents who came before you. Many citizens may not agree with waging war in Iraq to free the oppressed Iraqi citizens, but it’s something that warriors like myself have no control over. I joined to serve my country and to better my life. I’ve seen things that you could never imagine, and they have made me the person I am today.

Mr. Obama, even though we have extreme opposite views, we have one thing in common, we both attended school in Hawaii. However, that’s where the similarities end. You see, as you attended your exclusive, private school, I would ride my bike to Kaimuki High School in one of the roughest areas in Hawaii.  Every morning I would ride past Punahou, the exclusive private school you attended and I would notice all of the Bentleys, Maseratis, and fancy foreign cars that all the kids were dropped off in; wow it must have been extremely rough in Hawaii living that life, right? I could only imagine what it was like to have that kind of money. Fortunately for you, not many people are aware of the school that you and the upper class citizens of Hawaii attended. The tuition to attend your exclusive, private school was more than it cost me to obtain a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture from the University of Arizona. You talk a big game when it comes to financial inequality, yet I’m quite sure you have no idea what it’s truly like to have to sacrifice. You were one of the elitist children in Hawaii.

After High School, we each chose very different paths. You were able to attend America’s finest Ivy League schools, while I pursued a career in the military, in hopes of earning a degree. What we have in life as children usually helps to set the tone for how we acheive success later in life. I worked to get where I am today, while it was HANDED TO YOU….Mr. Inequality.

I volunteered to go to Iraq on both of my deployments, and the second time I begged to go even after I wasn’t selected. During that second deployment, I was ultimately placed on the team where I would lose both legs and my dominant arm. Even though many Americans were against the war in Iraq, I’ve never asked myself if it was worth it after losing 3 of my limbs.

I am frequently reminded of the many young Iraqi children who would beg me for water, food, and toys while I was stationed in Iraq. Children, who in all aspects made the poorest of poor American children look rich. You have no idea what it really means to be poor. It’s laughable that you, who would have no idea what it means to be poor would so frequently play the inequality card.

While I was in Iraq, our mission was to liberate the Iraqi citizens from a tyrant and that’s what we did. Never forget, it was your people who sent us there, like the Clintons, John Kerry, Nancy Pelosi & Carl Levin. However, since the day you busted onto the scene you’ve been talking about ending the war and pulling the troops out, not understanding the blood sweat and tears that so many Americans and Iraqi’s invested. And with complete disregard for every life sacrificed, every limb lost, and every broken family, you bailed on our mission to pursue an agenda that was completely centered on your re-election in 2012. If you didn’t bail on Iraq you were worried that you may not get re-elected and that’s a fact. Just before elections on Oct 11, 2012 you said “Al Qaeda is on the run and Osama bin Laden is dead.” Look at Iraq now, they are in shambles and the Al Qaeda flag is flying freely. Clearly, you’re unfit for duty as a Commander in Chief. You put your own agenda ahead of America’s agenda, and now you have single handedly ruined and destroyed nearly everything we gained in Iraq. It clearly means nothing to you, because the only thing that you’ve personally invested in that country was a promise to bail on them. However, people like me gave limbs, friends have died, and we’ve watched families destroyed by war’s aftermath.

I’m not placing blame on you for the war, I’m placing blame on you for destroying what we’ve worked so hard to build. You’re not a leader, you’re a community organizer. A leader would have stood up regardless of the situation and put America’s agenda first and that is ensuring a secure Iraq even after 10 years of war. But, you placed Barack first, just as Robert Gates confirmed in his new book. I can’t help but think of those poor kids who I gave water and toys to 11 years ago. They’re probably 15 or 16 years old now, and I can only imagine what it’s like for them to have their nation being torn apart yet again; all because of your poor leadership qualities. Regardless of why we went to Iraq, its water under the bridge. We went there, we waged war, and we not only owed it to our KIA’s but we owed it to the citizens of Iraq. We invaded their country and turned it upside down, and you bailed on them. You bailed on our soldiers and you’ve wasted every death and every limb, it’s all for nothing. And to make matters worse you blame others for your failures.

You’re just another elitist rich thug who’s pretended to live the rough life growing up in the inner-city. You’re only worried about your own agenda and furthering your party instead of taking care of Americans. Your inability to be a leader at some of the most critical points has caused both of our wars to fail. You’ve been a joke to most of our veteran community and we have no faith in your ability to lead.

Senior Airman Ret. Brian Kolfage USAF

Anyone still wondering about the efforts of the Obama administration to socialize the military, even as it leads the ongoing effort to cut it to the bone – on the backs of our fighting men and women, no less – should wonder no more. Genuine warriors like Brian Kolfage are utterly inimical to the interests of Democrats, who made turning Americans against people exactly like him the central platform of their 2004 presidential campaign. It is convenient to forget that 72 percent of  the American public favored the removal of Saddam Hussein, prior to that antiwar campaign. A campaign conducted in large part by the very same people who supported the war, even as the quotes below reveal the despicable hypocrisy of subsequently endorsing the “Bush lied, people died” trope orchestrated by their leftist allies:

“I will be voting to give the president of the United States the authority to use force – if necessary – to disarm Saddam Hussein because I believe that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hands is a real and grave threat to our security.” –John F. Kerry, Oct 2002

“Saddam Hussein’s regime represents a grave threat to America and our allies, including our vital ally, Israel. For more than two decades, Saddam Hussein has sought weapons of mass destruction through every available means. We know that he has chemical and biological weapons. He has already used them against his neighbors and his own people, and is trying to build more. We know that he is doing everything he can to build nuclear weapons, and we know that each day he gets closer to achieving that goal.” –John Edwards, Oct 2002

Those were the Democrats’ two leading candidates for president that year. Here is their leading candidate for 2016:

“In the four years since the inspectors left, intelligence reports show that Saddam Hussein has worked to rebuild his chemical and biological weapons stock, his missile delivery capability, and his nuclear program. He has also given aid, comfort, and sanctuary to terrorists, including Al Qaeda members, though there is apparently no evidence of his involvement in the terrible events of September 11, 2001. It is clear, however, that if left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will continue to increase his capacity to wage biological and chemical warfare, and will keep trying to develop nuclear weapons. Should he succeed in that endeavor, he could alter the political and security landscape of the Middle East, which as we know all too well affects American security.” –Hillary Clinton, October 2002

Many Americans now know all too well that Hillary’s “commitment” to national security resulted in the deaths of four Americans in Benghazi. We also know, courtesy of former Defense Secretary Robert Gates, that her opposition to the 2007 troop surge in Iraq, as well as Obama’s, was based on political considerations.

And make no mistake: the same process that turned victory into defeat in Iraq, is about to be repeated in Afghanistan. Once again, Obama will make a mockery of the sacrifices made by people like Brian Kolfage for nothing more than political expediency. Our retreat from Afghanistan must proceed on schedule, just as our retreat from the world in general must be pursued with equal vigor. 

Thugs like Vladimir Putin, Bashar Assad, the Iranian mullahs and North Korea’s Kim Jong-un know they are dealing with a man whose lack of seriousness is historically unprecedented. Thirty minutes after warning Putin that we “will stand with the international community in affirming that there will be costs for any military intervention in Ukraine," Obama went to a fund-raiser at the DNC. "Well, it’s Friday. It’s after 5 o'clock. So, this is now officially happy hour with the Democratic party,” the president told his allies. “I can do that. It is an executive action. I have the authority.”

The following day, despite having no public events on his schedule, Obama skipped a meeting with his national security team, even as 15,000 Russian troops entered Crimea.

Many Americans, in a spasm of isolationist fervor, are inclined to agree with the abandonment of our nation’s historical role on the world stage. They are “tired” of engaging America’s enemies, even as they remain moronically indifferent to the reality that America’s enemies are far from tired of engaging us. Sadly, I believe it will take another domestic attack on the magnitude of 9/11 – or greater – to awaken them from their self-inflicted coma. Despite mountains of historical evidence, they remain immune to the reality that “evil prospers when good men do nothing.”

Barack Obama is their champion. I’ll take men like Brian Kolfage every day of the week.

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