Wounded Warrior Blasts Obama for Lack of Leadership in Fiercely Worded Open Letter Wounded Warrior Blasts Obama for Lack of Leadership in Fiercely Worded Open Letter Senior Airman Ret. Brian Kolfage vented his feelings to President Obama in a strongly worded letter that doesnt mince words: Dear President Obama, My name is Brian Kolfage, Im 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 its something that warriors like myself have no control over. I joined to serve my country and to better my life. Ive 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, thats 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 Bachelors degree in Architecture from the University of Arizona. You talk a big game when it comes to financial inequality, yet Im quite sure you have no idea what its 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 Americas 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 achieve 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 wasnt 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, Ive 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. Its 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 thats 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 youve been talking about ending the war and pulling the troops out, not understanding the blood sweat and tears that so many Americans and Iraqis 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 didnt bail on Iraq you were worried that you may not get re-elected and thats 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, youre unfit for duty as a Commander in Chief. You put your own agenda ahead of Americas 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 youve personally invested in that country was a promise to bail on them. However, people like me gave limbs, friends have died, and weve watched families destroyed by wars aftermath. Im not placing blame on you for the war, Im placing blame on you for destroying what weve worked so hard to build. Youre not a leader, youre a community organizer. A leader would have stood up regardless of the situation and put Americas 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 cant help but think of those poor kids who I gave water and toys to 11 years ago. Theyre probably 15 or 16 years old now, and I can only imagine what its 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 KIAs 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 youve wasted every death and every limb, its all for nothing. And to make matters worse you blame others for your failures Youre just another elitist rich thug whos pretended to live the rough life growing up in the inner-city. Youre 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. Youve 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
Posted on: Sun, 09 Mar 2014 16:55:55 +0000
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