Political Hotsheet
By

Brian Montopoli /

CBS News/ July 14, 2009, 5:54 PM

Soldier Challenges Deployment, Citing Obama's Birth

(AP / CBS)
Here's a story tailor-made to burn up the Internet: A soldier is objecting to his deployment to Iraq because he believes President Obama wasn't born in the United States.

Conspiracy theories about where Mr. Obama was born abound in some quarters despite the fact that the Obama campaign posted the then-candidate's Hawaiian birth certificate online last year. Skeptics call the certificate a forgery, though their claims have been repeatedly debunked.

Among the doubters is conservative politician Alan Keyes, who has taken the question of the president's birth to court. Keyes believes Mr. Obama is not a "natural born citizen" and is thus ineligible for the presidency under the Constitution.

Now comes word that U.S. Army Maj. Stefan Frederick Cook, a reservist who lives in Florida, is challenging his deployment based on that argument. Reports the Ledger-Enquirer out of Columbus, Georgia: "Cook's lawyer, Orly Taitz, who has also challenged the legitimacy of Obama's presidency in other courts, filed a request last week in federal court seeking a temporary restraining order and status as a conscientious objector for his client."

Cook is arguing that because Mr. Obama isn't really the president (and thus isn't the commander in chief), the soldier "would be acting in violation of international law by engaging in military actions outside the United States under this President's command. ... simultaneously subjecting himself to possible prosecution as a war criminal by the faithful execution of these duties."

A hearing on Cook's request is set for Thursday morning.
© 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
91 Comments Add a Comment
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g_not_g says:
What passport did Mr. Obama use to travel to Pak?
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JJJJackson says:
When campaining he claimed he was born in Queen's hospital, but now he says he was born in Kapi'olani hospital, 49 years old and doesn't know where he was born? We cannot trust him to tell the truth on a simple matter of where he was born - and we are going to trust his ObamaCare program with our lives? What is wrong with this picture? This is Chicago Politics at it's best!
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JJJJackson says:
I believe he has a short form - do not need to be born in HI for this. The question is "What Hospital and who was the delivery doctor and attending staff?" Hospital records should be available for this? Maybe not in HI but available in Kenya? Why do we know more about Palin's family and the proposed impriorities than we know about the Commander in Chief????? Is this the change to believe in?
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armywife84 says:
First off let me say that I can see the truth and passion in both sides of this argument but let me say that it is completely ridiculous to believe that Obama was not thoroughly checked during the campaigning considering he was called a terrorist then.

What people need to understand is that there are different ways to prove one's citizenship. The big point that is being argued is that he hasn't produced a long copy birth record and I know that one is not needed to prove your citizenship. Other than the fact that the State of Hawaii has declared that all hard copies were destroyed in 2001 I have an example. My husband is currently stationed overseas in Korea and unfortunately due to a problematic pregnancy we were forced to have our daughter in a Korean hospital. She was not born on American soil so we had to go through steps to declare her a citizen and because of that she does not have the normal birth records other babies would have. Would you argue that she is not a natural born citizen due to that? Of course not, she is white child born into an ideal American family. People need to get out of their mind that Obama is a black man with Muslim family members, in the Oval office and concentrate on how is trying to fix our country.

I agree that the tax increase is unfair but he isn't the one who put us in deficit and he isn't the only one who decided it, he needs congressional support. Furthermore, Obama is not the President who addressed the country declaring war. As a military spouse I believe it is our duty to support any decision made by all of our Presidents- past, present, and future. Somewhere along the line this soldier has lost sight of why he took the oath, however I won't judge him, military life is hard. Don't condemn a good man who has served a good career and fought the good fight just because he made one bad decision fueled by a finicky, childish media.
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ericjohnvillalobos says:
SHOW ME A DEMONCRAP AND I'LL SHOW YOU A CROOK
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ericjohnvillalobos says:
WHAT YOU CANNOT SEE IS OBAMA'S TRANSPARENCY
WHAT YOU CANNOT SEE IS OBAMA'S TRANSPARENCY
WHAT YOU CANNOT SEE IS OBAMA'S TRANSPARENCY
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ladypirate2 replies:
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I see it very clearly! I just wish everyone else could! In fact I wish they had seen through him before the election! He is deceiver and he has the whole nation deceived! I think soon, though, his true identity and self will begin to be evident and people will see what he really is and they will regret voting for him.
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liberalrapture says:
This article - like many others in the Main stream media state that Obama produced a birth certificate. This is simply not true. Obama produced an ABSTRACT. This abstract even says that it is an abstract. A long Form birth certificate has never been produced by Obama or any of his people.

Please stop misleading people on this basic fact.
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old1oncnet says:
Cook & Tiatz are now national heroes. If Cook can be allowed to disregard an order because the military does not want to challenge the eligibility of the Magic "0", what next? Can every men and woman in the military refuse any order given by any officer in the military by simply stating that we have no legal acting Commander in Chief? How do you keep order when no one is legally in charge? This is either the start of the solution to the illegal President problem or the end to the American Military Machine. I think it is time for the SCOTUS to finally take a look at our ?President's? hidden past and standing as a British Citizen from Birth. The 6 worst months in American history may well be close to an end.
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cjh1452000 says:
It'll be a great day when the Satanic Communist Muslim is forced to show his real documentation. Who knows what his past is really like. I think we've all been lied to, people. Flame if you want, but something evil is swallowing up this world and this man is the apex of this reality.
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mattcat25 says:
what? a troop doesn't support the troops???
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