Kokesh takes a page from the Obama campaign

Remember during the 2008 election, the Obama campaign had to put up a web page to fight the so-called mistruths about their candidate? Well, former or current IVAW member Adam Kokesh thought he ought to do it, too for his campaign in New Mexico. Let’s take a look at it;

1. “Adam Kokesh never served in Iraq and is a phony veteran.”

False. Despite all of the photos of me in Iraq that have been posted in a variety of places online including numerous credible news outlets, some people still think the best way to discredit me is to say that I never served in Iraq. So here is my favorite photo from my time in Iraq and you can see my final DD214 at the bottom of this page.

Yeah, I fought that battle for him the other day.

2. “Adam Kokesh protested his country in uniform.”

False. This is a gross distortion of a street theater action that I performed with a group of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans on Capitol Hill to raise awareness among lawmakers whom we felt were out of touch with the reality of what was going on in Iraq. To say that this was “protesting America” is not only untrue, but unamerican. Part of what makes America great is that we know the difference between our great country and our corrupt government, and we celebrate when the American people stand up to corrupt forces in our government. While reenacting parts of our experiences in Iraq, we made it clear that we were not wearing official uniforms and that we were only representing ourselves, not the DoD, or any other branch of the government. There had already been a Supreme Court case affirming the legality of what we were doing, and we had a permit from the US Capitol Police.

That’s not exactly true. He did protest in uniform and the Marine Corps downgraded his discharge as punishment.

3. “Adam Kokesh admitted to drug abuse on his blog.”

Distortion. When I got back from Iraq and was dealing with PTSD, I occasionally turned to alcohol. Because I had the help of a number of veterans, some of whom became members of the peer support group that I started for vets with PTSD and other readjustment issues, I was able to quit drinking entirely. I was also given a number of prescription drugs by the VA to deal with anxiety and used Xanax “as needed” to deal with stress. Because lots of veterans have dealt with similar issues and we have now lost more veterans to suicide than we have to combat in the Global War on Terror, I was motivated to address these issues head on and discuss them frankly on my blog. Fortunately, I was able to help many veterans as a result.

It’s not really a distortion. He removed the paragraph from his blog in which he admitted he mixed gin and Xanax when he began his run for Congress, but not before TAH took a screen shot of the blog. In fact, TSO offered to help Kokesh get treatment and Kokesh declined.

4. “Adam Kokesh is a communist, a socialist, and a liberal!”

False. I have always had a deep-seated belief in freedom and the US Constitution. This charge comes from the fact that in the course of my activism, I have worked with people who hold a wide range of beliefs, including some from the extremes on “both sides.” I am proud of the fact that I can work with people who disagree with me and stay true to my beliefs. Because I am running as a Republican, some have tried to use some of the liberals that I have worked with against me, but I am particularly proud of the fact that in the course of working with people who disagree with me, I was able to expose and even convert many of them to the philosophy of freedom! As your Congressman, I will be able to work with a wide range of people on pressing issues to further the ideals of freedom.

Well, if he’s not a socialist, he ought to stop marching with socialists. And hanging out with guys like Darnell Stephen Summers when he’s in Germany.

5. “Adam Kokesh brought a gun back from Iraq.”

True. It was a war souvenir that I brought back from Iraq in violation of general order 1A as issued by CENTCOM. When it was discovered by the Marines, I was immediately straightforward with my unit commander about what happened and I took my punishment like a Marine.

I’m glad he owned up to that finally, but he should tell the rest of the story – he was reduced in rank in November, 2006. He immediately volunteered to go back to Iraq and the Marine Corps, because of his conviction for the pistol, wisely declined his offer. By Spring 2007, he was an anti-war activist.

Numbers 6 and 7 are about whether he’s a Republican and whether or not he pays his taxes – I don’t really care and I’ll stick to stuff I can prove.

8. “Adam Kokesh used inappropriate language when addressing an officer.”

True. What is usually not mentioned is that I had already been discharged at the time and was no longer subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice. I did use inappropriate language in defending myself when the Marine Corps Mobilization Command threatened my right to speak out as a veteran. When I met the officer in person, I was able to make amends. Many veterans came to my support during that time. “Trying to hush up and punish fellow Americans for exercising the same democratic right we’re trying to instill in Iraq is not what we’re all about,” said Gary Kurpius, national commander of the 2.4 million-member Veterans of Foreign Wars. In some ways, I spoke from a deep frustration from not finding adequate justification for my life being on the line in Iraq. While many of them are not actively speaking out, when the vast majority of Iraq vets wanted us out years ago, I am glad that I did what I could to give our shared frustration a voice.

No, Kokesh hadn’t been discharged at the time he used inappropriate language. he was still in possession of a legitimate military ID card which he used to access a military base in Germany in May, 2007. That page has since been removed from the IVAW website [Ed. Note; Thanks to Toothless Dawg who found the new URL. But, IVAW forbids links from TAH (for some reason) you’ll have to paste this URL into your browser; http://www.ivaw.org/node/787], but I wrote about it on May 31st, 2007. I also wrote about the regulation that covered his infraction.

Finally, Kokesh included one of his DD214s. He used the third one because since he already admitted to the bust, that was the last discharge form he received as an Honorable discharge. But, it’s not his last discharge.

If you look at block 12b, it says the separation date for that period is November 30, 2006. However in block 6 it says his Reserve Obligation Termination Date is June 18, 2007 so even though he says that’s his last DD214, it’s not. There’s one out there for his final seven months which is not honorable.

I’m still waiting for his explanation of the racist posters he put up around GWU campus trying to frame a Conservative student group. Or his arrest when he blatantly ignored the laws in front of the Park Police in DC. Or the time he tried to bully us into silence.

Category: Antiwar crowd, Iraq Veterans Against the War, Usual Suspects