An Open Letter to Khizr Khan July 31, 2016
Posted by Chris Mark in Uncategorized.Tags: Army, DNC, Humayan, Kahn, Khizr, Muslims, Navy, Trump, USMC
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Please read “An Apology to Mr. Khan, Mrs. Smith & Gold Star Families”
Dear Mr. Khan,
I want to preface this letter by stating that I respect your son’s sacrifice for this great nation. By all accounts, he is a true hero that sacrificed himself in service to our country. For that I am thankful.
As a veteran, I watched your comments at the Democratic National Convention with a mixture of sadness, and anger. The United States has a military comprised of volunteers. Every single member has made the conscious choice to join the military and serve. There is not a single service member who has been forced into service. It is important for all service members (and apparently, their families) to understand that service to this great nation does not imbue one with special privileges or rights. I found your comments troubling when you said: “Have you ever been to Arlington cemetery? Go look at the graves of brave patriots who died defending the United States of America. You will see all faiths, genders and ethnicities. You have sacrificed nothing and no one.”
Does it matter whether Mr. Trump has sacrificed “…nothing and no one?”…has Ms. Clinton “..sacrificed” for this nation? How about Mr. Obama? Your comment stating that Mr. Trump “…has sacrifice no one” is alarming. Are you intimating that YOU sacrificed? Sir, your son willingly sacrificed himself. As a father I cannot imagine the pain you must feel but his sacrifice is his own. He was not forced to serve.
I am troubled that you would allow a party that has little more than contempt for the US Service Member to parade you into the DNC to denounce Donald Trump. Did you watch when protesters at the DNC booed and heckled Medal of Honor recipient Capt. Florent Groberg? Did you notice your party interrupting the moment of silence for slain police officers? Your own hypocrisy in not denouncing these acts and instead using the DNC as a platform to make a political point is disgraceful. The simple fact is that whether one served or sacrificed does not give greater power to their statements. One vote is as valuable as another. That sir, is why our Country is great. Your condemnation of one person for a statement while standing idly as your party disparages veterans and police officers is the height of hypocrisy.
To conflate the need to prevent potential terrorists from entering our country with the belief that ‘all Muslims’ should be banned is simply wrong and disingenuous. As a reminder, Mr. Trump said: ” “Until we are able to determine and understand this problem and the dangerous threat it poses, our country cannot be the victims of horrendous attacks by people that believe only in Jihad, and have no sense of reason or respect for human life,” The irony of your son’s own death at the hands of these very people in Iraq should not be ignored. I have little doubt that your son would have recognized the need to protect our country from these very people. In fact, he held is own troops back so that he could check on a suspicious car. Your son understood sacrifice and how to protect “his people”…’his soldiers’….’his fellow Americans’…
As you continue to make the media circuit and bask in the glow of affection cast upon you by a party that has little regard for your son’s own sacrifice, and veterans in general, I would ask you to consider your comments and your position more closely.
Respectfully,
Chris Mark
US Marine and Navy Veteran.
Global Security, Privacy, & Risk Management 
Semper Fi
Chris Mark, a dispicable statement.
funny you left out the part that when trump had a chance to defend his country , the little bitch put his tail between his legs and ran home to mommy and daddy using 5 medical deferments to do it! have to say that while i thank you for your service, quite honestly your letter made me sick!
Trumps going to WIN anyway!
After reading this I must say that I do not appreciate your service and why should I, like you so eloquently pointed out, no one is forced to serve. Actually, considering the callous nature of your comment’s towards this family, I think the country would benefit if you were to deny that you ever served.
Do you have a life? You have commented what? 5 times? I could not care less what you think about my service.
Thank god for the electoral college. The end.
Scott I totally agree with you…
Chris Mark, that was a dispicable statement.
Thank you for reading and taking the time to comment.
Well said chris mark well said… i couldnt agree more….
Hi I’m a Vietnam vet I did three tours and I can remember coming home after my first tour landing in the USA I stepped off the plane Thinking I made it I’m back then I was walking to baggage to get my things and a long the was a person spit on me and called me a baby killer I knew they were wrong and I was very mad and I wanted to fight and I remembered what my dad told he was a WW II vet you serve to protect our way of life and the freedom we have and I watch both people running and I watch both and I can not Vote for Trump there just to much hate in that he says so yes I am a Hillary supported but that is what make our country so great it supports all ideals I know that I’m just one vote one vet one person but I’m me and you got to be you
Very well said, with dignity and.grace.
I have not made up my mind for 2016 so I read a lot of what our Military Personnel write.
Thank you and God Bless you. May God keep you safe.
Agreed.
Calvin Hicks , you blocked your post so no one could reply to your statement so I will say it one line down:
You Mr. Hicks would rather vote for someone who has committed acts of hate against her own countrymen and sacrificed UNNECESSARY the lives of soldiers like yourself… instead of standing behind someone who is aggressive with his statements but has his heart in the right place, IN AMERICA , for someone instead who is a guaranteed fail on American culture, American strength, Americans love of god, HILLARY CLINTON HAS NONE OF THESE TRAITS!! SHE IS THE OPPRESSIVE GOVERNMENT ESTABLISHMENT THE “NEW WORLD ORDER” IN THE FLESH!! YOUR CHILDREN and MINE… WILL BEAR HER BURDEN THAT SHE PLACES UPON THIS COUNTRY AND ITS PEOPLE NOT HERS OR HERS ALIKE!! WAKE UP! WAKE UP AMERICAN SOLDIERS AND CITIZENS THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE OUR COUNTRY NOT FOR THE POLITICIANS MONETARY GAIN AND THE CLINTONS ARE THE WORST OFFENDERS IN AMERICAN HISTORY!! GREEDY SELFISH HATEFULNESS IF THATS WHAT YOU SEE OPEN YOUR EYES… ITS NOT TRUMP ITS HILLARY IN DISGUISE!!
Truth sometimes seems despicable. But it’s still truth.
Bullshit!! What is Dispicable, is that the man supports a Decades long Criminal Enterprise(HRottenC) In her Quest to destroy what was, before her husband was elected, the Greatest Nation on earth!!
I applaud Chris Mark’s Statements, and as a fellow Marine, I can say with “Absolute Certainty” that Mr. Mark is a Man of Honor!!
That is something no Hillary Supporter can even fathom!!
Now, Mr. Troll, go crawl back under your rock!!
-Mark I’m not a Veteran, but I am letting you speak for me. And you couldn’t of got it Any better than that. Perfect Written explanation. I think his Son would of been Very Angry at his, Paid $$ parents. Hope they use that Blood -Money and send it to the families of the Benghazi victims. GREAT JOB MARK.
apparantly de BACA lava … you are dispicable…… because you support this speech made , that was written, promoted and coached for POLITICAL GAIN BY the most corrupt character ever to run for president…. it is one thing to BE DESPICABLE … it is another to say something despicable
….
I think yours is the despicable one,not Chris’s.
What was so dispicable? He told the truth and the democrats paraded him across the stage simply because he is muslim and hellery rotten clinton was responsible for his son. She and obama were the ones running guns to Syria.
WOW. That shows how ignorant you are. Cpt Kahn’s death occurred in 2004. Before Obama became president and Clinton was still a senator.
Chris Mark said what ‘OVER’ half of America feels & thinks. Gilbert C’ de Baca you and Mr. Khan are despicable people. Most of us saw through Mr. Khans phony speech as he was spewing his hateful anti-American rhetoric that we hear daily from Democrats. The U.S Constitution doesn’t give Mr. Khan or anyone else outside of the U.S the right of entry into America. Its at the whim of “We the People” and it’s a privileged not a right. Mr. Khan (or is that Mr. con) needs to read the Constitution himself. And let me reiterate what Chris Mark pointed out in that Mr. Khan didn’t sacrifice a thing, that his son did the sacrificing. BTW, Mr.Khan didn’t want his son serving at all. At least one positive thing came out of Mr. Khan’s failed ‘con job’ is that he has been exposed for the hypocrite he is and is looked upon as shameful & a disgrace by those who have lost a son or daughter fighting his hate-filled kind. Mr. Khans only goal was to cause further division between Americans. I did learn an important & valuable lesson: ‘Just because a person becomes a U.S citizen doesn’t make them an American’. We have enough division among ourselves without outsiders coming here trying to purposely stir the pot with their hate. We now know Mr. Khan is associated with the hate & terrorist group ‘muslim brotherhood’. Now that I’ve said my peace & spoke up for millions & millions of others that feel as I do, I bid you a good nite.
Sincerely, (a Military wife who willingly for 35 year paid her dues to a Country she loves dearly. Whose family [maternal & paternal on both my mother & fathers side] came to America a 150+ yrs before there was a “United States of America” and has sacrificed far more than Mr. Khan.) Teresa
Mr. Khan, isn’t it that what could be considered Islam’s peaceful era is in the old verses that describe Mohammad’s time in Mecca?
That this peaceful era was only about 13 years?
That the newer verses are the more hostile and aggressive ones?
That by Islam’s principle of abrogation, the newer verses have supplanted the older ones?
That by the same principle, “Islam is a religion of peace” is almost 14,000 years out of date?
If so, then isn’t any Muslim who denies terror ‘kafir’ (unbeliever)?
Now tell me, Mr. Khan, do you deny that terror is still a vital part of your religion? Do you deny that non-Muslims are right to believe so?
Are you now caught between a rock and a hard place for using your son’s death to ostensibly defend your faith while being an obsequious Clinton lap dog?
You literally condensed the first 23 years of Islam (incorrectly) to try to prove that Islam promotes terror. I wonder if you have ever read the Quran. I am a Muslim and I deny terror, just like 99% of all Muslim’s. Sorry to rain on your hate parade.
These people may consider themselves Muslim, but in reality they are not. True Muslims not only go through the motions…. Wearing of Muslim Approved Attire, reading the Quran, praying seven times a day in the general direction of Mecca… They also adhere to the LEGAL SYSTEM known as Sharia Law which is the entire basis of the dangerous cult known as Islam. One of the main tenants of Sharia Law is “Kill the infidel (non believer, eg anyone that does not and will not convert to Islam).”. That, no true Muslim can refute. Another tenant of Islam is, “Deceive the infidel to steal their power, but, do not befriend the infidel. “. This is what the current President, Barack H. Obama has done consistently throughout his almost eight years in the White House. Don’t believe he’s Muslim, READ HIS BOOK “The Audacity Of Hope” wherein he says bluntly, “I shall stand by my brothers in Islam should the political winds shift.”.
The fact that the DNC choose to parade Mr. Kahn and his wife before the public and have them speak up against Donald Trump is disgraceful. As a veteran, I am genuinely disgusted that the Kahns chose to be used by the DNC for their own self-serving needs. I salute their son for volunteering his life to protect this nation, it’s principals, it’s Constitution, and it’s people from the encroachment of the Islamic Caliphate. But, his parents deserve only the disdain that they received in the Open Letter above.
Christopher, obviously you never ACTUALLY read his book because you completely screwed up the wording g and context of that quote.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/coilofrage.asp
thanks for the link. i have not read the book.
Pretty sure he hasn’t cracked a book in his life and gets all his information from right-wing bigoted conspiracy-theory whackjobs.
You are probably right…those 1000+ books in my library are for show. Huntington, Hume, Simon…I have no idea who they are. How did I managed to graduate college..get an MBA and be working on a doctorate?
Did you actually read the book The Audacity of Hope? Because that’s not what it says. Not on page 261, not anywhere else. It also does not say, “I will stand with [the] Muslims [against Americans] should the political winds shift” as I’ve often seen it misquoted.
I cannot post a photo here in WordPress comments, but you can search the book at Google Books or any of a number of other online services, or, if you don’t trust those, go to any bookstore or library and pick the physical book up in your own physical hands, turn to the physical Page 261, and read the sentences and the words that comprise them and the letters that comprise them in the physical ink printed onto the physical paper with your own physical eyeballs and see for yourself.
What Obama actually wrote (in the aftermath of 9/11, when there had already been a massacre at a Sikh temple here in the USA just because the murderer thought that the Sikhs were Muslim [they aren’t — not even close]) was that he would stand with Arab and Pakistani Americans (many Arab-Americans and Pakistani-Americans are not Muslim [quite a few are Christians], and indeed many fled their homelands and came here for that very reason, due to Muslim persecution of Christians and other non-Muslims in their homeland.
So, you see, someone made up that fake quote from the book. It’s not even taken out-of-context (which would be bad enough — did you know know that the KJV Holy Bible says this four-word clause, intact and unbroken, a full dozen times: “… there is no God….”? It really does, if you take it out of context [for instance, Psalm 14:1 & 53:1 both begin, “
The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God.” See how that works?). Those words in the quote you gave and found in other anti-Obama blogs and memes and such are simply not the words on that page or anywhere else in the book. Not even out-of-context. Just plain made up.Why does your side feel the need to make up stuff like that if the truth were actually on your side?
Very well written Chris. These so-called Veterans on here condemning you are merely Hillary puppets. They support the wife of a draft dodger. By the way I did three tours in Vietnam and a year in Desert Storm. I retired from the military in 1994 after 23 years of faithful service and I would like to tell Mario to keep his liberal trap shut. Trump had nothing to do with Kahn’s son’s death and Kahn had no business attacking him on public television.
ol’ Gilbert never served.
Thank you Chris, for your service and for echoing the thoughts of service members everywhere.
Mr. Mark, I salute you for giving us the clarification.
you missed the point of mr. khan’s speech.
he and ghazala gave this country the life of their child. they did so by bringing him here and raising him to embrace and emulate our values, values which shaped his future and helped to determine his fate. that was their sacrifice. but it was a willing sacrifice for a country they very much appear to love. his admonishment of trump is not about trump’s lack of sacrifice in the literal sense. it is about trump’s vitriolic rhetoric that the khans are the object of, being both immigrants and muslim. that they are somehow less american because of these two things, despite shedding their blood for this country, while trump, who dodged the draft and who’s children haven’t served, considers himself more entitled to being called an american.
and have you heard trump’s response? he insinuated that ghazala wasn’t allowed to speak, that there was something “off” about khizr. instead of simply saying that he appreciated their sacrifice he tried to discredit them. do you condone his responses to this gold star family?
this is not a partisan issue. it’s an american issue.
the leader of the armed services can not denigrate the parents of fallen soldiers, no matter what they say. his (or her) shoulders have to be broad enough to carry the weight of the nation’s debt to those families. if he (or she) can’t honor their sacrifice, he (or she) can’t be trusted to care enough about the soldiers lives to avoid putting them in peril to begin with. the job, first and foremost is about diplomacy to avoid war, to avoid spilling american blood.
by the by, I’m a democrat who feels deeply indebted to every single person who volunteers to serve (including yourselves, thank you), and am mad as hell that vets are suffering record suicide rates, that the va is woefully underfunded and most importantly that we don’t pay our soldiers a decent wage while they are serving and provide sufficient job training/career placement when they resume civilian life. we have to do better, our politicians have to do better, and it starts with honoring all americans and building from there.
mr. khan’s speech was about being recognized as an american and building from there.
Great reply!
This is exactly the point. Allot of people fail to or don’t want to see this.
Thank you posting this. Hopefully people read and understand that Trump is touting nothing but vitriol. He plays with people’s fears, their shortcomings and short sightings. I appreciate your service and served myself. But when I took the oath, I promised to protect and serve all not just the few, regardless of what their status or beliefs are.
Trump truly is working to separate and segregate all Americans.
“United we stand, divided we fall!”
Obama has already done the separating of America. He has divided this country, and you will get more of that with Hillary. When Hillary was in the White House she despised the military.
I agree with this open letter. Mr. Kahn was used, just like the illegal was used and the mother’s of the dead blacks were used. They are political pawns. Sorry if the truth hurts.
A very good reply zp5036. And the boos and jeers came from the “Bernie or bust” supporters, many not really Democrats. The boos and jeers were audible during Gen. Allen’s speech and barely audible during speech by Florent Groberg, both supporting Hillary Clinton. Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez heard more cheers than jeers and wasn’t bothered by the jeers. And if Chris Mark knew her history, he would undoubtedly criticize her too.
Please enlighten me on Valdez. On that note, I find it curious that when people in attendance at the DNC boo…they are not “really Democrats”…so..you are saying not to paint all dems with one brush? Interesting observation.
You’re an idiot.
“his admonishment of trump is not about trump’s lack of sacrifice in the literal sense. it is about trump’s vitriolic rhetoric that the khans are the object of, being both immigrants and muslim.”
Yes, because Trump hates immigrants.. That’s why he married one lol.
The only ‘immigrants’ that Trump has a problem with are ILLEGAL ones. Why can’t ignorant people like you see the difference?
He has NO problems with Muslims. The issue is that right now across the world there are TONS of radical jihadist muslims that are committing acts of terror.
And Trump’s comment was that we need to put a TEMPORARY ban on it until we can improve our vetting process and figure out what the hell is going on.
Obama and Hillary are trying to bring tens of thousands of Syrian refugees in. The problem with that is the fact that there is NO vetting process in place. We have no idea how to distinguish peaceful refugees from radicalized terrorists that are sneaking in with them.
The head of Homeland Security and the CIA both affirmed this.
That’s a big freaking problem.
>>>Yes, because Trump hates immigrants.. That’s why he married one lol.>>>
Actually, he married two!.
Ivana Trump is also an import.
Excellent, thank you.
An excellent comment, Chris. I can endorse it as a former UK serviceman. And seeing how the Democrats are denigrating current USA forces, indeed, almost emasculating them, is saddening. As to Gilbert’s comment…. I cannot understand it. Take care.
Well said bro
Outstanding young man. Thoughtful, respectful and most of all, truthful.
Chris Mark, as a Veteran, who Enlisted, and RE-Enlisted in the U.S. Navy during the war in Vietnam, I comprehend your remarks. I understand the thoughts and feelings that the elder Khan’s comments give rise to, at least for me. One other thing that I think you might like to know, is something that my friend, Sherine ElGammal, who lives in Egypt, and has been a steady source of information regarding the events and personalities in the Middle East. She mentioned within the last 12 hours, in a FB post, that the elder KHAN, is a member of the Muslim Brotherhood who is here to advance their cause. I trust her, and her information has proven to be accurate. Sherine, AND another friend who lives in Egypt, Cheri Nocita Berens, have provided information to the public, through FB, that contradicts the U.S. media, and Obama’s Admin. reports of the events in Syria and elsewhere.. We KNOW that neither Obama Or Hillary Clinton can be trusted. In my observations, most of what they say or do is nothing more than a DISTRACTION from their real agenda. God Bless You, and Keep You,
How many recent attacks in the U.S. were committed by non-citizens?
….a blanket ban on one group is just going to inflame passions. This long war will never be wob by shooting and bombing alone.
I agree. Well said.
Thank you Chis Mark for saying what so many of us would love to say (and actually be heard). Sure wish you’d hit the campaign trail with Trump!!! So many more people need to hear your letter, in person! May God Bless you, and thank you so very much for your service.
Only one thing to say. Being the father of a US Marine Corps vet, a US Navy vet and being a US Army vet myself, it makes me sick to the core that this totally twisted man is using the heroic sacrifice his son gave for his/our country to garner support for the most corrupt, vile, evil, lying candidate to ever run for president of the US and to try and demean Donald Trump!!! If I could say something to his face, this is what I’d say, “You sir are an absolute fraud and a piss poor example of a father!! You have exploited the death of your own son to further your political position and that of hillary’s, and for that you should be absolutely ashamed of yourself. No father who truly loves his son/daughter would ever think about using the death of their child to further any cause unless it was for the betterment of man kind, and what you have done is sir is absolutely the opposite!!”
Well said
Using your own son death as political agenda.Is not respectable behavior for (Goldstar parents).
US Army Veteran
Mr Khan is as delusional as the majority of Democrats. He probably burned the flag that draped his Son’s coffin – as would any other Democrat. I am saddened by the loss of another service member but realize that sacrifices must be made, and only those who love this country, can make their own decisions.
I am glad that Mr Khan’s Son chose to serve the United States Military with Honor and Distinction – unlike his father who is an embarrassment to all immigrants who seek the American Dream.
Chris Mark, thank you for your service to our Country.
Sgt Steven Villarreal – FOAD, you disrespectful POS.
Semper Fi
Casting the aspersion that Mr. Khan probably “burned the flag that draped his son’s coffin” is a dishonorable statement. Unless you know that for sure, you should keep such trash to yourself, and definitely should not sign off with Semper Fi, denigrating your fellow Marines with such wild and irresponsible speculations.
So very offended by your broad all encompassing statement, “he probably burned the flag……as would any other Democrat.” How can you make such a statement? I’m a registered Democrat and never in a million years would I burn our flag, and neither would any of my Democrat friends. It is so ignorant to make such a statement-no political party, religion, culture or citizenship is “all-or-nothing” and most everyone falls somewhere in the middle of a big spectrum.
I have numerous friends who are Dems and I agree. I don’t believe they are all flag burners.
Dear Chris Mark,
Did you know Trump dodged the Vietnam draft on multiple times ?
In a 1997 interview with shock jock Howard Stern, Trump talked about how he had been “lucky” not to have contracted diseases when he was sleeping around.
“I’ve been so lucky in terms of that whole world. It is a dangerous world out there. It’s scary, like Vietnam. Sort of like the Vietnam-era,” Trump said in a video that resurfaced Tuesday on Buzzfeed, “It is my personal Vietnam. I feel like a great and very brave soldier.”
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/02/16/draft-dodger-trump-said-sleeping-around-was-my-personal-vietnam.html
Trust me..I would love nothing more than a complete ‘do over’ for this election. When our two only options are those we are currently considering it is not a good place…
Two options? I suggest that you take off your political blinders and vote for Gary Johnson!
http://shoebat.com/2016/07/31/what-the-media-is-not-telling-you-about-the-muslim-who-attacked-donald-trump-he-is-a-muslim-brotherhood-agent-who-wants-to-advance-sharia-law-and-bring-muslims-into-the-united-states/
you gotta love this guy. thanks for removing the matyr’s sticker from his for head
A man supports his son joining and serving in the military, and loses his son, and you say that isn’t a sacrifice? I don’t understand how you can say that to a parent. The parent suffered a loss. The child he raised, loved, cared for and then gave to the country is dead. You much too casually dismiss his loss and sacrifice. Forget about the politics, and respect the man’s loss. Just as the lady that blames Hillary for her son’s death in Benghazi should get latitude for her anger. Have a heart man!
Agreed, thank you
That was a sad response to a father. You are apparently blind to the lies and bigotry of Trump and Palin. I cannot believe anyone supports Trump, I feel like people are not really listening to what he says. Trump really is oblivious to what is going to be expected of him. I am a republician and veteran and I am extremely alarmed by what’s has happened to the republician party during this and recent elections. What is even more alarming is your letter is well written but shows a total lack of what truly happened and little understanding of what is becoming of Lincoln’s party. I feel sorry for you!
Please read my ‘Open Letter to Sarah Palin’.
Thank you, Chris Mark, for such a POWERFUL letter! You have so eloquently expressed my own sentiments, and perhaps the sentiments of thousands more. Do not allow hateful negative comments to cause you to waver – remain strong. Bless you for writing and calling it like it is.Thank you for your service to this country Sir.
I find anyone that would question the Khans going to the and speaking at the convention reprehensible. Unless you have paid the price of losing a loved one in are war, you have not right to question their thoughts about the American government. You should be ashamed of your selves. USN Vietnam veteran.
.
I politely disagree. If someone politicize the loss of the loved one then it invites discussion and debate over the commentary. Thanks for commenting.
@ChrisAMark Your letter is disturbing to me. Your comment “Are you intimating that YOU sacrificed?” is insulting when stating the only sacrifice made was by his son. You would have a different view if it were his son or sibling. Mr. Kahn was used by the DNC but that does not give anyone the right to downplay the loss for the benefit of the Republican Party either. Mr. Kahn’s statement about Arlington and Trump were valid. Trump has not had a loss, and his statement on ABC stating his business success was a sacrifice in comparison to the loss of a son is unbelievable! To support that thought process lacks any empathy. Makes me question his true feelings about Veterans or whether they are just words spoken to get elected. If he knew the true meaning of sacrifice, Mr. Trump would not have answered the way he did or would have apologized for his remarks. I do not like people being used by politicians to garner support but both major parties do it. If You wish to attack, attack the DNC but give Mr. Kahn his grief outlet to deal with his loss that I pray you will never have to understand!
I lost my brother in Vietnam in 1968 and he was buried on my 13th birthday. The impact of ‘his’ sacrifice was felt by the family and not a day goes by I don’t think of him. While I realize current military service is voluntary, that wasn’t always the case. I still have my draft card!
Thank you for your service, but don’t use it to exploit your political views either!
Thank you
Thank you for taking the time to comment. This is how to comment. Polite, professional and on point. I am sorry for your loss.
I believe in science.
Chris, I 100% support your view. I watched the father of the Muslim fallen soldier speak at the DNC. I am grateful for their sons sacrifice BUT in no way did this prove any point the DNC was trying to make. The only reason Trump is suggesting a temporary ban on terrorists is the simple no brainer fact that they shedding blood throughout the world and shouting death to America. Terrorists have killed in the name of Jihad and in the U.S.A. I simply don’t understand why anyone, including Mr. And Mrs. Khan object to a temporary ban. It is obvious that many facets of our goverment is incompetent to say the least. Emails are being hacked, there are people on the no fly list that shouldn’t be, while others are not on it that should be. I have been watching and reading various news from both liberal and conservative and to my knowledge they are all reporting this speech by Mr. Khan as powerful. I am dumbfounded how and why they didn’t view it in the manner you did. I commend you and pray that your letter will get much needed media attention. I sent the link to Fox News in hopes they will read it on the air. I would love to see them request an interview. My father was a Navy Chief so maybe that’s how and why I immediately knew this speach was wrong. Thank you so much for your service to our Nation and your letter that spoke the truth.
A temporary ban on “terrorists”? And who presumably would those be? Will all white immigrants from Europe also be screened heavily or just the brown and black immigrants that belong to the Islamic faith? What about Eastern Europeans from Bosnia, Albania, Turkey, etc? Since the majority of those people are Caucasian Muslim’s, will they also be vetted heavily? My parents came here to the states in the ’90’s. I was born here in the states and have lived here my whole life. The idea that people like my parents could be kept from coming to this country because they are classified by people like Trump and yourself as “terrorist’s” is mortifying. And oh yeah, it is against the 1st amendment.
Mr Khan, serving in military is voluntary and they knows what they are up to.
Mr. Mark, you asked the question “What has Hillary Clinton sacrificed? What about Obama?” What about them? THEY were not the one who claimed to have sacrificed, Mr. Mark. TRUMP was! Mr. Khan’s remarks were in response to Mr. Trump’s. Not Ms. Clintons or President Obama’s. So there would be no reason to ask what THEY had sacrificed! It’s clear that your “open letter” was simply the response of someone who supports the Republican Party and wanted to criticize the comments of someone who spoke on behalf of the Democratic Party. And simply because our military service men and women “willingly” go off to fight for their country does NOT mean that when any of them lose their lives that their families do not “sacrifice” anything! Shame on you for suggesting they do not!
Overall, this is the emotional response of a partisan. It avoids the issue that Mr. & Mrs. Khan addressed at the DNC, which is that Trump has repeatedly characterized Muslims as the enemies of America and proposed that they be banned from the United States. placed under surveillance, or tagged like animals “until we can figure out what’s going on.” I don’t think he necessarily believes this, I’m not sure he believes anything, but he knows how to play to peoples’ fears. Mr. & Mrs. Khan offered a compelling counterpoint to Trump’s assertion that Muslims are the enemies of America. Their son, a Muslim, volunteered for service in Iraq, and sacrificed his life there, and is buried alongside other patriots of all religions and ethnicities at Arlington cemetery. The response by the author doesn’t address that, instead focusing on whether Mr. & Mrs.Khan had actually sacrificed anything, amazingly proposing that since they weren’t dead and their son volunteered to serve they hadn’t really sacrificed when they lost their son. Even if the statement had some merit (it doesn’t), it wouldn’t address the issue at hand, which is that Capt. Khan would not have even been allowed in the United States if Trump had his way, meaning that Capt. Khan could not have proved by his sacrifice that there is at least one Muslim who was not an enemy of America. And further, that if Trump were successful in implementing his absurd ban Capt. Khan could not have shown the spirit of patriotism and sacrifice that Mr. Trump failed to display when he was wearing a costume uniform marching around a military school. Yes, he did say that was his service. Mr. Mark I’m sure you’ll instantly imagine some snide comment in response to this, but please tell me how Mr. & Mrs. Khan failed to make the point that not all Muslims are enemies of America, and that therefore Mr. Trump’s proposed ban on Muslims does anything other than appeal to fear and bigotry. Try to use reason and logic, if you can.
“Try to use reason and logic, if you can.” I will not engage with you any further. Thank you for commenting and have a nice night.
Eloquently stated, Dr. Cox. As I read Mr. Mark’s “Open Letter”, the very same reasoning was going through my mind. The Khans represent thousands upon thousands of hard-working, loyal Americans who pay taxes and are productive citizens. Increasing numbers of them are our armed service men and women. I find Mr. Mark’s letter self-serving. He mentions an “Open Letter” to Sarah Palin in addition to this one. I’m curious as to the number of “Open Letters” he has penned. His lecture on what Mr. Khan and his wife should do/feel exacts the tone of an educated bully. To tell Mr. Khan, unequivocally, that he and his family did not sacrifice is the ultimate in hubris. Who is this man (Marine or not) to tell a family who has lost a child in war that it was not their sacrifice? Walk a mile in their shoes before you chastise, Mr. Mark!
I noticed, Dr. Cox, that you posed a question to Mr. Mark in your closing sentences. I was curious to read his response. Unlike those who have agreed with his position and who have received specific comment, not only did you not receive an answer to your question, you got a sophmoric repetition of a sentence you had written. If that wasn’t bad enough, you were summarily dismissed by Mr. Mark when he stated “Inwill not engage with you any longer.” Cheap exit but, unfortunately, it was what I expected.
Thank you, Dr. Cox, for pointing out that there could be and, as I believe, was a different and far less cynical slant to Mr. Khan’s rationale for speaking at the convention. No one who has commented here doubted the sincerity of the mother who spoke about the loss of her son in Benghazi. Odd, don’t you think? She was sharing her grief, honoring her son in the best way she knew how, just as Mr. Khan was. Was she being exploited? It doesn’t appear Mr. Mark and the many who agree with him think so. The hypocritical double standard is blatantly obvious. If Mr. Khan was Mr. Thompson, born and bred in Kearney, Nebraska, I just wonder what Mr. Mark would have said in that event.
I would have said the same thing. You can read my comments on Sarah Palin.
“..sacrificed” for this nation? How about Mr. Obama?-
“President Barack Obama is the target of more than 30 potential death threats a day and is being protected by an increasingly over-stretched Secret Service. He is the most threatened President in history.”
Chris Mark, you are a poor marksman with your accusations.
“…a party that has little more than contempt for the US Service Member”
You must be joking. I recall gathering funds for my cousin and her husband to buy proper body armor for Bush’s false war in Iraq. We all know and love our military men and women.
It is disingenuous and un-patriotic of you to suggest otherwise.
You continue to divide American’s based on ideology. How is this different from ISIS? You are doing their job for them.
“United” states of America.
This letter is right on point ! Democrats have showed gross negligence towards all Americans not to mention disrespectful!!!!!
Sorry, can’t go along with you on this one, especially since you keep it politicized. The Democrats may be using vets and veteran families, as well as the military, for political gain, but that’s a game that the Republicans invented. I spent the better part of my military career believing the Republicans to be a party that cared about service members. They don’t, especially when it comes to caring for those who return from combat in need of medical care. And this Congress, the Republican-led House, is responsible for gutting the DoD’s funding for many things to include the benefits that sacrificing service members have earned. Finally it shouldn’t be lost on Khan that his son was lost because of a war that W., not Obama, got this country involved in. It was a war based on false premises, false intelligence, and was a poorly planned enterprise that is ultimately what cost those thousands of precious lives, including Humayun Khan’s.
As for Khizr Khan, he’s no partisan. He expressed admiration for McConnell and Ryan, as well as the Republicans in general, when he said they form “half of the political process of this great country that the rest of the world looks at enviously, and learns from”. He’s merely trying to state that he has a vested interest, as a Muslim living in the United States, to ensure that Trump’s ideas don’t run their course. Otherwise, as he rightly points out, neither he or his son would even be in this country. Trump has backpedaled on Muslim immigration statements, as he has on many things, when people call him on the absurdity of what he’s proposing. He has no plan, no idea what he’s proposing. He’s shooting off at the mouth, and it sickens me that’s all he needs to do to convince people that’s what makes a president.
i disagree with you Mr. Mark just as I thank you for your service. Mr and Mrs. Khan if you are reading this open letter written by Mr Mark please know this : there are countless men and women in this country, a place that your family and i love deeply, who disagree with Mr. Mark. Your gold star family has given your son to your country to protect other young Americans. Thank you. We honor your sacrifice , We weep for your loss.
Chris Mark…one question. Do you want Donal Teump to be your Commander in Chief?
no. but i prefer him over clinton. believe me…i wish we had better options
Perhaps you should search the meaning of “sacrifice” before spewing your Trump infused rhetoric. The arrogance in your open letter and, even more so, in response to comments reveals you’ve been to the Kool-Aid barrel one too many times. Because you signed your open letter with, US Marine and Navy Veteran, were you disillusioned into believing you have the right to pontificate to these people about anything regarding their son’s death? Your pomposity and ignorance are equivalent to the man you support. Your disrespect and vitriol towards this family are disgraceful. Mr. and Mrs. Kahn, I’m sure, have considered their comments and position a lot closer than you have of your own integrity and respect for others. And if you are closing with, respectfully, you might want to look up its meaning.
i have a constitutional right to comment on public statements. if they dont want commentary they should not politicize the issue.
Mr. Mark,
I will give you credit for treating Mr. Khan’s decreased son with respect as you speak of his sacrifice. Thank you for that. With that being said I literally hung my head in shame as your fellow american as I read your message/letter to Mr. Khan. The fact that you would add more grief and pain on two loving parents that are feeling a pain that is unimaginable and will feel that pain every single day for the rest of their entire lives. Can you search your heart and imagine the sorrow they must endure and you would write this letter to him to shame him? I am in total shock that did that. Place yourself in their shoes for a moment and imagine this happening to your family. Can you imagine the anger that you would feel if someone hurt your mother and father in this manner?
Many polls were taken after Mr. Khan spoke. Did you know that americans (both parties were polled), listed Mr. Khans address as one of the highest agreed with, and most honest heartfelt and honest of all platform speeches?
I respect your right to your opinions and voting choices although I totally agree with Mr. Khan’s questions to Donald Trump. He only highlighed the facts that reflect Mr. Trumps’s shortcomings.
In closing please know I’m not just someone that has a lot to say with no chance of experiencing Mr. Mrs. Khan’s pain. Many of my family members haved served in the armed forces and our son is a police officer serving in our nation’s capital. We pray everyday for his safety. Yes, his son volunteered to serve but I think Mr. Khan was letting americans know that our President must be someone qualified to ensure that the best decisions and choices are made to PROTECT our soldiers and give them the greatest chance of returning home to their families. Saying that you’ll make somethinh happen is very different from knowing what to do and how to make something happen.
Also I noticed in your letter that you referred to the President Of The United States Of America as “Mr. Obama”.
A true soldier or true citizen of the United States would never be so disrespectful to the president of our country in such a manner. Every member of the military I know would consider that insult a dishonor not only to our president but to our military that is serving our country as well. If you didn’t like the colors of our american flag would you disrespect it or throw it in the trash? I’m not saying this to be offensive to you. I’ve made errors in judgment before and was blessed to have someone outline for me all the details and facts that I failed to see (some I never even considered) that my action incorrect. Once I really thought about my choice of words or actions, my eyes were opened and I knew believing you are always right doesn’t make it right.
i will update to president. no disrespect intended. thanks
Perhaps you should search the meaning of “sacrifice” before spewing your Trump infused rhetoric. The arrogance in your open letter and, even more so, in response to comments reveals you’ve been to the Kool-Aid barrel one too many times. Because you signed your open letter with, US Marine and Navy Veteran, were you disillusioned into believing you have the right to pontificate to these people about anything regarding their son’s death? Your pomposity and ignorance is equivalent to the man you support. Your disrespect and vitriol towards this family are disgraceful. Mr. and Mrs. Kahn, I’m sure, have considered their comments and position a lot closer than you have of your own integrity and respect for others. And if you are closing with, respectfully, you might want to look up the meaning to that also.
thanks fot commenting
Thanks Chris Mark. You nailed it brother.
Chris Crews
USMC Veteran.
Dear chris.let me explain to you the problem.mr trump at one go has branded each and every muslim as a terrorist which is ridiculous.its like callin someone a murderer including a person like mr khan until he proves himself innocent.what khan did was show the world that his family helped save lives and infact stood against terrerorisim.also remember that khan was in no way looked down upon or targeted by obama or clinton but trump has at one go targetted not only terrorist but evry muslim in the world and evry muslim who has worked to stop that.mr obama a family man became the president to serve the country and that put a huge security risk on his family and thats a huge sacrifice as for trump he with his random volley of hatred will be alinieting americans from rest of the muslim world creating a vertical divide and more hatered and bloodshed.is that a solution? Mahatma gandhi said “an eve for an eye makes the world blind”.what mr trump should have done was to give america a concrete plan to deal with terrorism and that just does not stop at dealing with muslims only but people frm diff religions having the same evil goal.
First let me state that I am a Canadian and have been following every aspect of this election cycle. I am a snowbird with a house in Arizona. I would trade in my Canadian citizenship in a “New York minute” to become a citizen of the U.S. of A. If I could afford the health care.
I admire the patriotism of Americans. You are Americans first, and your ethinicity is secondary. Here in Canada our multiculturalism policies put a person’s ethnicity ahead of Canadian identity. Most Canadians do not know the words to our National Anthem. Our Canadian identity and institutions have been hijacked to accommodate religious and cultural demands of immigrants.
I recognize and appreciate the sacrifice and loss made/suffered by the Khan family. I believe they have been USED by the DNC to deflect blame for the failures of the Obama / Clinton administration in their Middle East policies that have allowed ISIS to gain territory and spread their ideology. Mr. Khan’s anger is misplaced. It should be directed towards the Imams, both here and abroad that promote Jihad and the goals of radical Islam.
Terrorist attacks are the daily norm around the world wherein Muslims have suffered the most at the hands of ISIS and affiliated terror organizations. Yet, I do not see a “hue and cry” from moderate Muslims, Imams, or other voices in the Muslim community against the rise of ISIS. We have the Black Lives Matter group protesting the massive slaughter of innocent black men at the hands of the racist police (NOT). Where are the Muslim community protests and marches denouncing the radical Islamists. Nothing but a few Muslim political TV pundits denouncing the Jihad.
As the FBI Director said the other day, as ISIS looses their territory on the battlefield, we can expect significant numbers to dissappear into refugee populations to take their Jihad to the West.
The Obama / Clinton administration refuses to utter the words Radical Islamic Terrorism and their obsession with Polictical Correctness puts Americans at risk. All immigration should be halted and borders secured until immigrants can be reliably screened. Anything less is dangerous. Donald Trump is a flawed candidate for sure, however, Clinton is definitely the worst choice. Just ask the FBI director. He knew that a criminal referral (email server & violation of National Security) would never see the light of day with the Obama DOJ. He had no choice but to expose her criminality to the public.
I only wish we could put the brakes on our Canadian Prime Minister who is hell bent on bringing 50,000 Syrian refugees to our shores by the end of 2016. In Canada our Parliament has been attacked and two soldiers killed by two home grown Jihadis. Luckily, other planned attacks have been thwarted by our police. The attacks / losses suffered here in America have been much greater.
Mr. Khan’s energies should be directed towards motivating others of his faith to excise the cancer that has hijacked his faith, killed his courageous son and expose the radicals living in their communities.
Actually, ISIS has lost over ½ of its territory. In fact, the terror attacks they’ve been doing lately are because of this. Remember, their very name refers to an Islamic State. Their goal was not terrorism per se like al Qæda, but rather the establishment of a new Islamic Caliphate nation. The fact that they’re now resorting to terrorism shows that they’re not getting their way in this regard.
ISIS would not be a problem had Bush and his handlers not deposed Saddam Hussein. He was a brutal dictator, but a secularist one (the Ba’athist Party was secularist and modernist in nature, and for this reason al Qæada and the Taliban and such hated them and him, even more than they hated us or arguably even Israel — we destroyed their worst enemy for them!). He was a strongman, which was the only way to keep the peace in a fictitious “nation” like Iraq (there is no such thing as an “Iraqi” by ethnicity). ISIS sprang from the power vacuum we left behind.
Many try to blame this on Obama for withdrawing from Iraq, but Obama merely kept to the timetable agreed to by Bush and the new Iraqi government in the Status of Forces Agreement. He did try to get the Iraqis to let us stay longer, but they wanted none of it and insisted on conditions that they knew we wouldn’t agree to, such as removing immunity for prosecution for war crimes from our soldiers and contractors there.
Of course, Saddam would’ve died sooner or later, and even if his even more brutal sons hadn’t been executed earlier, neither of them had the temperament Saddam had and likely things would’ve fallen apart. The real underlying cause long predates Obama or Bush — and no, it’s not Islam per se. It’s a combination of several factors (of which Islam is one), but the main one is that many of the Middle Eastern “nations” are not real nations formed by their own peoples, like we formed ours and the European peoples formed theirs. The nations and their boundaries were imposed on the region in the aftermath of the collapse of the Ottoman Empire as part of the Great War (aka World War I). That’s why so many of the border lines there are straight: they were made for the convenience of mapmakers, not the peoples and tribes who’d have to live with them. Note that there are no straight national borders in Europe. Britain is mostly to blame for this, as it was they who drew up the borders (the USA didn’t become a superpower capable of meddling in that region until after World War II).
When you have such a fictitious nation that groups together portions of tribes that hate each other and splits up tribes from their own, only a strongman dictator can keep the peace. Like Saddam Hussein did, until we so foolishly toppled him because (ostensibly, anyway) nineteen hijackers, none of whom were from Iraq, toppled a couple of our skyscrapers.
A very informed response. I am aware of some of the history regarding the Middle East, the fall of the Ottoman Empire, the artificial borders that were created and how it contributes to the turmoil in that region. In retrospect, my placing the blame solely on Obama / Clinton.shoulders is unfair. In closing, thank you for your informed response and expanding our knowledge. R.N.
Well said….
Chris, you worded it perfectly.
Maybe the dumb people out there can finally figure things out, but I am not holding my breath .
Thank you and your family for the sacrifices you have all made, to
help protect us all. GOD bless and
protect you all! Thank you for your service!!! 🇺🇸🇺🇸👍❤️👍❤️🇺🇸🇺🇸
Mr. Helton,
Fellow service member here, Army kind. I too have spent my fair time in the sandbox. Foremost I find your response to the Khan’s most distasteful, utterly disrespectful and quite lacking in any real criticism. You entirely miss the main point of Khans denouncement of Trump: They are standing up against the perceived bigotry against their faith and heritage. Where you see two opportunist using their story for political gain, i see a still grieving family given a platform to respond back to Trump. Additionally you completely sidestep the charges brought against the Republican nominee. Until the election, there’s little to show he’s given money or supported in any way the US military.
http://www.weeklystandard.com/for-years-trumps-charity-gave-veterans-little-more-than-peanuts/article/2000776
Finally, you conveniently forget things like there’s a plethora of evidence Trump had dodge the draft for Vietnam, and all throughout the campaign he’s used us veterans as nothing more than a way to score political points. Prime example is when he dodge a debate to “raise money for troops” only to not actually give any money until journalist looked into it. Which I’m glad he finally did but anyone could see he wasn’t gonna do it if no one held him to.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/05/24/four-months-later-donald-trump-says-he-gave-1-million-to-veterans-group/
This is no means an an endorsement for the former secretary. This was an obvious bait by the DNC which Trump sprang into. Notice i did not address majority of what you wrote. For the reasons already mention if you don’t see that as irrelevant straw manning then you are part of the problem. Good Day.
Chris, while I understand and agree with alot of ehst you’re saying. It is a common way to describe a child lost to war, to say we sacrificed our son , our daughter. I’m sure your parents would say something similar. It’s true that ultimately the sacrifice is of the individual is a choice. You would know this better than most.
But to make this political and about only one party isn’t fair. The words were meant for Trump, who dodged the draft and has done nothing for veterans. Is this political ammo for the Democrats? Yes. Did the Republicans take credit for the honor and sacrifice of Pat Tillman ? Yes. Even after they sued to institute a gag order because the Republicans used their loss as a photo-.op, even after finding out the truth, which was that he got killed by friendly fire. Something that happens in war more than anyone wants to think.
I don’t say you’re wrong. I just hope that you can use your experience as a peacekeeper to bring people together instead of helping drive us apart.
My profound thanks for everything you have done and continue to do. We would not hsve the freedom we enjoy today if it was not for our armed forces.
.
thank you for your comments. very solid points.
You Know nothing of my brother, He served with honor and gave his life for America and his fellow soldiers. If it was the other way around, He wouldn’t make a blog trying to discredit your military service. He would be praising your service and sacrifices, regardless of what political party you were affiliated with or what your family would say in your absents. Khan’s words must of really struck a cord with you, to get you so Sad and upset?. sometimes the honest TRUTH does that to some people. You discredited yourself and what you stand for in this country. when you defend a man who never served and more than likely curses the military under his breath. Khan has more patriotic’s in his finger, than you have in your entire body. but I understand and so does Khan. It in your natural to do and say the things you do with no recourses because of your military expertise you think, you have this right to be objective. regardless of any truth. mostly opinions and bad ones at that. How sad that a father can defend his son honor and wishes and that some fellow soldiers can’t embrace it. Deep down it’s your hatred of muslims no matter if they live in this country or another. it’s the pricipal of the fact here, that a Muslim Boy, A Man gave his life for this country and you’re here lefted to make blogs. bitter that someone did a better job than you defending this country and his father has the guts to tell the world the truth. in the states they have a word for that….Sour grapes. You have a good day, Mr. Mark.
Wow, your comments are misguided. Chris never discredited Capt Kahn’s military service. Not even close.