Tag Archives: Obama

White House Staff Swaps F-22 for F-15

In an interesting “behind the scenes” look at a Presidential speech, The Cable, a blog of Foreign Policy magazine, says that White House staffers asked an Air Force squadron to remove its F-22 from President Obama’s speech location and replace it with an F-15.  The story was corroborated by an Elmendorf AFB public affairs officer.

The blog reports that some of the local troops who fly and maintain the Raptor “took offense” and were bewildered that the White House wouldn’t want to showcase the Air Force’s premier front line fighter.

It is highly unlikely that Obama personally had anything to do with the decision.  Such political “staging” matters are frequently made at levels well below the Oval Office (as noted by the article saying aides made the request).  As the Foreign Policy article shows, though, sometimes the decision to use what might seem like an innocuous stage piece (in this case, two Air Force fighter aircraft) may have a significant backstory.

US Military Chapel Celebrates 25 Years

It is true that military chapels are supposed to be, in some respects, “religiously neutral.”  The objective of the regulations governing chapels is that any faith group be able to use them for their spiritual needs.  As chapel space is often limited, many times a single building, or even a single room, must meet the needs of all faith groups.

The military academies have long been an exception.  The main floor of the US Air Force Academy Cadet Chapel, which turned 50 just a few months ago, is overtly Christian, with a huge, sculpted metal cross hanging from the ceiling.  Rather than having “shared spaces,” the USAFA Chapel Read more

Sikhs Celebrate at White House

The White House blog details the Sikh celebration of the “540th anniversary of the birth of Guru Nanak Dev Ji” that took place on November 13th.  President Obama did not attend (he was on the first leg of his Asia trip), and it does not appear he made a statement on the celebration.

The White House notes that this is the first Sikh celebration to occur in the White House.  It is not, however, the first time this event has been recognized Read more

Critics Remain Silent During Fort Hood Memorial

The moving and often emotional memorial service marking the loss of life at Fort Hood was infused with military ceremony and tradition.  Military officers explained that memorials were a part of the process in war; the units gathered to memorialize their fallen, send them home, and then gather their gear to continue the mission.

Flags flew at half-staff, the National Anthem played, speakers lauded the fallen, and the sounding of taps echoed the solemnity of the occasion.  Each fallen soldier was represented by a “battlefield cross:” a helmet atop an inverted rifle with bayonet and boots.  A uniformed soldier sang Amazing Grace. 

Another part of the tradition is prayers offered for the fallen, their friends, and their families.  Chaplain (Col) Michael Lembke, Army III Corps Chaplain, wore his religious stole across the shoulders of his military uniform that bore the Christian cross and prayed to “Lord God Almighty,” asking God to “draw us to You” and to “restore to us a spirit of joy and hope.”

The fitting memorial was laden with traditions that critics–including Michael Weinstein’s Military Religious Freedom Foundation–have repeatedly and vociferously opposed.

Yet today, they remained silent.

The thought that a moving ceremony such as this might be curtailed due to Weinstein’s complaints is an anathema to the American spirit.  Yet that is the Read more

Harassment, Christianity Blamed for Fort Hood Shooting

Following the violent attack on Soldiers at Fort Hood, Texas, there has been an outpouring of support from the local community, with churches calling for prayers and military Chaplains asking for prayer for the alleged assailant.  Former President Bush quietly visited Fort Hood victims last Friday, and President Obama plans to attend a memorial on Tuesday.

The actions of Major Nidal Malik Hasan, the suspected gunman, have been roundly criticized by a variety of organizations representing the American Muslim community.

Though a footnote to the story has been Hasan’s apparent allegations of mistreatment for his faith, a local leader in the Islamic community, Osman Danquah, apparently saw more to the story.  He “sensed” that Hasan was “troubled,” and even went so far as to deny Hasan’s request to be a lay Islamic leader at Fort Hood:

He was disturbed by Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan’s persistent questioning and recommended the mosque reject Hasan’s request to become a lay Muslim leader at the sprawling Army post.

Indeed, some of Hasan’s former classmates indicated that he was the instigator of controversial rhetoric.

Another American Islamic leader who spoke on the attack was Read more

Times Mischaracterizes Camp David Chaplain

The Times of London online published an article on Chaplain (Lt Cdr) Carey Cash, the US Navy Chaplain at Camp David, the Presidential retreat. 

The article appeared to rely heavily (if not exclusively) on the Washington Post article on the same subject the day before, though it took a far more provocative tone.  It was entitled “‘Islam is violent’ says President Obama’s new pastor Carey Cash,” which is inaccurate on more than one level, and it attempted to emphasize what it claimed were Cash’s controversial beliefs.  (FoxNews repeated the article with the headline “Obama’s New Pastor Views Islam as Violent Faith.”)

First, it likened Obama’s link to Chaplain Cash with his experience with Reverend Wright: Read more

Navy Chaplain Delivers Presidential Sermons

The Washington Post revisits the background of Navy Chaplain (Lt Cdr) Carey Cash, the Chaplain for the Evergreen Chapel on Camp David, the Presidential retreat.  Previously, Time momentarily called the Chapel the Obama’s “home church,” which lit off a firestorm of controversy and denials.  The current article takes the more cryptic form in describing the situation as “The Pastor Who Has Obama’s Attention.”

Much of the article describes Cash’s background, including his time in combat in Iraq and his book, A Table in the Presence.  It includes a short description of what the author calls “Cash’s controversial views on Christian proselytizing Read more

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