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Chris Wakim

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Chris Wakim is a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates from the 3rd District, which represents the western portion of Ohio County. He is the ranking Republican on the Veterans Affairs/Homeland Security committee. The grandson of Lebanese immigrants, he graduated from West Point in 1980.

During his 11-year Army career, Wakim attained the rank of Captain, along the way suffering a broken back, crushed elbow, and reconstructed knee while an infantry officer. He now has disabled veteran status. Wakim has not provided specific details about how the accidents occurred.

2006 campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives

Wakim is challenging incumbent Democrat Alan Mollohan in the West Virginia 1st Congressional district. The NRCC sees Mollohan's seat as being vulnerable because of controversies over his financial disclosures, investment gains, and use of earmarks.

Wakim's campaign has been supported by top Republican leadership. Vice President Dick Cheney, House Speaker Dennis Hastert, and Representative Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) have helped. Majority Leader John Boehner was scheduled to campaign for Wakim in early August, and First Lady Laura Bush is also expected to provide help. Wakim had $318,000 on hand as of July 1, 2006.

Controversies

In August 2006 Wakim's biography was questioned in terms of his education and veteran claim.

Education

Wakim claimed that he graduated from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. At one point, Wakim’s campaign website said "He earned his MA in Public Policy from Harvard University in 1991 graduating in the top 15% of his class." The MPP is conferred by the Kennedy School. Wakim received his degree--a Master's of Liberal Arts in Extension Studies, with a concentration in government--from the Harvard Extension School, also known as the Harvard University Division of Continuing Education. It is interesting that Wakim would disavow his actual academic achievement: the Extension School's ALM program requires a Master's Thesis; the MPP degree from the Kennedy School does not. However, the KSG does require a Policy Analysis Exercise, or PAE, of MPP students. His campaign subsequently changed the website text to indicate, vaguely: "He earned his Master’s Degree from Harvard University in 1991."

Gulf War veteran

Wakim’s claim that he is a "Gulf War veteran" has been challenged. "To be considered a veteran of the first Gulf War, one must receive the Southwest Asia Service Medal. The absence of the medal makes one a Gulf War-era veteran." said a spokesman for the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Wakim said he does not have that medal. Furthermore, records show he was stationed at Fort Devens in Massachusetts from 1988 to 1991, the period encompassing that of the Gulf War.

In a 2006 interview with Arab American Institute, Wakim appeared to blur the details of his Gulf War service, saying his background as an Arab-American and his education were valuable to the Army. "My company specialized in desert warfare, and certainly that was a timely specialty because of the first Gulf War," he said. “I lent my expertise as a desert fighter to develop our fighting force. …I can tell you from personal experience that once the first bullet is shot, the best-laid plans usually go by the wayside."

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