Interview with Iraq war veteran Khan, who is a member of the Democratic National Convention Rules Committee.
By Raif Karerat
WASHINGTON, DC: Earlier this year, Indian American Saif Khan was nominated by Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz to serve on the Rules Committee of the Democratic National Convention, which will be held in Philadelphia from July 25 to 28. The Mysore, Karnataka, -born Khan is an Iraq War veteran, who served as a Combat Engineer in Mosul during 2004-2005.
He joined the military right after graduating from high school as a member of the Virginia Army National Guard. He was granted special permission by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to become a US Citizen prior to being deployed to the combat zone in 2004.
Khan, who graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, with a degree in Political Science and The George Washington University Law School with a Juris Doctor degree., serves on Hillary for America’s National Veterans & Military Families Steering Committee and also on a few campaign policy groups. He is the founder and managing director of Khanections, LLC and president of the American Veterans Committee.
In an exclusive interview with The American Bazaar, Khan discusses his role on the Rules Committee, the reasons for his joining politics and his business career, among other issues. Here are the edited excerpts:
What is your role with the DNC Rules Committee?
The Rules Committee is responsible for recommending the rules for the Democratic National Convention, rules of the party, and other convention business. Our first Committee meeting is scheduled for July 23 in Philadelphia before the start of the Convention. The Rules Committee’s responsibilities Include recommending individuals to serve as the Permanent Officers of the Convention and issuing a report that is considered as the second item of business at the National Convention. The report includes recommendations on the Convention agenda, the Permanent Rules of the Convention, Amendments to Party Rules, and resolutions on any matter not addressed by other standing committees.
You are a former Hillary Clinton staffer and a current Steering Committee member. Tell us more about your affiliation with the campaign.
I first met Hillary Clinton when I worked for her 2008 Campaign. I had the pleasure of heading Hillary’s Veterans & Military Families outreach program. As a staffer on the campaign, I had the opportunity to travel to various states to conduct outreach to veterans and military families and promote policies that Hillary Clinton had proposed. I usually traveled around the country with senior military leaders, retired generals and admirals that had endorsed Hillary and had an opportunity to speak with her on several occasions about issues I was hearing from veterans and military families while conducting outreach.
After Clinton lost the primary race in 2008 and endorsed then-Sen. Barack Obama, I joined the Obama campaign team as a staffer and worked tirelessly to help elect our current President.
Even before I knew Hillary Clinton was going to announce that that she would run for President in 2016, I decided to create and launch “Veterans & Military Families for Hillary” Facebook and Twitter pages in 2013 as encouragement for her to run and to invite veterans and military families supporting her to join the social media pages. I have officially turned over these pages to Hillary for America when she made her announcement to run for campaign use.
I currently have the pleasure of serving on the National Veterans and Military Families Steering Committee as well as the Veterans Policy Team. Since the end of the last campaign, I have had the pleasure to stay in touch with senior military leaders whom I had campaigned with in support of Hillary. I reached out to most of them again when Hillary decided to run to encourage them to endorse her, which most of them did.
What was your motivation in forming the American Veterans Committee?
During my Iraq deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, I had the opportunity to meet several troops from other countries during down time from combat missions. As the deployment was coming to and end, I wanted to stay in touch with new friends from around the world that were part of the coalition. When I returned back home to the US, I realized that there was no organization connecting American Veterans with Veterans from other countries to promote networking and business opportunities. In 2013, I decided to form American Veterans Committee with a dual pronged mission: 1) to connect American Veterans within the US with employers and promote networking by organizing networking receptions around the country with veterans, employers and supporters; and 2) to connect American Veterans to Veterans from other countries to network, help spark new business opportunities and promote smart diplomacy. By conducting online research I found a global umbrella organization consisting of all the different veterans’ organizations around the world called World Veterans Federation and applied for American Veterans Committee to join as a member. They accepted our application and we were officially a part of the World Veterans Federation, an organization that maintains consultative status with the UN. I also approached a few good friends who were very familiar with veterans’ issues with the idea of expanding American Veterans Committee and being a part of the World Veterans Federation and invited them to join our board after registering the organization. Also, I wanted to make sure we don’t charge veterans a membership fee to join.
Today, American Veterans Committee is a free organization for veterans to join. We are growing fast. Through our membership in the World Veterans Federation, we are able to connect American veterans to veterans from any country worldwide. I was recently nominated by the President of the World Veterans Federation, Mr. Dan Viggo Bergtun, whom we hosted in Washington, DC, last month, to serve as the Chairman of the World Veterans Federation’s Committee of the Americas. In addition, I was honored that he also asked me to serve as a Vice President of the World Veterans Federation. In this role, I will have the opportunity to build a coalition and represent all the member organizations in North, South and Central America at the World Veterans Federation.
You also run your own business, Khanections, what is its modus operandi?
I started Khanections, LLC as an executive search and outreach firm in 2011. I wanted to partner with companies seeking to hire and engage veterans and help them find qualified veterans seeking such opportunities. I had a few clients who hired us as soon as we launched and after completing performance, we decided to expand beyond executive search and add on Information Technology services.
Today, Khanections is a global outreach-consulting firm that offers a wide variety of services. We specialize in executive search, Veterans outreach, advertising, information technology hardware and software support, keynote speaker search and customized software and application development services.
In addition, Khanections serves as a recruiting and outreach firm for businesses, non-profits, advocacy groups and government entities. We help firms seeking qualified personnel and veterans for employment opportunities, board positions or advocacy issues by connecting them with individuals seeking such opportunities.
Khanections also offers custom business management software development services in the form of managed or standalone apps customized to meet the needs of our clients.
Khanections is also expanding into the world of government contracting and have been verified by the Department of Veterans Affairs as a Veteran Owned Small Business.
Why did you decide to enter the political arena?
While serving in Iraq is when I first started to realize that I wanted to be more politically involved. While serving, I noticed that the protective gear provided to protect ourselves was inadequate. It could have been much better and a lot of lives could have been saved if that was the case. I started asking questions about why anyone would put our soldiers in such a situation without providing the best protection possible to fight the enemy. I realized that the only individuals that could resolve such issues were our politically elected national leaders.
I started to becoming more politically involved after returning to the US from serving in Iraq. After re-starting my undergraduate studies at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia, I decided to change my major from pre-med Biology to pre-law Political Science. I joined the office of Senator Jim Webb as an Intern. I then joined the Clinton Campaign, Obama Campaign after that and have stayed active ever since.
Because I think the leaders of our country help shape our nation and how we function as a whole, it is necessary to be politically involved. The actions and decisions of our leaders not only affect us daily but also our future generations to come.
Thus, I think it is important for us to elect leaders who will bring positive changes that will move our country forward. Therefore, I entered the political arena to be personally involved to help ensure that we elect leaders who will bring unity among Americans, help create a more diverse and safe America and weigh all options before deploying our troops into harms way.
Why do you believe Clinton is more fit to lead the United States over the next four years as opposed to Donald Trump?
Hillary Clinton is focused on breaking down barriers and building unity among the American people, while it is clear that Donald Trump is interested in building walls and drawing lines and differences among the American people.
Clinton is the most qualified candidate running for President. After she was First Lady, she served as US Senator from New York and then served as the Secretary of State under President Obama. Her foreign policy credentials are unmatched by anyone in American politics. She has met and personally knows most of the world leaders, given the past positions she has held. I believe the world will be a much safer place under a President Hillary Clinton.
Even before she was First Lady, she has fought for women’s rights and equal pay. She speaks out and in the strongest terms opposes discriminating against masses of people based on the actions of a few extremists. Also, she is a supporter of immigration reform, and opposes mass deportations. She continues to fight for sensible gun control while respecting Second Amendment Rights, as well as fighting for LGBT rights, Veterans’ rights, and improving access to healthcare for all.
As an immigrant who has since become a U.S. citizen, why did you decide to join the military?
I was always fascinated with the military since my childhood. I would watch army movies as a kid and always wanted to join the US Army one day if I would have the opportunity. I received this opportunity when my family immigrated to the US. I actually joined the military while I only had a Green Card. In 2004, as I was being deployed to serve in Iraq, the Army and Immigration authorities granted an exception to make me a US Citizen before I deployed overseas.
While I have my personal views about the War In Iraq and serving there, when you are ordered by the President of the US and your Chain of Command to deploy and serve the country, you do it without hesitation. This is what I did when I served. Joining the military gave me an opportunity to travel, improve myself, build my character and become a more disciplined person.
Did you endure any negative experiences as an individual of color and naturalized citizen during your time in the armed forces?
While there were instances where those whom I served with would joke around about sensitive topics, I don’t think any ill will or negativity was directed at me personally. However, I have heard from other service members who experienced negative experiences as individuals of color or for wearing articles of faith while serving.
As President of American Veterans Committee, one my goals is to ensure that members of the armed forces from all backgrounds, faith and races are treated with respect and not subject to negative experiences or discrimination. If we hear of such acts, we will advocate on behalf of these individuals until they are treated with respect and inform the appropriate branch of the military about such abuses. During my basic training when I first joined the military, I was taught to ignore everything about a person and to just look at their uniform and the flag that’s is on it. I believe that most members of the armed forces understand that each one of us has come from diverse backgrounds and has put his or her life on the line for their country regardless of the color of their skin.
Are there elements pertaining to how veterans are treated in the United States that need to change?
I believe members of the general public treat veterans returning from recent conflicts fairly well. This is a shift from the way veterans were treated after they came back home after serving in the Vietnam War. However, sometimes people forget that we still have veterans serving around the country and fighting for us overseas, away for their families, and we need to think about their service and sacrifice, not only on Veterans Day, but everyday and thank them for volunteering to serve in the military to keep everyone safe.
When it comes to healthcare however and filing for veterans benefits, there is a lot of room for improvement. Veterans have faced a lot of issues while seeking care at the Department of Veterans Affairs from long wait for appointment times to inadequate care and backlogs while filing claims for veteran’ benefits.
I think people understand that members of the military follow orders and deploy where our Commander-in-Chief sends them. This is why it is so important to elect a Commander-in-Chief that understands the needs of our veterans and military families. Someone who is not trigger-happy and will not put our troops in harms way unless such deployments are absolutely necessary to protect the American people or American interests. Someone who will ensure our veterans are taken care of once they return home after serving by ensuring they receive all the benefits they have rightfully earned. I believe that candidate is Hillary Clinton.
Should the U.S. re-initiate the ban on assault weapons? Is it necessary for gun control to be stricter in general?
As someone who has used assault weapons while serving in the military, I know the damage they can cause in a matter of seconds due the large number of rounds they can shoot. These are weapons that designed to be used while engaging in combat operations.
There definitely has to be control on assault weapons in the United States. I do not understand why civilians need to carry assault riffles that shoot hundreds of rounds per minute to protect themselves!
Of course Americans have the right to bear arms but there has to be a limit on the kinds of guns that citizens should be able to own. As we have unfortunately seen in so many mass shootings, assault weapons have increased the number of casualties significantly at each one of these incidents.
We can see that even simple background checks on an individual are not sufficient in preventing a mass shooting. Once an individual passes a background check, they are able to purchase an assault rifle and cause significant loss of life, such as the most recent tragedy we saw in the Orlando nightclub. We need additional checks and limit the types of weapons available for purchase.
What are your plans for the future? Would you consider running for office?
I recently graduated from The George Washington University Law School in Washington, DC. I attended law school as an evening student while managing Khanections, LLC and American Veterans Committee. I hope to expand my business and add legal services once I pass the bar exam. I also want to grow American Veterans Committee’s outreach efforts and increase our membership to one day become the largest veterans’ organization in America. We are already seeing a boost in membership as we have launched discount programs in partnership with several restaurants around the country that are offering our members special deals. I would like to represent veterans by helping them file claims for benefits and help them appeal adverse decisions in court. I want to continue to support Hillary Clinton and help her become the 45th president of the United States by assisting her team.
I also want to take some time off and travel the world. I have not thought about running for office as of now. However, the number of veterans serving in elected positions is declining and I really don’t like to see this happening. We need more veterans to hold elected positions and stand up for veterans’ rights. While now is probably not the right time, I may consider running for an elected position in the future.