Phillip Neal Butler

In his own words

To Support and Defend


Oath of Office – 1 July, 1957

I, Phillip Neal Butler, having been appointed a
Midshipman in the United States Navy, do
solemnly swear that I will support and defend
the Constitution of the United States against
all enemies, foreign or domestic, and to bear
true faith and allegiance to the same; that I
take this obligation freely, without any mental
reservation or purpose of evasion, and that I
will well and faithfully discharge the duties of
the office upon which I am about to enter,
so help me God.

Upon graduation from the United States
Naval Academy in 1961, I had the honor
of repeating this oath to be commissioned
an Ensign in the United States Navy. I served
20 years as an active duty commissioned
officer. During that time I became a Naval
Aviator, flew combat in Vietnam, was downed
over North Vietnam on April 20, 1965 and
became a prisoner of war. I was repatriated
on February 12, 1973, having served 2,855
days and nights as a POW – just short of 8
years. The Vietnamese were not signatory
to any international treaties on treatment of
prisoners. They pronounced us “criminals”
and freely used torture, harassment, malnutrition,
isolation, lack of medical care and other degradations
during our captivity. I was tortured dozens of times
during my captivity. But I often thought of our
Constitution and the higher purpose we served
a purpose that helped me resist beyond what
I thought I’d ever be capable of. Ironically, we POW’s
often reminded each other “that our country would
never stoop to torture and the low level of treatment
we were experiencing at the hands of our captors.”

This Oath of Office, the same one sworn to by
all officers, government officials, presidential
cabinet members, senators and representatives
of our nation, has had a powerful affect on me.
It has given me an over-arching purpose in life
to serve the greatest and most influential legal
document ever written. The only different oath
is specified for the President of the United States
in Constitutional Article II, Section 1 (8.) It
mandates that he or she will “…preserve, protect
and defend the Constitution…”

So what in the world has happened during the
past 8 years of the George W Bush administration?
The only defensible answer is that he and his subo-
rdinates have trampled our precious Constitution
and the Rule of Law into the ground while our elected
members of Congress have stood idly and complicitly
by. Our highest elected officials have utterly failed in
their duty of greatest responsibility.

During these years we have seen gross attempts
to institutionalize torture. Our Constitution, Article
VI, (2) commonly known as the “Supremacy”
clause clearly states that treaties made shall become
“the supreme law of the land,” thus elevating them
to the level of Constitutional law.

The Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment
of Prisoners of War, ratified in 1949 states in Article
17 that “No physical or mental torture, nor any
other form of coercion may be inflicted on prisoners
of war to secure from them information of any kind
whatever. Prisoners of war who refuse to answer
may not be threatened, insulted, or exposed to
any unpleasant or disadvantageous treatment of
any kind.” This and numerous other ratified treaties
clearly stipulate that “prisoners” is an inclusive term
that is not limited to any nation’s uniformed combatants.

Other gross Bush administration crimes, in addition
to authorizing torture, of general and Constitutional
law include: 1) the use of “signing statements” to
illegally refrain from complying with laws. 2) autho-
rization of the illegal suspension of Habeas Corpus 3)
authorization of wire tapping and other intrusive
methods to illegally spy on American citizens. 4)
unilateral declaration and pre-emptive conduct of
war in violation of U.S. Constitution Article I, Section 8 (11)

These violations of our Constitution and rule of law
have resulted in reducing our nation to the level of
international pariah. Our beacon of liberty and
justice no longer shines throughout the world.
We no longer set the example for other nations
to follow. We no longer stand on a firm foundation.
We have lost our national, moral gyro.

I despair when I think of the personal sacrifices
made by so many in U.S. wars and conflicts
since 1776. If our forefathers were here to
see they would surely be angry and disappointed.
And I think they would issue a clarion call for
redress and setting an example for the world,
by punishing those who are guilty. The only way
our nation can right itself is for Congress to
prosecute the perpetrators of these crimes.

I therefore call on my elected representatives
in the Senate and House of Representatives
to bring criminal charges against President
George Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney,
former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld,
Legal Council William J. Haynes, former
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, former
Legal Council David Addington and potentially
other high officials and uniformed officers.
There is no other option if you are to carry
out your responsibilities. Citizens of the
United States and of the world are watching you.
Do your duty. Support and defend the
Constitution of the United States.

Respectfully submitted to the Congress
of the United States,

Phillip Neal Butler, PhD
Commander, USN (ret.)
Citizen of the United States of America