Appeal to American NSA Officers: Join Us

The oath of enlisted soldiers differs in a key respect. In addition to swearing to defend the Constitution, they also swear to "obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me."

Thus the allegiance of the enlisted man presents a bit of a quandry; it is to the President, officers, and the Constitution. The oath of the officer is free of any such quandry: it is to the Constitution and the Constitution alone.

No law may be made which is contrary to the Constution, which is the "Supreme Law of the Land." The Constitution can only be changed by Constitutional Convention, and ratified by all 50 states. Any law which violates the Constitution is illegal.

George Bush seems to have the Congress and the Senate well in hand, given today's vote to block lawsuits which could expose the targets and extent of illegal spying. Given our representative's refusal to do their clear duty to impeach. Bush can even get Pelosi to intercede on behalf of Karl Rove's arrest on contempt charges.

Bruce Fein, associate deputy attorney general under President Ronald Reagan, put it best:

The most conservative principle of the Founding Fathers was distrust of unchecked power. Centuries of experience substantiated that absolute power corrupts absolutely. Men are not angels. Ambition must be made to counteract ambition to avert abuses or tyranny....President Bush has flouted the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA) for five years by directing the National Security Agency to target American citizens on American soil for electronic surveillance on his say-so alone. The president has defended his warrantless domestic spying with an imperial theory of inherent constitutional power that would empower him to open mail, break in and enter homes, or torture detainees, even in violation of federal criminal statutes.

So it's up to you. Since Bush's wrongdoing will not be exposed as a result of pending legal actions, thanks to this compliant congress, it's up to men and women more courageous than the sheep who sit in these seats of power, who are not fit to pick up cigarette butts from the Founders' graves.

It's up to you to step forward with what you know. You are military officers, and the courage of many of you is already proven, in Iraq, or Afghanistan, or Vietnam. Remember the lives of those who entrusted the preservation of our hard-won rights into your hands. Read your oath. And join us.