Given Dr. Butler's experiences, as well as the current political debate over "enhanced interrogation techniques," and "stress positions" as not constituting torture, he says "if you don't think so, try going out on your driveway or sidewalk, without any clothes on, on a frigidly cold night. Kneel down on the concrete, holding your body erect with your arms extended above your head. In a very few minutes you will begin to feel real pain. Imagine several menacing tormentors hovering above you to ensure that you remain in that position. That's torture."
Addressing another popular argument
being advance by those supporting the use of such techniques by the
United States, Dr. Butler said that "argument attempts to qualify
captives as POWs, or 'detainees' or, as the Bush administration
referred to the detainees, 'enemy combatants.' Please - they are
human beings. We are holding people in indeterminate isolation from
families, Red Cross visits and requirements under international law
and the Geneva Convention. From experience, I say this constitutes
torture of the heart and soul."
Dr. Butler addressed what he views as
another nonsensical argument used by some to justify torture -
"what if we have someone who has planted an atomic weapon in a
major city and we want to find out where in time to stop it? ... Do
we enact a special law that violates our Constitution, treaties and
statutes for this preposterous eventuality? Do we seriously think we
could extract 'where and when' from this individual anyway?"
Based upon his honorable service to
this country, including almost eight years as a POW, Dr. Butler
refuses to remain a silent participant in the public debate over
these issues. "Will the American public demand that President
Obama live up to his stated promise that 'no one is above the law?'
Will we hold the new administration to the Constitution, treaties and
other statutes prohibiting such cruel and unusual punishments and
demand accountability for the shameful legacy of torture that has
tarnished America's reputation over the last eight years?" said
Dr. Butler.
In what should be a 4th of
July presidential address, with flags flying and banners waving, Dr.
Butler states that he is in "despair when [thinking] 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 holding accountable
the perpetrators of these crimes."
Dr. Butler is a survivor of torture and
states with authority that "We cannot afford to regress to the 15th
century or stoop to the level of countries that have
institutionalized torture. Even on a practical level, we must not
thereby endanger our own citizens, in uniform or out, who might be
kidnapped or captured by others in the future. 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."
Credit: The content for this
article was derived from a first person account published by Dr. Butler
and distributed to members of Veterans for Peace.
Note: After his repatriation in 1973, Phillip Butler earned a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of California at San Diego, and served as a Navy organizational effectiveness consultant before completing his Navy career in 1981. He then founded and owned a management consulting and professional speaking business. Today, he mentors business and organization leaders and is a community activist.
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