March 14, 2006

HONORING THE OATH

By Steve Elson, NSWBC member

I, (name), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will 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 on which I am about to enter. So help me God.

The foundation of our Country is not the Constitution, but the HONORING of the oath to that Constitution. Article VI of the Constitution REQUIRES all three branches of government to take this oath. It does NOT require anyone to honor his/her oath -- that is assumed. Failure to honor the oath, however, is a betrayal of “We the People.” Anyone in the government who fails to protect the true whistleblower, the National Security Whistleblower in particular, betrays that oath. Failure to do so leads to catastrophic events/death as it did on September 11, 2001, and last summer, hurricane Katrina. People die NEEDLESSLY when whistleblowers fear for their existence.

In the late 90s, Whistleblowers warned of gross and extant vulnerabilities in aviation security. They were ignored and persecuted. 9/11 was easily preventable at virtually no cost. Thus people who did not have to die -- DID.

On September 11, 2001, a group of terrorists honored its oath to destroy its enemy knowing they would die in the process. Sadly they were successful in their efforts, successful in a plan elegant in its simplicity and execution.

Most sadly, on September 11, 2001, it became obvious that those put in the trusted leaderships positions in our government, had NOT honored their oaths. They are complicit in the events of 9/11. Those who were in charge before 9/11 and are complicit in allowing those events have been rewarded, promoted, and further protected. They have increased their efforts to silence the Whistleblower.

I am saddened that many, like Sen. Lieberman, Collins, and even Grassley, talk about protecting the whistleblower but are no where to be found when it comes to putting their name out front. I thank Sen. Lautenberg and Reps. Markey, Waxman, and Maloney for the courage to put aside politics and to push for this very partisan, partisan to the American people, bill. I am also deeply appreciative of the efforts of Chairman Shays who recently held open national security whistleblower hearings, going against the wishes of his committee chairman, Tom Davis, an anathema to whistleblowers who has repeatedly lied and stultified efforts to protect whistleblowers. THIS IS DOCUMENTED ON FILM.

Whistleblowers must document wrongdoing/vulnerability within their chains of command. Any persecuting official MUST be held personally and criminally liable. The white house and congress MUST act on documented vulnerabilities, not try to cover them up or allow their continuance.

To you in the congress: Read and understand the oath you took; then honor it. And after we get hit again don’t again ask, “Who is responsible for this tragedy and who could have prevented it?” To you I say, “LOOK IN THE MIRROR.”

Again, thanks to those who are honoring their oath and introducing and supporting strong, meaningful whistleblower protection.