January 13 Luncheon: "Torture, Terrorism & Civil Liberty" Col. Mike Pheneger, U.S. Army (Ret.)
Col. Mike Pheneger, a 30-yr Army Intelligence vet, is now President of The American Civil Liberties Union in Florida. He speaks on the USA Patriot Act, torture, Guantanamo, warrantless wiretapping and leads Federal Court Freedom of Information fights.
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Col Mike Pheneger, USA (Ret) spent 30 years on active duty as a US Army Intelligence Officer. He served in a variety of assignments including Director of Intelligence for US Special Operations Command, Deputy Director of Intelligence for US Central Command, and multiple combat tours. He had overseas assignments in Germany, Vietnam, Korea, Panama, and the Middle East.
After military retirement he developed training programs for adult professionals for the University of South Florida’s Professional and Workforce Development Division. He teaches courses on the Bill of Rights, The Constitution, Terrorism and Geo-Politics for Learning-In-Retirement programs in Tampa and Sarasota. He received the Open Source Solutions’ Golden Candle Award in 1995.
He is now the President of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida. He speaks frequently on issues involving civil liberties and national security, and the ethical and constitutional aspects of intelligence collection and operations. Col. Pheneger first joined the ACLU as an undergraduate and became an active member when he retired from the Army in 1993.

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Col. Pheneger has spoken widely on the USA Patriot Act, torture, Guantanamo, and warrantless wiretapping and has submitted declarations in federal court proceedings supporting the ACLU’s requests for documents under the Freedom of Information Act. He served as an expert witness in a case to enjoin the Tampa Sports Authority from conducting pat-down searches as a condition of attending NFL football games.
"My roles in the military and the ACLU are in perfect harmony," said Col. Pheneger. "Entering the Army I swore to support and defend the Constitution against all enemies; in the ACLU we support and defend the Bill of Rights to preserve the constitutional freedoms of all Americans against encroachment by the government and the ‘tyranny of the majority.'
"The Bill of Rights is the great gift of our Founders who feared the new government might be tempted to trample the rights of its citizens," said Col. Pheneger. "They insisted on adding a Bill of Rights as a condition of the Constitution's ratification."
He noted that "the ACLU's commitment to defending the Bill of Rights and the rule of law makes it one of the most conservative organizations in the country."
Howard Simon, Executive Director of the Florida ACLU said "Maybe the election of a career military officer as our Board President will motivate some critics to put aside a false stereotype of the ACLU and recognize that, for the last 90 years, the ACLU has been the nation's leading non-partisan defender of constitutional rights for everyone."
"We can defend our country without resorting to torture, warrantless wiretapping, and weakening the protection of the rights of individuals, Pheneger noted." In times of crisis, there is always a temptation to sacrifice liberty for security. That isn't necessary. Security and freedom are not in a zero-sum game – we do not need to sacrifice who we are to protect our national security."