Colonel to be court martialed for...

[Lando Griffin 0]

http://washingtontimes.com/upi-breaking/20...13801-9689r.htm

 

WASHINGTON, Oct. 31 (UPI) -- A U.S. Army colonel charged with improperly interrogating an Iraqi prisoner refuses to quit and will face a hearing, the Washington Times reported Friday.

 

The attorney for Lt. Col. Allen West said West has rejected a prosecutor's offer to resign rather than face charges.

 

"Colonel West will not resign short of his retirement eligibility," attorney Neal Puckett said in an interview.

 

The staff judge advocate for the 4th Infantry Division has charged West with communicating a threat and aggravated assault for firing his pistol to scare a detainee into divulging information.

 

That information in turn foiled an ambush of U.S. soldiers in northern Iraq.

 

Puckett will defend West at an investigative hearing, called an Article 32, scheduled for Nov. 10 in Kirkuk. If enough evidence of wrongdoing is presented, West could be court-martialed and sent to prison for as long as eight years.

 

The prosecutor offered West two choices: quit before Saturday, his 20-year retirement eligibility, or face criminal proceedings that could lead to a trial.

 

The assault charges carry a maximum penalty of eight years in prison.

 

What bullshit. How can they honestly say that what he did was wrong?

[Corey_Lazarus 0]

I agree. What he did was perfectly acceptable, and could have possibly saved hundreds of lives.

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

He may have violated the Iraqi prisoner's civil rights -- West deserves what he gets, the big meanie.

 

After all, I'm sure Iraqi soldiers have treated American prisoners over the years with dignity and compassion -- that's why you never hear amnesty groups criticize them...

[Corey_Lazarus 0]

Iraq: The friendliest place on Earth.

[Highland 0]

Eh, it'll serve the army right and they'll learn to not bother taking prisoners anymore. Shoot to kill.

[Slayer 0]

The prosecutor offered West two choices: quit before Saturday, his 20-year retirement eligibility...

 

Ah hah, they're doing it to get out of paying him his pension, the bastards

[Youth N Asia 0]

Complete horseshit. I heard about it earlier today.

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

What happened, did he threaten to kill this guy, then shoot the gun in the dirt in front of him or something? If he didn't hurt the guy, then these lawyers can shut the fuck up.

[Guest Plushy Al Logan]

I agree. What he did was perfectly acceptable, and could have possibly saved hundreds of lives.

Well said! Since when do enemy lives have more value than the lives of our fighting forces?!

[Swift Terror 0]

According to articles I have read, this prisoner was roughed up and then tied up. Then the Col., knowing that this guy knew about an imminent attack, pulled out his weapon and fired, away from the guy, demanding to know more about the threat. The guy refused, so the Col. fired a round into a barrel closer to the prisoner's head. At this point the guy said to himself, "Fuck this, this guy means business" and spilled the beans. This information prevented the attack.

 

I guess we'll see a version of this story on an upcoming 'JAG' episode, question is, how will they portray the incident? It is CBS, maybe they can get the 'Reagan' team of writers to tackle this one.

 

This guy should be given a commendation. The pencil neck wonks in the Pentagon just can't seem to handle real war anymore, or tolerate real warriors.

[Guest gthureson]

From a military point of view, he knows what the rules are regarding the interrogation of prisoners. It is not his place to interpret when and where those should apply. If he felt it necessary to violate them, then he knew the penalty and should be willing to take his lumps for it. Discipline and adherence to regs is not a situational judgement call. Comes down to a policy of accountabilty.

 

From an ethical point of view, it does not matter what the enemy does. It matters what your own troops and officers do. If you want to claim any kind of moral superiority, do not fall back onto 'They do it, so we can too.'

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

For this guy's sake, I hope he didn't do this during Ramadan -- that would be REALLY insensitive...

[Guest BDC]

Ends justifying the means, anyone?

 

Did he hurt the guy? That gives us a leg up on them, I would think.

[Swift Terror 0]

Well, Lt. Col. West's trial is beginning. He said he would do the same thing again, and that the safety and lives of his men are the most important thing to him. His actions did in fact save many lives, as they stopped an attack that was imminent. We see this kind of thing acted out on TV drama shows all the time. Shit, everybody cheers as Jack Bauer beats the fuck out of some guy he wants info from. Well, now it's real life, and real lives are on the line. As Harry Callahan said, "Well I'm all choked up over that man's rights."

 

And where the fuck is Jesse Jackson and Al 'poo face' Sharpton? The Lt. Col. is a black man, and those two are silent on this. Not one word. Way to stand up for your fellow blacks, guys. But we all know by now that they really could give a shit.

 

This guy is being railroaded and it is really sickening.

[Guest MikeSC]

Well, Lt. Col. West's trial is beginning. He said he would do the same thing again, and that the safety and lives of his men are the most important thing to him. His actions did in fact save many lives, as they stopped an attack that was imminent. We see this kind of thing acted out on TV drama shows all the time. Shit, everybody cheers as Jack Bauer beats the fuck out of some guy he wants info from. Well, now it's real life, and real lives are on the line. As Harry Callahan said, "Well I'm all choked up over that man's rights."

 

And where the fuck is Jesse Jackson and Al 'poo face' Sharpton? The Lt. Col. is a black man, and those two are silent on this. Not one word. Way to stand up for your fellow blacks, guys. But we all know by now that they really could give a shit.

 

This guy is being railroaded and it is really sickening.

He actually has one of the greatest quotes EVER:

 

"To protect my troops, I'll walk into hell with a gasoline can in my hand"

-=Mike

...West >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Clark

Edited November 21, 2003 by DrTom

[Guest JMA]

Nothing to do now but wait for the end of the trial and the verdict.

[Vyce 0]

Court martial him?

 

Pin a fucking medal on his chest. Hell, PROMOTE him. We need more men like him in our armed forces.

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

And where the fuck is Jesse Jackson and Al 'poo face' Sharpton?

Methinks someone didn't put in some greenbacks for Operation DOUCHE and whatever racket Poo Face is running.

 

Too bad he didn't go into the beer distribution business with one of Jackson's kin...

[Jobber of the Week 0]

Well, at first I was going to sarcastically respond "Well, I'm just all in tears over that Iraqi's civil rights." but then this guy basically has stated that he's proud of what he did, so he gets what he deserves.

 

However, chances are it'll be a slap on the wrist and a wish that it all blows over.

[Vyce 0]

Why should he NOT be proud of what he's did, Jobber?

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

Oops. Didn't mean to do this.

 

This post never existed...

[Jobber of the Week 0]

Why should he NOT be proud of what he's did, Jobber?

Because he's not supposed to do that?

[Guest JMA]

I really wish I had more imformation on this situation.

[Vern Gagne 0]

What weiner told on him?

[Lando Griffin 0]

Why should he NOT be proud of what he's did, Jobber?

Because he's not supposed to do that?

Yeah, it would've been a lot better had he given the Iraqi a big hug and let his men get killed. That would've been much more preferable to scaring the guy and saving his men's lives.

 

I would understand your position if he had actually, you know, hurt the guy.

[Guest MikeSC]

Well, at first I was going to sarcastically respond "Well, I'm just all in tears over that Iraqi's civil rights." but then this guy basically has stated that he's proud of what he did, so he gets what he deserves.

 

However, chances are it'll be a slap on the wrist and a wish that it all blows over.

The man did his job.

 

He got info to PREVENT an attack that would KILL American soldiers.

 

He is what the military needs.

 

As soembody said, it seems like the people running the military can't handle ACTUAL war.

 

Given a choice of violating some terrorist monkey's civil rights and protecting American soldiers --- well, sorry chimp, but you don't really matter to a great deal in comparison.

-=Mike

[Swift Terror 0]

Well, at first I was going to sarcastically respond "Well, I'm just all in tears over that Iraqi's civil rights."

 

Here's another quote you may wish to sarcastically respond to:

 

When asked if there was room for forgiveness over terrorists who wish to destroy us, Norman Schwarzkopf said: "I believe that forgiving them is God's function. Our job is simply to arrange the meeting." Now I must say that is highly insensitive, sure to piss off many enlightened individuals out there.

 

The guy West interrogated was indeed a terrorist who was part of plot to kill American soldiers and he had participated in previous attacks.

[Jobber of the Week 0]

Yeah, it would've been a lot better had he given the Iraqi a big hug and let his men get killed.  That would've been much more preferable to scaring the guy and saving his men's lives

He did something that, according to his job, he's not supposed to do. However, it had a positive effect in the big picture. They will probably give him a virtual slap on the wrist due to the circumstances, and I'll agree with that. But that doesn't mean it was suddently alright for him to do.

[Vern Gagne 0]

But was it wrong Jobber? It wasn't by the book, but sometimes in war when the lives of soldiers are on the line, the quote unquote book needs to put to the side.

[Anakin Flair 0]

I bet they hamstring him to prove that they are handling things fairly and legally in Iraq.