In Defense of Lt. Col. Alan B. West

[thedrifter]

11-19-2003

In Defense of Lt. Col. Alan B. West



By Jim Simpson


A few weeks ago, one very brave officer took a battle action that saved American lives and simultaneously demonstrated what may be the only way in many circumstances to obtain tactical intelligence on the insurgents in Iraq.



Did he face a battalion of enemy guerillas alone? Did he run through an artillery barrage to save a wounded soldier? No. Something infinitely more dangerous: He defied the U.S. Army’s own legion of spineless lawyers and the gutless commanders who acquiesce to their edicts.



Lt. Col. Alan B. West, an African American – which makes him doubly politically incorrect, and therefore certain to face harsh handling by the Pentagon’s PC Police – fired his weapon near the head of an Iraqi policeman, feigning a threat but not actually threatening the suspect’s life. Why did he do this? To obtain vital, on-the-ground intelligence that prevented an ambush of West’s troops and resulted in the capture of its intended perpetrators.



This should not even rise to the level of debate, but since so many armchair philosophers, safely ensconced in their warm, comfortable libraries, self-righteously decry West’s action, it appears debate is necessary.



In earlier days, troops on the ground took whatever action necessary to gain tactical advantage. This sometimes meant getting rough with enemy prisoners to obtain essential intelligence. They were justified in doing so, both to save American servicemen’s lives and shorten the war. They were relatively confident their actions would not be reported on the nightly news, partially because their commanders were more likely to look the other way, and partially because they did not face the instant communications capability and utter lack of loyalty of the news media today.



What are we so afraid of? The most frequently heard objection to our use of these tactics is the protest: “But then we will be just like them (the enemy).” This is the pinnacle of absurdity.



In World War II, when Hitler first used Blitzkrieg tactics to storm across Europe, the world was outraged, shocked! Yet we adopted similar tactics almost immediately. When he bombed London the world was horrified, shocked! Yet the British responded in kind with relentless nightly carpet-bombing of German cities, resulting in far greater civilian casualties than Hitler ever dreamed of.



No one blinked an eye.



In the European Theatre, the United States chose daylight precision bombing instead. It spared the German population some of the devastation wrought by the British, but at a high cost in American airmen’s lives. Were we driven by some grand humanitarian passion to avoid civilian casualties at the risk of American lives? Absurd!



We believed that destroying Germany’s industrial infrastructure was key to halting their war-making capability. And the best way to do that was with daytime pinpoint bombing of industrial targets, which was only possible because of the American-made Norden Bombsight.



Did we follow that recipe in Japan? No. We chose instead to conduct nighttime incendiary carpet-bombing raids on Japanese cities that caused more civilian casualties than both atomic bombs. Was this done out of some sadistic desire for revenge? Absurd!



It was because Japan had dispersed its war production facilities to small shops throughout its cities to deny us easy bombing targets. Since Japanese cities were largely constructed of wood, incendiary bombs targeting the entire city were the best way to attack Japan’s war-making capability. Ultimately it took the atomic bomb to convince them to surrender, saving in the process the millions of lives, both American and Japanese, which an invasion would have cost.



Did we ever hear anyone protest that such brutal tactics would make us “just like them”? Absurd!



They would have been laughed out of their boots. We were fighting for our survival! Our sole aim throughout was to bring that war to a victorious end with as little bloodshed as possible. And we succeeded because we were willing to do whatever necessary to achieve that end. There was never a question that we would become “just like them.” In fact, we avoided being “just like them” by beating them on the battlefield. Instead, they became just like us – a good thing, though it doubtless annoys the French.



All those American leftists, who insist that we don’t deserve to win if we can’t do it with both hands tied behind our backs, are the same as the scumbags who cheered the North Vietnamese for torturing American POWs during the Vietnam War. The use of torture, mass murder, or any other form of brutality has never been objectionable to these people when conducted by lovable communist guerillas or some other equally odious group with whom they find sympathy.



If the Left is so worried about us becoming “just like them,” how come they don’t have a problem with the behavior of “them”? By their twisted logic, becoming “just like them” would be a good thing! The North Vietnamese broke every international law on the books. Where are the Nuremburg Trials for them? How about the North Koreans? The Chinese? The Russians? All are guilty of unspeakable barbarity.



Whether you know it or not, whether you like it or not, we are once again in a battle for our survival. The War on Terror is not optional. The attacks on 9/11 were the international terrorist movement’s shot across the bow, and we ignore it at our mortal peril. You can sit in your easy chair and whine about our tactics. You can join the Democrats and cynically use the Bush administration’s mistakes as leverage for your own political edification.



Either way, if the terrorists have their way, you will be just as dead.



If we allow our soldiers to be hamstrung by back-office cowards who care more about their dainty images than the lives of their soldiers, then we are just as morally corrupt as the Islamic fundamentalists claim. We will have ceded certain victory to any enemy, great or small. Without the ability to ferret them out, our vaunted military becomes toothless.



All the insurgents need do is keep up the ambushes until our losses become politically unpalatable. Then our political system will inevitably force the current administration to call for a pullout or replace it with a new administration that will.



The officers and bureaucrats who are gunning for Lt. Col. West should be forced to walk point on the streets of Tikrit. They’ll either become quick converts or quick casualties – thereby doing us a favor by culling the gene pool of the mindless, pusillanimous idiots that they are.



Our nation needs more men like Lt. Col. Alan B. West.



Jim Simpson is a Contributing Editor of DefenseWatch. He can be reached at

one.wonders@verizon.net.

http://www.sftt.org/cgi-bin/csNews/c....7702340090134


Sempers,

Roger

[thedrifter]

OPERATION: IRAQI FREEDOM
Officer facing charges
would do it again
West: To protect my men 'I'd go through hell with a gasoline can'

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted: November 19, 2003
2:49 p.m. Eastern



© 2003 WorldNetDaily.com

Lt. Col. Allen West admitted during an emotional preliminary hearing today he used wrong methods to extract information from an Iraqi detainee but insisted American lives were at stake.

Accused of threatening to kill the Iraqi if he didn't disclose details of an imminent plot against U.S. soldiers, West was asked by his defense attorney if he would do it again.

"If it's about the lives of my men and their safety, I'd go through hell with a gasoline can," he said, according to Reuters.

"But that's what's going on out there in the streets here, and that's how I feel about my boys," he told the hearing, held in Saddam Hussein's hometown Tikrit. "There is not a person in this room I would not sacrifice my life for."

West, his voice breaking with emotion, said he had told the families of the men and women in his 4th Infantry battalion before leaving for Iraq he would bring them home alive.

"I know the method I used was not the right method," he said. "I was going to do anything to intimidate and scare him, but I was not going to endanger his life."

Yesterday, West's attorney argued the officer should not be court martialed.

"He doesn't deny doing what is alleged in the charges, but we as a defense team deny the criminality of the charges," said lawyer Neal Puckett, according to Reuters. "Given the circumstances, he hasn't committed any crimes."

As WorldNetDaily reported, under threat of an attack, West took charge of the interrogation of an Iraqi policeman, Yahya Jhodri Hamoody, determined to flush out details as he warned subordinates "it could get ugly." Threatening to kill the Iraqi if he didn't talk, West fired a pistol near the policeman's head, prompting a flow of information that led to arrests and the possible foiling of a deadly attack.

West claims he was the target of an assassination plot, and members of his unit had been attacked by guerrillas linked to the policeman. But Army prosecutors believe his actions on Aug. 21 in the town of Saba al Boor, near Tikrit, violated the Uniform Code of Military Justice. He has been charged with aggravated assault and faces a wide range of possible outcomes from no disciplinary action to a sentence of up to eight years in prison.

The prosecutors gave West a choice – face charges or resign early, losing retirement benefits. The 19-year veteran was scheduled to reach his 20-year retirement one week ago. West chose to face the charges, but already he has been relieved of his position, effectively ending a decorated military career that included a bronze star and another medal for valor in combat.

The preliminary hearing, which began yesterday, is taking place at a military base set up inside a complex of opulent palaces established in Tikrit by Saddam. The hearing room, lit by chandeliers, has marble floors and walls.

When the hearing is complete, possibly today or tomorrow, the presiding officer will assess whether there is sufficient evidence for a court martial. The 4th Infantry's top officer, Maj. Gen. Raymond Odierno, will then decide how to handle the case. He can choose not to proceed with a court martial even if the presiding officer thinks it's warranted.

The Army issued a statement on West's case, charging West beat Hamoody around the head and body.

West said he watched without intervening as his men beat Hamoody, who had information, the troops believed, about plots to attack them.

Other officers testifying at the hearing said the plots included an imminent plan to kill West, Reuters reported.

When Hamoody refused to reveal information, West said he took the policeman outside and forced him over a sandbox used by soldiers to clear their weapons.

"I placed my left hand against the side of his head and fired away from him," West said, according to Reuters.

As a result, Hamoody revealed plans to establish a sniper position near a police station visited by West's soldiers.


Yesterday, a witness, Pvt. Michael Johnson, said he and other soldiers "weren't hitting him as hard as we possibly could."

The private, when asked to describe the policeman's reaction, said, according to the news wire, "He was curling up in a ball."

Intelligence information indicated Hamoody was involved in plots to attack U.S. troops, several soldiers testified, although one sergeant said there was no evidence of it.

Johnson, recalling the incident in question, said the policeman was taken outside after interrogators were unable to get him to talk.

After West fired the pistol near Hamoody's head, into the sandbox, the policeman was scared, he was really scared," Johnson said.

Before leaving for Iraq, West's attorney, Puckett, told WND he had received about 100 e-mails in support of his client, some from veterans who served in Korea and Vietnam.

"Nearly everyone says this guy is an American hero who should be commended rather than court martialed," Puckett said.

West said in an e-mail to the Washington Times, "I have never denied what happened and have always been brutally honest."

"I accept responsibility for the episode, but my intent was to scare this individual and keep my soldiers out of a potential ambush," he continued. "There were no further attacks from that town. We further apprehended two other conspirators (a third fled town) and found out one of the conspirators was the father of a man we had detained for his Saddam Fedeyeen affiliation."

West said Hamoody "and his accomplices were a threat to our soldiers and the method was not right, but why should I lose 20 years of service or be forced into prison for protecting my men?"

Puckett said if citizens want to express their view, they can contact their Congress members in the House of Representatives and the Senate or the Army. An e-mail to the Defense Department can be sent via this page by clicking the "Ask a question/Make a comment" tab at the top of the page.

West can be contacted by e-mail and his wife has her own e-mail address.

Angela West has set up a legal fund for her husband with the following address: Allen West Defense Fund c/o Angela West, 6823 Coleman Drive, Ft. Hood, TX 76544.



http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/ar...TICLE_ID=35702


Sempers,

Roger

[P. M. SHEEHAN]

If anyone deserves a medal, West sure does. Hey, Jessica, why don't you give him yours? It just goes to show that in this politically correct ,robotic world called the Pentagon there is no longer room for gutsy heros. This whole situation is totally outrageous and has everybody shaking their heads. This is a real case of "you can't win for losin'." Where are you Chesty when we need you!!!!!

[GySgtRet]

A commander with a pair, now that is very rare indeed. Make hima full Col. He is very valuable to the cause of freedom.