Prison for officer's effort to foil attack?

WorldNetDaily.com ^ | October 30, 2003 | WND

[Political Junkie Too]

On yesterday's Armstrong and Getty Show (morning show out of Sacramento), they joked that the problem was that the USA can't control the Middle East because the people over there are used to brutal dictatorships and we aren't brutal enough.

-PJ

[ChadsDad]

We can't become them. They are animals, let us not become the very thing we despise.

[sheik yerbouty]

It's the sad truth.

[prov1813man]

This is crap. Under the current pantywaist rules Patton would have been hauled before a tribunal run by PETA lawyers for shooting that mule. This is war.

[Mat_Helm]

Give him a medal, make him a General, and shoot the bastard Iraqi policemen planning to shoot more Amercian infantry soldiers. Ask the solicitor general and all the Army brass to retire early for harassment of a war hero.

[swarthyguy]

Can we blame this on the Clinton military?

[Mr. Lucky]

In an active combat situation this infantry officer used the least aggressive means necessary to force a prisoner to reveal plans for terrorist acts which had not yet occurred. He should be awarded for saving his troops lives, not persecuted by a desk commando in the Judge Advocate General's office.

[Leatherneck_MT]

Damn right we can

[JonH]

Some politically correct bureaucrat needs to join the real world.

No way this officer should be jailed!

[Irish Eyes]

Lt. Col. Allen B. West spoke the language which the Iraqis understand and he got an answer. Our men and women were at risk and now he must be punished, something is not right with this way of thinking.

[Ben Bolt]

I commend Ltc. West for his fine leadership example .

[FreedomWarrior]

This is War, the Armed Services shoot people and blow up things, It's a Commanders responsibility to protect his Soldiers!! It's getting too P.C. out in the World!! These Soldiers are lucky to have a Commander like Him!!

[Cannoneer No. 4]

Army battalion commander faces assault charges in Iraq

Analysis: This story is interesting on a lot of levels. First, there's the question of effectiveness, and whether LTC West's use of his M9 pistol was effective in interrogating this prisoner. It appers that it was. Second, I think we have to balance that short-term effectiveness against any long-term consequences that flow from these kinds of interrogation tactics. In this case, the firing of two 9mm rounds near the prisoner was clearly coercion in a psychological sense, but I'm not sure whether it really crossed the line into torture. Remember, this is combat, not police work, and the rules are different. I'm not sure whether this incident will really have the kind of long-term consequences the Army is concerned about. Indeed, this kind of interrogation may be necessary to get information that can save American and Iraqi lives.

On another level, this story is interesting because it reveals American attitudes towards misconduct in the ranks. Generally speaking, the Army takes a dim view of this stuff, whether it's done by an Army MP private or an artillery colonel. Indeed, the colonel will usually be treated more harshly, both because of his experience and the command responsibility he bears. Truly, the buck stops in this case with LTC West, and he will be held responsible for anything done in his command. If one of his lieutenants had done this, LTC West probably wouldn't be facing charges now. But he surely would face some administrative action -- possibly the end of his career -- for the incident.

Finally, this story is interesting because it reveals the kind of stress our soldiers and commanders are under in Iraq. I bet that if you asked LTC West last year whether he'd do this, he'd have responded "no". Senior officers in the American Army tend to be very well educated about the laws of war, at least in comparison to our NATO allies and our enemies. If you gave him a hypothetical like this, he probably would have said he'd call in the brigade's counter-intel/HUMINT teams to do the interrogation. But the exigencies of the situation often make people do things they wouldn't ordinarily do. Clearly, LTC West and his unit are under a great deal of stress right now, or else this incident would not have happened.

I'm conflicted about whether these charges are justified or not. LTC West has the ultimate responsibility as commander to protect his unit, and a little bit of "smacky face" (to borrow Jess Bravin's quote from the WSJ) may be justified in this kind of situation. The line between coercion and torture is a very difficult one to draw, and I'm not sure this was the wrong thing to do in this situation. If this case goes to a court martial, LTC West may be able to make that case to a military jury of his peers.

[Cannoneer No. 4]

Ping

[Publius6961]

We can't become them. They are animals, let us not become the very thing we despise.

Thank you for sharing that mindless and useless aphorism.

I hope I never find myself in a position to do whatever it takes. But if I ever do, I sure hope I am able to do more than whine.

[Lazamataz]

We need to Freep the army BUT GOOD!

[Lazamataz]

Can we do something to change the army's attitude on this?

[swarthyguy]

The cause of West's motivation?

an assassination plot aimed at West

[Lazamataz]

The cause of West's motivation? an assassination plot aimed at West

Really? Well if this is true, my enthusiasm for freeping the army (But Good^tm) just went down a notch.