Prison for officer's effort to foil attack?

OPERATION: IRAQI FREEDOM Prison for officer's effort to foil attack? Scared Iraqi into revealing details of plot but faces court martial

A U.S. army colonel who allegedly frightened an Iraqi into disclosing details of an impending attack by firing a pistol into the air near his head, faces up to eight years in prison on assault charges.

Army officials have given Lt. Col. Allen B. West of the Fourth Infantry Division a choice – a court martial or resign early, losing retirement benefits. The 19-year veteran says he will reach his 20-year retirement this Saturday.

The Army says West's aggressive interrogation method constitutes an assault under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

West's Army defenders say they are in an intense battle with Saddam Hussein loyalists in the Sunni Triangle near Tikrit where one false move could be their last.

The Aug. 21 incident came amid fears of an impending sniper attack on U.S. forces and reports of an assassination plot aimed at West, an artillery battalion commander.

West told the Washington Times in an e-mail he interrogated an Iraqi policeman who, according to an informer, was involved in attack on U.S. forces. Fearing a new attack, West said he took charge of the interrogation, determined to pry information from the policeman and warning his subordinates "it could get ugly."

"I did not want to expose my soldiers to a possible attack," he said in the e-mail.

West said two of his soldiers did "physically aggress" the policeman but failed to get any information. Finally, he threatened the Iraqi with his 9 mm pistol, firing twice.

"Once I fired into the weapons clearing barrel outside the facility alone, and the next time I did it while having his head close to the barrel," West wrote. "I stood in between the firing and his person. I admit that what I did was not right, but it was done with the concern of the safety of my soldiers and myself."

After informing his superior officer of the incident, West said he heard nothing more until a broader inquiry was launched by army chiefs, the Times said.

The Washington paper reported today West's friends and colleagues are rallying around him.

"Al West is an outstanding officer," said Kryschtal, who served with West in South Korea in 1995 and 1996. "His actions were consistent with his selfless dedication to duty and the welfare of his soldiers. The fact that he reported this incident speaks to his integrity. He should be commended, not persecuted, for saving the lives of our soldiers."

Retired Army Lt. Col. Robert Maginnis, who recently visited 4th Infantry soldiers in a tour of Iraq, told the Times he suspects West has a lot of sympathy from fellow combatants and among families of soldiers in the U.S.

"The difficulty that the 4th ID faces is that the enemy is wearing civilian clothes and hiding behind women and children," he said. "So when you ask a battalion and company commanders to stop the violence against the Iraqi people and against soldiers, the pressure to use aggressive interrogation techniques seems to be reasonable."

In an e-mail to the Times yesterday, West said, "I really wanted to stay hidden but that is no longer possible. I am now at a critical decision point to resign. I cannot afford to be sent to jail and my daughters never see their daddy again. My family is all I have now."

Col. West's wife, Angela, who lives in Fort Hood, Texas, has retained an attorney in North Carolina.

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.

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