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From America the Beautiful:

O beautiful for heroes proved
In liberating strife,
Who more than self their country loved,
And mercy more than life!

In my judgment, Lt. Col. West put his country and his men before his own career. Regardless of how this turns out, he will always be one of my heroes, and every time I hear this hymn I'll think of him and be grateful.

I don't want to see ANY soldier tried and convicted of crimes. I really hope this works out in his favor. But I also don't want us to start down the slippery slope of excusing any form of unethical or illegal behavior just because it's a tough situation.

I spent 15 years in the Army myself, and as an officer I was rigorously instructed on the rules of land warfare and the UCMJ (Uniform Code of Military Justice). History has absolutely proven that adherence to the agreed-upon principles and laws of warfare are INVALUABLE in ending conflicts and limiting human suffering. Nothing could be worse to our own troops morale than to begin deviating from those accepted standards.

Look at what happened to LT William Calley in Vietnam. He made an "exception", and that was a turning point where public sentiment turned against the US and the war. I believe that LTC West was an honorable officer who was faced with a tough decision. He certainly was no LT Calley, but we can't allow any "exceptions" to be made for expediency's sake, because the next exception will be even easier to make.

If we want to lose this war, then we should stop following the rules we all agreed upon long ago. We'll immediately lose the support of the American public and any sympathetic Iraqis (whom we depend upon for intel), and we'll gain a significant number of enemies.

I have to throw my two cents in here. I am currently on active duty, U.S. Army. I have 21 years of active service. COL West was wrong, no ifs, ands, or buts. It was a violation of the UCMJ and he knew it. I understand his frustration, but it does not excuse a WAR CRIME. If the Iraqi had not talked after the second shot, what would have been next? A round on the hand, foot, knee? There has to be a line drawn somewhere and the U.S. Military drew it a long time ago. I am glad that a tragady was averted, but it does not make it right. And I for one take great pride in knowing the I and my fellow Soldiers hold the high ground on morality. I do not want to sink to the low levels of oue adversaries in Iraq.