[ayoshida]

I've written an article on this:

A Hero of the War

Too many in America and, indeed, in the world as a whole seem to have forgotten the realities of war. Speaking to military cadets a few decades after the end of the Civil War, General William Tecumseh Sherman reminded them that, “war is all hell.” Several decades of antiseptic combat and, in particular, a decade of Clinton-style ‘warmaking’ have caused far too many Americans to believe that war is a combination between a video game and an episode of Law and Order, where individuals getting hurt is a sign than something is going wrong and the ultimate goal of war is to ‘bring the enemy to justice.’

As an extension of this mentality we expect our soldiers to act like policemen and so, it would seem, do some of their commanders.

US Army Lieutenant Colonel Allen B. West is under threat of Court Martial for his actions in Iraq. Already he has been removed from his command, an action which will probably end his career. What is his crime? Did his incompetence cost the lives of his men? Did he lose a battle? No: far from it. Col. West is a distinguished officer, a holder of a Bronze Star. His actions in the incident in question probably saved the lives of some of his men. His only supposed ‘crime’ is that he ‘assaulted’ an Iraqi prisoner by firing a pistol in his general direction.

Soldiers cannot operate with the same restraints as FBI Agents. War is different than law enforcement. There is less room for regard for the rights of others. In some cases, there is no room for the lives of others.

It is said that for many years afterwards Bill Clinton would regularly recall the name of the sole Iraqi killed in the reprisal raids he ordered in 1993 after it was revealed that Iraq had tried to assassinate former President George HW Bush. Some on the left take this as a sign of his humanity and compassion. I take it as a sign of his stupidity, weakness, and cowardice. Iraqis who served the former regime invited their own demise. Moreover, had Clinton responded effectively to the attempted assassination of a President it is virtually certain that he would have killed at least some of the people who continue to organize resistance today. War is the application of organized violence to serve a political ends. Of course people die in war: that is to be expected. We should not apologize for the fact or seek to evade it. If anything, we should encourage it. There is no room for sentimentality or weakness in combat.

Let us review the incident in question in some more detail. An Iraqi policeman with knowledge of an upcoming attack on American forces was captured. Despite hours of interrogation he refused to say anything. When West was summoned to the scene, with an attack imminent, he threatened the Iraqi with death if he refused to answer. The Iraqi, believing that an American would not be allowed to do such a thing, continued to refuse to answer. West and another man then took the Iraqi outside and West fired his pistol over the man’s head. The Iraqi then provided information which foiled an attack.

As a result of these actions, the Army sought to cashier Colonel West, demanding that he resign just a few weeks ahead of his 20th year of service and surrender any further benefits. When he refused to accept any deal, they charged him with aggravated assault.

This is an outrage. Those of you who read my work regularly know that I wouldn’t have cared even if Colonel West had shot the man to compel his obedience, but the fact is that he didn’t. He didn’t hurt or kill anyone. In fact, he saved the lives of his men. Such actions ought not be condemned, but praised.

Forget disciplining Lieutenant Colonel West, he should be promoted and given a medal for his quick thinking and courage. I realize that Colonel West has said that he doesn’t wish to be lauded for his actions and he feels that the honor belongs to his men, but that is simply the characteristic modesty of a true hero. Besides, given the disgraceful way that the Colonel has been treated to date, promotion and decoration is the least that he is owed.

This is a real war and we need real men to lead us. By all accounts, Colonel West is just the sort of man. Aggressive, tough, and unwilling to buckle under pressure. He and others like him are the real heroes and military leaders that we need.

In every major American war the combat leaders at the end of the war have been almost totally different from those at the beginning. Who was George Patton in 1940? Who was William Sherman in 1860? Who was Nathan Bedford Forrest before his war? Great fighters seem to rise from obscurity when the country calls. When Patton died in 1945, his wife Beatrice declared, “He will come again, when a solider is needed.” We are in the process of finding our Patton.

We are putting together the team of soldiers who will win us the war. We have found warriors in General Peter J. Schoomaker, the new Army Chief of Staff, in Lieutenant General William Boykin, the Deputy Secretary of Defense for Intelligence, in Major General Jim Mattis, who commanded the Marine contingent in Afghanistan and the 1st Marine Division on the march to Baghdad, and in countless others who have risen to high positions during the past year because of their exceptional skill and fierceness. I mention these names because two of them (Schoomaker and Boykin) would never have ended up in their present positions were it not for the war. Schoomaker was actually called back from retirement to lead the Army and Boykin was personally promoted by Secretary Rumsfeld. They are the leaders of a new Armed Forces that will win the war.

Now I am not saying that Colonel West is a Patton, or even a future Army Chief of Staff. I am incapable of making such a judgement. However, it would be a travesty to deprive the Republic of his services at a time such as this. We need officers who know how to fight the enemy, not ones who got an A+ in charm school.

[HuntsvilleTxVeteran]

C2CO

[GladesGuru]

"the stuffed shirts in the judge advocate’s office" - these bachelor's children are the same bunch that forbid launching a missle from a remote aircraft when ben Laden was in their sights.

Nice guys. True Americans.

All we can hope for is that Rumsfield won't let the stuffed shirts get away with it this time.

[GeronL]

If Bush lets this guy become a scape goat, I might just start changing my mind on the war. If the troops aren't allowed to protect themselves then I can't see why we would win.

[Fledermaus]

If George Bush was a true leader, he'd quietly pick up the phone as Commander in Chief and give orders.

But then again, it's under his so-called leadership that we have these ridiculous rules of engagement in Iraq.

They are so worried some CNN crew will tape a video of some soldier slapping around some Iraqi worthless piece of crap.

And the Dems call Bush a hard headed Cowboy? That denigrates the likes of John Wayne since Bush is more like the Sheriff coward in "High Plains Drifter" following PC rules about fanatic Islamists.

Heads need to be cracked in Iraq and cracked hard. That's what the Iraqis are going to do once they are cops and soldiers.

[doug from upland]

The colonel is a hero. He didn't shoot him. He only got him to 1)crap his pants, and 2)talk, so that American lives were saved.

[glock rocks]

s.s.s.

[Dubya]

Good post Brian S

[EverOnward]

A Lt. Col. West Bump -- maybe he could run for public office -- I'm looking for someone I could vote for.

[AEMILIUS PAULUS]

Assuming we are getting the 'real story' this case is simply another application of the statement "in declining states the leadership intuitively choses the most harmful course of action."-A Great Historian 1888

[xzins]

LTC West engaged in behavior that he himself admits he is willing to accept retirement over.

That says what is known throughout the military: West pushed the envelope and it came to light. To West's credit, he didn't play games. He honestly and with integrity said he did it and why he did it.

I deeply respect the man.

He shouldn't be imprisoned. He should be sent home to his retirement, and this should be forgotten. That is punishment enough.

[MadeInOhio]

I emailed LTC West yesterday. It was just a word of encouragement.

He was kind enough to respond. In his brief missive he asked that I pray on behalf of our troops and for his family.

(WorldNetDaily reports West's daughters are being harassed at school over this incident).

Just thought I'd share his request and suggest something that LTC West didn't -- that his name be added to the prayer list.

[Travis McGee]

bttt

[Free Vulcan]

And this people is why we are having such a hard time over there. Of course it is all a setup, terrorists on one side, PC liberals on the other, and Bush has to carefully tiptoe thru the minefield and win victory with his hands tied and weights on his ankles. All the while the liberals smack their lips and drool like Pavlovian dogs over the carnage, exploiting it to the max in a nearly naked display of raw lust for political power.

This guy was clever and smart for what he did, and he's being crucified for cleverly threading the needle, to forstall a media feeding frenzy over his un PC behavior.

[Smokin' Joe]

I am afraid that the Colonel has unfortunately ended up in a political crossfire. The media is doing its damndest to turn this war into another Vietnam, where the military wins the war and the media and politicians throw the victory away. There are enough former Clinton PC suckbutts in the ranks somewhere to feed this into the press. And (thank God) though the media cannot tweak this into another My Lai debacle, they are assuredly waiting for just such a situation so they can demonize our troops.

The Armed Forces, cannot afford to even appear to be engaging in misconduct of that nature. Hence the Colonel will be drummed out.

It stinks, he sounds like a good officer (looking out for his men, not dissimilating or passing blame) and not a politician.

No doubt that will affect morale as the pc 'rules of engagement' start making military operations progressively more hazardous and less efficient. And the press will continue to hammer on the drum of 'Bush=Failure', even at the expense of our Service personnel.

[Mike Darancette]

Has anyone here seen the movie "Breaker Morant"?

Same deal here I think.

[Avoiding_Sulla]

Saving Your Skin and Everyone Else's
On sensible anger when dealing with terrorists

by WWII - IPW Veteran

October 31, 2003.

When dealing with terrorists in Iraq, we can't play like gentlemen. We need to act as they do. It is not right to subjugate our soldiers to following our arbitrary unilateral adoption of Geneva Convention behavior for dealing with irregulars. That is not required, and we are crazy to have adopted that policy. In the real world, such an attitude is dishonorable. We must deal with these terrorist cowards in the only terms they will respect.

<excerpted from pascalfervor.com>

This is testimony from just one interrogator of SS during WWII. There must be more than a handful of vets still alive who would also attest to what passed for the unofficial ways of the past.

Our fighting men deserve better than these officious, spineless, double-crossing Leftist holdovers from the Clinton administration making our troops' job tougher and our safety that much more uncertain.

And I'm so sure we should be swallowing all of this "clinton holdovers" excuse. Clinton cashiered every justice department lawyer at the beginning of his term; why wasn't that therefore ok for dubya? What's keeping him?

We need to get angry. Thanks for the start ayoshida.

[ido_now]

Very bad story.

If I was a soldier somewhere, I would prefer to be under the command of Gen George S Patton, [4 star, should be 5].

He like MacArthur knew that "There is no substitute for victory."

If GWB offered me a beer I would throw it in his face.

[The Westerner]

When news of this makes the rounds of middle America, volunteer enlistment will drop. Who wants to join an Army like this? And after the story I recently heard from a friend who lectured at West Point on the morality of war, I'd say that the fish stinks from the head.

[Vets_Husband_and_Wife]

This story disturbs both of us deeply. We agree.. what the hell is wrong with the brass on this one! This man got what he needed out of the prisoner in order to protect his troops. PERIOD.

This is WAR! Not some MAMBY PAMBY occassion were the troops can afford to stroke and pet a prisoner and feed them cake and punch.

Man, I hope Col. West will NOT quit.. I pray to God he stays the course and fights this. Otherwise he has lost his retirement and everything he has fought for and stood for. Surely every person sitting on a panel will stand with him. This just reeks of injustice.

At a time when TERRORISTS are snipe'ing our troops, a few more people NEED guns pointed at their heads.. HELL .. they need BULLETS put through their heads in order to show we mean business!!! For GOD'S sake.. we are losing people over there at an alarming rate!!

This is pure BS!! The Col. needs a MEDAL for showing RESTRAINT!! Then one for showing how an interogation should be done!