Posted on 11/06/2003 4:44:20 AM PST by Jeff Head
The following is Lt. Col. Allen B. West's own candid comment regarding the situation he faced in Iraq, as reported by the Washington Dispatch on November 5, 2003:
"I have never denied what happened and have always been brutally honest," said Col. West. "I accept responsibility for the episode, but my intent was to scare this individual and keep my soldiers out of a potential ambush. There were no further attacks from that town. We ... 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. "Colonel West takes personal responsibility for his actions. He makes no bones about it, he threatened this Iraqi spy bodliy harm to get information from him. And that is what he was, a spy working within the Iraqi Police Force that has been established and supported by the coalition authority. As a spy, under the so-called rules of war, I believe he could have shot the man. Perhaps that is an angle that should be explored.
In either case, Colonel West's actions no doubt saved the lives of Americans...the lives he is principally responsible for...and that was his motivation.
He understood that while he may have violated the rules (and he admits to and takes responsibility for this as well)...he also understood he was going to do what had to be done, in a war zone, to save the lives of the men under his command.
The rules were written by men and women sitting in safe seats far away from combat and the brutal reality of the moment. For the most part they are good rules and should not be violated. But there are times when the SHTF that you have to do what you must to save the lives of those you are responsible for, American lives, and accomplish the mission. Colonel West knew his greater responsibility and he performed it, regardless of personal cost. The trait of a true leader in my book.
President Truman incinerated tens of thousands of Japanese to save hundreds of thousands of Americans...and in so doing he also saved millions of Japanese. In today's world and PC nomenclature this might be considered a war crime...a violation of the "rules". But back then it was heralded by the soldiers as a God-send...and by Americans back home as what had to be done to end the war. People who had seen for themsleves the cold reality of four years of World War.
That generation is dying out and it seems we have forgottent their experiences and the lessons.
The reality is, that by scaring this man in the fashion he did...West not only saved American lives...he saved the lives of Iraqis as well.
God bless you Colonel West...you've got my back any time!
Charlie Mike.
I pray we will have the will as a people to see it through...no only there, but in the other places we smoke out by doing so. otherwise, we will be in danger of experiencing events like I try and war of in my DRAGON'S FURY SERIES.
Here's hoping that cool heads prevail and that Col. West is allowed to live out his life in the honorable way he deserves. Agree with you....he can have my six anytime.
We must maintain and remember that perspective.
I roger and voice a firm Amen to that.
His ninth grade brother is working to immulate his brother once he gets in high school.
The outlines of a plea bargain are pretty obvious - retirement with pay in exchange for a drop of criminal charges.
Your comments allude to an issue I've not seen discussed on any of the threads. The common law recognizes a defense called duress or necessity where the defendant can be acquited if he shows he had to commit a crime to prevent a greater harm. The requirements are pretty strict and the defense is not often used, but this might be such a case. I don't know if the military courts recognize the defense, but they often follow case law from civilian courts if there is no military precedent.
I am sympathetic to the other point of view. It is important that commanders set an example and do not ignore orders or mistreat prisoners. So, I'm inclined to think some penalty is appropriate, but we haven't heard what the prosecutors think they have on LTC West other than his own statement.
I also believe that in the time-critical, combat environment he was in, that he made an appropriate, albeit difficult, decision. He chose to put himself at risk in order to get the needed information and achieved a successful mission which minimized US losses.
If all of that comes out as being the case, then Lt. Col. West, no matter what the verdict is, is a certifiable hero in my book and worthy of our respect, honor and praise.
Thanks for your rational and reasoned discourse on the matter. We all need a whole lot more of that.
TERRORIST WARNING! ALERT!It applies very well to one of the important considerations I explore in my Dragon's Fury Series of novels
"We have Nicaragua, soon we will have El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica, and Mexico. One day, tomorrow or five years or fifteen years from now, we're going to take 5 to 10 million Mexicans and they are going into Dallas, into El Paso, into Houston, into New Mexico, into San Diego, and each one will have embedded in his mind the idea of killing ten Americans."
--Thomas Borge, Nicaragua Interior Minister as quoted in the Washington Times, March 27, 1985
Element number four of aggravated assault: "(iv) That the weapon, means, or force was used in a manner likely to produce death or grievous bodily harm." The Manual explians further: "A weapon is dangerous when used in a manner likely to produce death or grievous bodily injury." For example, assault with an unloaded weapon is not an aggravated assault whether or not the victim believes the gun is loaded. Shooting a weapon into a disposal barrel is not an action likely to produce death or grievous bodily injury.
Please read the Manual for Courts Martial. Yes the entire thing. Sometimes you have to do more than skim a statute to get the whole story.
Plus, you have not considered the defenses of defense of a third person, R.C.M. 916(e)(5) or duress, 916(h):
"It is a defense to any offense except killing an innocent person that the accused's participation in the offense was caused by a reasonable apprehension that the accused or another innocent person would be immediately killed or would immediately suffer serious bodily injury if the accused did not commit the act. The apprehension must reasonably continue throughout the commission of the act. If the accused has any reasonable opportunity to avoid committing the act without subjecting the accused or another innocent person to the harm threatened, this defense shall not apply."
If LTC West's statement is correct on the facts, he has an outstanding chance of acquittal, if this case gets past the Art. 32.
You just couldn't read the whole Manual, could you?
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