[WHBates]

"Article 128 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice describes criminal assault in these terms: "Any person subject to this chapter who attempts or offers with unlawful force or violence to do bodily harm to another person, whether or not the attempt or offer is consummated, is guilty of assault and shall be punished as a court-martial may direct." The Army's judge advocate interprets West's actions to be in violation of this restriction. This may be correct, but in both civilian and military courts, decisions are frequently made to decline prosecution based on extenuating circumstances -- and this, clearly, should be one of those cases."

Why are they claiming that he is in violation of this article? This can't really be true in a hot zone and that is what we have here. Major hostilities have ended but not the war? At least that is what we are being told. Is there more to this story or what?

[Lucy Lake]

Pinging.

[Mr. Mojo]

BTTT

American hero bump.

[JackFromTexas]

"Any person subject to this chapter who attempts or offers with unlawful force or violence to do bodily harm to another person, whether or not the attempt or offer is consummated, is guilty of assault and shall be punished as a court-martial may direct."

Jeepers! when I was in the Army, that's what we tankers were SUPOSED to do!
Does this apply to Spies, Sabetours, and Traitors?
The 'victim' was a Police Officer on 'our' side, wasn't he?

[inPhase]

Thanks,
signed, hope it helps.

[JoeFromCA]

In Vietnam it was always the Korean units who were able to ID the enemy in the villages. American tactics were too soft, and the US always came away empty handed.

[1234]

will sign-hope FR monitors case-US has gotta up the intimidati0on of enemy strongholds and scare some people, shi**less.

[etcetera]

Email the President here and let him know how you feel about Col. West.

[awaken2spirit]

Thank you for this posting. I was hoping for a way to support Col. West in some way. As other fellow freepers stated, this man deserves a medal not a court martial. As a Viet Nam vet, I find it troubling that our guys are restricted from getting the job done by the infection of political correctness inculcated by the left. I would just love to spit in the face of these assholes in the senate and congress who are undermining the morale of America's best.

[numberonepal]

Well I'm just about as sick of this crap as I can get. More PC junk warfare.

A couple/few REAL soldiers ought to find the nosey Parker, tattletale, sissified a$$ muncher and pay him a little visit.

The enemy is laughing at us on this one, I assure you.

[sheik yerbouty]

This is Kafkaesque!

[MeekOneGOP]

Allen B. West, Lt. Col., U.S. Army

Thanks for posting this article and the link to the petition.

Please sign this petition.

We, the people of these United States, rightfully petition our President, House of Representatives, Senate and Department of Defense on behalf of Army Lt. Col. Allen B. West. Col. West, together with his fellow line officers engaged in combat with terrorists in Iraq, has been ordered to complete a difficult mission under impossible circumstances. U.S. forces in Iraq are not engaged in conventional warfare. They are facing a terrorist enemy who blends into the civilian population -- hiding behind women and children -- only to reemerge to conduct deadly attacks against our troops, themselves fettered by the rules used to govern traditional wars. Col. West's own battalion faces such attacks almost every day. While we acknowledge that U.S. soldiers have an obligation to adhere to a higher standard than their enemy counterparts, and that the Uniform Code of Military Justice is a fair and just standard in ordinary cases, we believe the circumstances surrounding Col. West's case are extraordinary, to say the least. It is beyond dispute that Col. West's actions saved the lives of men under his command when he extracted information of an impending attack against himself and his men from an enemy combatant in his custody. In twice firing his sidearm, Col. West never intended nor did he actually harm the interrogated prisoner. In this case, the end does indeed justify the means.

Col. West's actions do not merit prosecution, demotion, loss of benefits or prison time. Col. West's actions merit the praise of his countrymen for the lives he saved in the line of duty. We, citizens of the United States, do hereby petition for Col. West's reprieve from prosecution and return to duty through the intervention of the President, the Congress or the Department of Defense. We will not forget how our nation's leaders choose to treat this brave soldier.

Please let me know if you want ON or OFF my General Interest ping list!. . .don't be shy.

[Tailgunner Joe]

Some people are more concerned with convicting our own soldiers for war crimes for frightening the poor enemy than they are with winning the war. Do they think they are fooling anyone into believing they anything other than traitors who live to see the American military humiliated and cast as villians and criminals for wanting to defeat our enemies?