WEST: Court martial of US officer in Iraq

aljazeera.net ^ | Tuesday 18 November 2003, 13:08 Makka Time, 10:08 GMT

[Bobibutu]

Court martial of US officer in Iraq

Tuesday 18 November 2003, 13:08 Makka Time, 10:08 GMT A court martial hearing against a high-ranking US military official on charges of beating up an Iraqi detainee has begun in Tikrit. 

Court martial of US officer in Iraq

Lieutenant-Colonel Allen West is charged on three counts -  beating Yahya Hamudi, threatening to kill him and firing his gun near the detainee's head during interrogation on 20 August.

The hearing, which started on Tuesday, marks the first time that legal proceedings have been initiated against a senior US officer in Iraq.

West's driver, appearing as a witness, said the officer waved his gun in the air and later fired it after Hamudi refused to talk. The driver, Private Michael Johnson, 20, added that the Iraqi was beaten during the interrogation at a detention centre in Taji, outside Baghdad.    "When he was not giving information that was pleasing to the interrogator or translator, we'd use abusing tactics, mainly striking him," Johnson said.    Asked how hard the detainee was hit, he said: "We weren't hitting him as hard as we possibly could." 

The soldiers later pushed the detainee's head into a sandbox used by soldiers to clear their weapons, where West fired shots near Hamudi's head, said Johnson. 

Demanding names 

West wanted the Iraqi man to divulge the names of people who allegedly wanted to assassinate him.    Johnson said Hamudi was an Iraqi policeman who prior to his detention had taken part in raids with US troops.    An officer who had questioned West after the incident said the defendant had admitted to firing near Hamudi's head and that soldiers beat the detainee, who was yelling and screaming. 

Two-day trial  

The proceedings are expected to last at least two days, and West's civilian lawyer, retired lieutenant-colonel Neal Puckett, said his client was unlikely to testify before Wednesday.    The pre-trial hearing was held in an octagonal, marble-lined room in one of the palaces used as the headquarters of the US army's 4th Infantry Division in Tikrit, the hometown of ousted president Saddam Hussein, 180km north of Baghdad.    A lieutenant colonel chairs the pre-trial hearing, after which he will write a report recommending to the commander who directed the investigation what action should be taken.    A military spokesman said the proceedings were the first against an officer in Iraq reported to occupation offices in Baghdad.

Reuters

[Calpernia]

Written by our own Freeper Trevorj:

http://www.townhall.com/columnists/GuestColumns/Bothwell20031118.shtml

Jessica Lynch, Col. West, and Common Sense
Trevor Bothwell (back to web version) | Send


November 18, 2003

It is an odd phenomenon that a nation immersed in a war for civilization itself is inspired more by the capture of a soldier than by a soldier who prevents capture by enemy forces.

I’m speaking of course about Pfc. Jessica Lynch, who is currently enjoying the spoils of media celebrity, and Lt. Col. Allen West, who is right now being punished for brilliantly thwarting an ambush against his troops in Iraq.

To be fair, it isn’t surprising that the media has jumped all over the Jessica Lynch story. Pretty, young, and blonde are three attributes not uncommon to success in the entertainment industry, and we all sympathize with the hardship that Jessica endured during her capture in Iraq. However, intending no disrespect to her, Ms. Lynch is not a heroine -- which she herself recently acknowledged to Diane Sawyer in her first TV interview -- but merely the victim of an unfortunate wrong turn.

In stark contrast, Lt. Col. West, who commanded an artillery unit in the Army’s 4th Infantry Division, is being charged with aggravated assault for the heroic tactics he employed a short time ago to save the lives of his men.

Facing gunfire and ambushes, Col. West detained a local police officer he learned had been cooperating with the enemy. Following futile attempts to question the officer, West decided to interrogate his detainee using stronger methods. He discharged his pistol to frighten the police officer, taking care to stand between his weapon and the man, and effectively elicited information that allowed his unit to preempt the ambushes.

For his trouble, Col. West is now faced with the decision to resign from the Army without his pension (for which he would have qualified one week after this incident), or face charges of assault. This is highly disturbing, not least because a distinguished officer is facing his ruin at the very time that the Bush administration is being scolded constantly by the media and other critics for mounting American casualties in Iraq. But when engaged in unconventional warfare, one would think that unconventional methods of survival would seem appropriate when the alternative is sudden and certain death.

The courage of Col. West is evident, and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld should affirm this by absolving West of these charges. But in the event that Mr. Rumsfeld needs some encouragement, I might point out some earlier heroic actions of one of Rumsfeld’s current employees: General John “Mad Arab” Abizaid, Commander, U.S. Central Command.

Abizaid, a highly decorated and accomplished general who now serves as the Pentagon’s point man inside Iraq, began his impressive military career, ironically, it seems, similar to the end of Col. West’s.

Abizaid’s reputation for decisive action was cemented during the 1983 U.S. invasion of Grenada, where, facing a nest of hostile Cuban troops, then-Capt. Abizaid ordered one of his Army Rangers to climb aboard a bulldozer, raise its shovel, and drive it towards the enemy while he and his men advanced behind it (which inspired a fictional scene in Clint Eastwood’s 1986 movie “Heartbreak Ridge”).

But a story that is not so well documented is one told by many senior officers at West Point, and it concerns an event that occurred prior to touching down in Grenada. During approach from the air, Capt. Abizaid allegedly put a .45 to the head of the Air Force pilot who initially would not fly over the drop zone. He also jumped from below 600 feet, which is extremely dangerous. But Abizaid knew that securing the airport with his Ranger Company was critical to the success of the mission.

As one Army expert tells me, “Abizaid probably could have been charged with some type of Article 15 offense (Nonjudicial Punishment)” for the harsh measure of threatening another officer, “but any officer (especially in the Special Operations community) worth the rank on his collar would do the same thing.”

Exactly.

General consensus in the military is that when the bullets start to fly, good leaders do what needs to be done in order to accomplish the mission (within guidelines of the Geneva Convention, of course).

Most Democrats and critics of this war seem to think we can defeat radical Islamists by sending the cast of “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” into the desert to slap our way to victory. America chose to send its best into Iraq because it recognized the need to destroy lunatics who would murder innocent Americans in their sleep. And Col. West exemplifies the bravery and nerve that we’d better demand if we expect to come out of this campaign on top.

Jessica Lynch didn’t ask to stand at the altar of idolatry. Indeed, her TV movie was even made without her cooperation. But her ordeal should not highlight the dignity of placing women in combat nearly as much as it should spur consideration of its discontinuation.

Perhaps the media needs Jessica Lynch. But the U.S. military certainly needs Col. Allen West, if it knows what’s good for it.

Trevor Bothwell is editor of The Right Report. He is a Townhall.com book reviewer and is author of the cookbook, 50 Ways to Impress Your Girlfriend’s Parents. He can be contacted at bothwell@therightreport.com .

[Poohbah]

Perhaps if you could inform us poor souls who are unaware of what "violations" were committed and punished?

Assault, and violation of a lawful order.

Exactly the crimes West is accused of.

[Calpernia]

Legal fund:

Allen West Defense Fund c/o Angela West
6823 Coleman Drive
Ft. Hood, TX 76544

[Calpernia]

Lt. Col. West Ping.

[Poohbah]

During approach from the air, Capt. Abizaid allegedly put a .45 to the head of the Air Force pilot who initially would not fly over the drop zone.

I know a couple Rangers who jumped in Grenada, and this story is pure 100% Grade-A BS.

[Bobibutu]

Thx .. we need to get to the bottom of this.

Either he needs our support or not ... period.

I appreciate your input and insight.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[Calpernia]

Poohbah<----fed up with

[John Valentine]

Your account of the fact is contrary to EVERY version I have seen.

Do you have any support for this story of West punishing his subordinates?

And since when is firing a weapon away from someone "assault"? In all my life I was under the impression that an assault requires an intent to hit, strike or otherwise cause some form of harmful touching.

This is nothing but good, agressive soldiering.

[GopherIt]

>Assault, and violation of a lawful order.

>Exactly the crimes West is accused of.


I think you're mistating this. The others were subjected to Article 15 discipline. The proceedings LTC is facing are a far cry from that.

[MoJo2001]

Thanks for the ping! BTTT!!

God Bless Lt.Col. West and his family!!

[Poohbah]

I have NEVER heard of a field-grade officer getting Article 15'd.

Field-grade officers are granted special trust and confidence that require sterner action in the event of a breach than if it's a private.

[GopherIt]

You missed the point. You are misrepresenting the action taken on the others. And as to FGOs being not being Article 15'd, you don't know what your talking about.

[Poohbah]

Do you have any support for this story of West punishing his subordinates?

It's in all the initial reports. I'll look them up.

And since when is firing a weapon away from someone "assault"?

If I am restraining your head so that you cannot see what I am doing, and then fire a pistol past your ear, that is assualt. Any reasonable person would be in imminent fear for life and limb at that point.

In all my life I was under the impression that an assault requires an intent to hit, strike or otherwise cause some form of harmful touching.

If I am within arm's reach of you, and cock my arm back as if I'm about to punch you, that is an assault, whether or not I actually intended to punch you. You would have reason to believe that I intended to cause you injury.

[Poohbah]

You missed the point. You are misrepresenting the action taken on the others.

They were punished under West's authority as their CO. That's all I've ever said.

And as to FGOs being not being Article 15'd, you don't know what your talking about.

They're held to a higher standard than enlisted personnel; they get to pay a higher price when they fail to meet the standard.

[John Valentine]

All of that is well and good, but I was under the impression that there is a war going on in Iraq, and that American lives are being lost to these snakes.

This was an intense interrogation, not a session of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire". So, the guy got a bullet or two sent past his head. The purpose was to scare him. So what?

And it worked.

Frankly, I think West was remarkably restrained.

I like the idea that when you have two to interrogate, after just a few minutes of questioning, one of the two is casually shot. Then you go to work on the remaining one without removing the body of his friend.

I suppose that puts me in the "bad" book, but I really do feel that under conditions of exigent circumstances, extreme methods should not only be condoned, but encouraged.

[GopherIt]

As I said, you don't know what you're talking about. Bye.

[Jeff Head]

I made a response to this same line of reasoning HERE.

LTC West understands what we face in this war and used his discretion and judgement to do something about it for his men in a time-critical combat circumstance. He took a risk for his men at 19.5 years and is willing to be accountable for it. God bless him, would to God that there were more like him.