Lt. Col. Allen B. West
Posted on 11/21/2003 3:59:24 PM PST by O6ret
PRESS RELEASE
U.S. House of Representatives
Committee on Armed Services
Duncan Hunter (R-CA), Chairman
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 21, 2003
HOUSE ARMED SERVICES LEADERS DEMAND INFORMATION CONCERNING LT. COLONEL WEST
Actions to Save Soldiers Were Proper Based on Available Information
WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Reps. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) and John M. McHugh (R-NY)are calling on U.S. Army leadership to immediately provide a report on the investigation of Lt. Col. Allen West. West is charged with improperly interrogating an Iraqi prisoner.
Based on the information currently available to them, Hunter and McHugh believe that West's actions may well have been necessary to protect the lives and safety of his fellow soldiers and not the actions of a criminal, as he is charged. Hunter is Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee and McHugh is Chairman of the Subcommittee on Total Force, which has jurisdiction over military personnel matters.
According to news accounts, the incident in question took place this pastAugust near Tikrit, Iraq, when guerrillas attacked U.S. soldiers underWest's command. An informant told U.S. authorities that a local policeman was involved. West ordered the policeman brought in, though he proveduncooperative. West has testified that he fired his pistol near the head ofthe Iraqi, threatening to kill him in an effort to obtain information to protect his troops. As a result of the tactic, the Iraqi provided information regarding a planned sniper attack on U.S. soldiers. Two insurgents were arrested, a third fled and there were no attacks in the area. West immediately informed his commanding officer of the incident. He is currently facing an inquiry to determine if there is cause for a court-martial.
"We are highly disturbed by media accounts that the Army is beginning criminal proceedings against Lt. Col. Allen B. West for taking actions in Iraq that he believed were necessary to protect the lives and safety of his men," stated the Congressmen in a letter to Les Brownlee, Acting Secretary of the Army. "To us, such actions if accurately reported do not appear to be those of a criminal," the letter continues.
In addition to the information previously requested, the Congressmen are asking to see a new report. "We are aware the Army has completed a preliminary inquiry regarding whether to proceed to a court martial and would like to review that report," said Hunter and McHugh in a joint statement. "Our interest is in justice. Based on what we know right now, it is more than reasonable to assume that Col. West acted in a manner proportionate to the threat against his soldiers."
One more time: that "fact" is not in evidence.
Very well, but I will give him "the benifit of the doubt".
And as one Marine to another Marine, I will always side with our own, even if they are Army.
Tough s**t, jack.
Four years in the stockade does not make one "infantry."
You would have lasted about thirty seconds in Marine Corps boot camp.
Way to chicken out "infantry".
Then maybe you shouldn't be starting them.
Warner, IIRC, is a Republican.
And, no, it does not tell me anything at all.
It is unfortunate, but it is we survive, or they survive.
Those are the only choices, like it or not. Life is not fair, or pretty.
I prefer that we survive. What is your choice?
Lt. Col. Allen B. West
120,000 picking a fight with 30,000,000 via casual brutality does not increase the chances of survival for the 120,000.
I prefer that we survive.
Coulda fooled me.
Very good. Mind if I keep that in my hip pocket?
1. We did Afghanistan in 2 months, the Soviets (despite brutal tactics that we would not resort to even if we were losing, like poisoning village wells) could not win in 10 years.
2. We don't 'pick fights'. If we did we would be fighting in Venezuela. There is a lot of oil there.
3. Numbers do mean a lot, but not as much as training and equipment and especially "esprit de Corps".
The situation is not so dire we must resort to bending or breaking rules to suit our current set of emotions.
We will NOT survive if we give in to emotion.
It is us or them. Take your choice.
They already made it "no prisoners". The only way you can live is if they die.
Stinks, but that is reality.
Strike "despite" and replace it with "because of."
2. We don't 'pick fights'. If we did we would be fighting in Venezuela. There is a lot of oil there.
Employing casual brutality--as you seem to approve of and support--is picking a fight. Please reread LTC Timothy Collins' address to his troops before the war started.
3. Numbers do mean a lot, but not as much as training and equipment and especially "esprit de Corps".
Training, equipment, and esprit de corps go only so far. Incidentally, training and esprit de corps go to hell quickly in an environment of randomly applied brutality.
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