BFD.
He got vital information out of the enemy. And even if he did not, he didn't hurt a hair on the enemy head.
Sorry, but if that is all that it took to make the enemy crap his pants, well the enemy isn't half as tough as you are.
And if all this is "unfair", so what? Life is unfair and the closer you get to the edge the more unfair it becomes.
BFD.
It won't work next time. What then? Kneecapping? Maybe shoot his wife in front of him? Of course, if he doesn't tell you what you want to hear, and especially if he's innocent...well, then you're going to have to "dispose" of the prisoner. He may not have been your enemy before, but he sure is now.
He got vital information out of the enemy.
Once again...not determined to be fact.
He got the prisoner to say things by threatening him with death. They may have been true. They may very well have not. Indeed, that is the way to bet. Interrogations made in such fashion generate false answers to questions far more often than they generate truthful ones.
And even if he did not, he didn't hurt a hair on the enemy head.
Except that now, the people who actually know how to interrogate the prisoner have 10 times as much work, because they are not going to be able to either build rapport or apply psychological pressure to get the prisoner to talk.
Sorry, but if that is all that it took to make the enemy crap his pants, well the enemy isn't half as tough as you are.
Allow me to detain you. Some of my assistants will beat you. I will threaten to kill you. After I make that threat, I will force you into a head down position and fire a pistol past your skull.
Trust me, you will not retain control of your sphincters. And you will say anything you think I want to hear. You won't care about the truth, you will only care about making sounds that get me to not shoot you.
And if all this is "unfair", so what? Life is unfair and the closer you get to the edge the more unfair it becomes.
"Life is unfair" does not excuse LTC West from having to obey the orders given him.