In my humble opinion, he saved the lives of those under his command.
May I suggest that that is a win?
Really, Poohbah, would you rather have West as a C.O., or someone appointed by DACOWITS? :)
That hasn't been established as fact. More to the point, it cannot be established as fact. Perhaps there was no real plot as described, and the "confession" from the prisoner amounted to telling West what the prisoner thought West wanted to hear. There is an extremely high chance of that happening when these techniques are used. That's why people who actually know how to interrogate prisoners and get factual information from those prisoners do not use these methods.
May I suggest that that is a win?
You may. However, your suggestion may or may not be congruent with reality.
Really, Poohbah, would you rather have West as a C.O., or someone appointed by DACOWITS?
I'd rather have one who can, first of all, command himself, especially if he's going to command me. Second, I would prefer that he be competent. The spin, as presented by West and his attorney, only makes sense if West is tactically incompetent.