Army Right To Punish Lt. Col. West

Atlanta Journal-Constitution ^ | 8 Dec 2003 | Jay Bookman

[Ispy4u]

Under the strain of command in a dangerous situation, Lt. Col. Allen West committed a serious error in judgment. And in a military environment, such errors by a commanding officer cannot go unpunished.

Informed on Aug. 20 that an Iraqi policeman might have information about potential attacks on West and his troops, the colonel invited soldiers under his command to beat the suspect as West looked on. When that did not produce the desired effect, West threatened the prisoner, first firing a pistol into the air, then holding the pistol to the policeman's head and firing a shot into the ground nearby.

Not surprisingly, the terrified suspect then began babbling information. As is often the case when such crude techniques are used, it later proved impossible to verify whether that information was accurate or whether it had been invented by the suspect in a desperate attempt to save his life.

Nor was it clear that the suspect was guilty. As U.S. intelligence officers testified in a preliminary hearing in the case, Iraqis will often finger an innocent person to American troops as a way to wreak personal revenge on each other.

Unfortunately for West, there is no question whatsoever about his own behavior in the case, or that it violated U.S. Army regulations. After complaints were filed by other soldiers, the colonel was relieved of command and is awaiting word whether he will be court-martialed on charges of aggravated assault and communicating a threat. If found guilty, the well-respected officer could be sentenced to up to eight years in prison.

It is hard not to feel sympathy for West, and almost impossible to sit in judgment of him from afar. "If it's the lives of my men and their safety," he said in his preliminary hearing, "I'd go through hell with a gasoline can." His case has even drawn congressional interest, with two U.S. senators suggesting that West deserves to be commended for his actions, not prosecuted. And certainly, a prison term does seem an unduly harsh punishment.

It is even more difficult to condemn West for violating the standards of the Geneva Convention for warfare and occupation when more senior U.S. officials are themselves treating those rules as inconvenient guidelines that can be ignored at will. The hundreds of prisoners captured in Afghanistan and held under harsh conditions by the United States in Guantanamo Bay, for example, have been ruled ineligible for protection under the Geneva Convention because they are supposedly "enemy combatants" rather than prisoners of war.

That effort to redefine the problem calls to mind the argument used by the North Vietnamese more than 30 years ago to justify their cruel treatment of captured American aviators. John McCain and others in the Hanoi Hilton were not prisoners of war, we were told, but war criminals who deserved what they got. In other words, it is always easy to find a justification if you want one badly enough.

It is also true that in Iraq, we are engaged in a bitter struggle with people who do not recognize such distinctions. As the West case illustrates, it is tempting to then fight the battle on their terms, and in rare cases it may indeed be necessary to do so.

But those and other distinctions are part of why we're fighting. We believe such rules are important to civilized life; our opponents do not. In the eyes of the Iraqis, it is hard to distinguish ourselves from the previous regime if we ourselves do not attempt to live by the rules we claim to uphold. The suspect threatened by West, for example, was a policeman, and hundreds of U.S. personnel are trying hard every day to convince Iraqi policemen that such tactics are simply unacceptable.

For military reasons, punishing West in some way is mandatory. The tactics that he used that day contradict the values this country is supposed to be defending. Allowing an officer of his rank to evade consequences for such behavior would send an unmistakable signal up and down the ranks and greatly erode the discipline our soldiers rely upon in tough situations.

Certainly, the pressures of combat help explain his mistake. They do not excuse it.

Jay Bookman is the deputy editorial page editor.

[Ispy4u]

You don't see many rational articles properly defending the US Army in it's necessary pursuit of justice in this case. Most news and opinion pieces I've seen simply proclaim LTC West a hero who should be decorated. I and a few others here have argued incessantly that LTC West is no hero, not based on his actions he is being investigated for anyway.

[Ispy4u]

Pinging to your attention.

[Sir Gawain]

If someone had found out who was going to fly the planes into the WTC, and had killed them, they would not be a hero in your eyes.

[verity]

He is not a hero in my book: however he is innocent until proven guilty.

[milan]

Regardless of what you think, he saved American lives. Who knows how many.

We are at war. We are too "humane" with the enemy. They do not return the hospitality. They know we foolow the rules that no one else does. We are dealing with terrorists and those that are friends with terrorists. LTC. West did the right thing, just like Oliver North did the right thing. Damn the laws. If he was rapeing and pillaging, sure, throw him in jail. But he wasn't. He beat a friggin conspirator and got the required info. Give him a promotion and a medal.

[milan]

If someone had found out who was going to fly the planes into the WTC, and had killed them, they would not be a hero in your eyes.

What!?!

[milan]

Sorry, misread.

[OldFriend]

After speaking to a veteran I am inclined to agree with you. All the known facts of this case show that the man was totally out of line and certainly is no hero. Allowing other soldiers to beat a man in custody is hardly admirable.

The media exploited this case as a way to create dissention.

[samtheman]

LTC West is a hero who should be decorated.

The JAGS should be forced to watch films of AMERICANS jumping out of the burning WTC towers.

Scumbags.

[milan]

If we had more commanders like LTC West, there would be less American bodies.

[milan]

You're sick. He saved Americans. Does that not mean something to you?

[Ispy4u]

LTC West did not prevent the 9-11 WTC atrocity, so thanks for playing but you are penalized 10 points for using straw man arguments.

Notice the part in the Editorial where the author states "Nor was it clear that the suspect was guilty. As U.S. intelligence officers testified in a preliminary hearing in the case, Iraqis will often finger an innocent person to American troops as a way to wreak personal revenge on each other."

This is precisely the reason that I and others here have said that the statement "West Saved Lives" is not fact at least in this case. Bad information leads to bad operations, the technique he used to get his information has been proven unreliable.

[Ispy4u]

I want you to show me how you can prove that LTC West saved lives.

[Broadside Joe]

"It is even more difficult to condemn West for violating the standards of the Geneva Convention for warfare and occupation when more senior U.S. officials are themselves treating those rules as inconvenient guidelines that can be ignored at will."

Wasn't this "Iraqi policeman" supposed to be on our side? If so doesn't this make him a spy? And what does the Geneva Convention say about handling spies?

[leprechaun9]

It seems that Mr. Bookman would seek out LTC West's kindergarten teacher to see if there were any such tendencies back then and perhaps this hostility was the result of parental abuse.

That would be the approach of the Atlanta Constipation if they were responding to the WTC attack!

[Ispy4u]

He will be given a fair shake, though many here will screech at the outcome, simply because they think he should get a medal.

[Ispy4u]

That has been covered here extensively, bottom line LTC West was not in a position to determine the legal status of the prisoner. LTC West's standing orders were to treat all prisoners the same, the JAG and NCA determines special categories such as spy.

[StonyBurk]

May not be a hero--but he Is the kind of Officer I would want--if in the feild. What he did was overcome the feild
problem of intelligence gathering. He spoke to the enemy in
the only language the enemy is capable of understanding.
Col.West created a usefull dialogue that saved lives--both
American and Iraqi.Or at the very least demonstrated prior
rumor to be true thus allowing him to avoid a dangerous
situation. If a commander isn't willing to go through hell
with a gascan to protect his men --he isn't worth diddly .

[Ispy4u]

Thank you for taking the time to see past the smoke and mirrors.

[Da Mav]

I smell a Rat in Disguise Alert
This guy Bookman seems to be carrying quite a bias in favor of coddling our mortal enemies.
Not only does he condemn West, he bleeds on the carpet for "hundreds of prisoners captured in Afghanistan and held under harsh conditions by the United States in Guantanamo Bay and implies that the US routinely violates the Geneva Accords.
A perusal of some of his other articles (click on the link on the original and you get a synopsis for free) reveal him to be an opponent of privatization and to provide such gems as " Bush administration's inability to talk straight about its Iraq policy has generated deep and valid suspicion. Good policy doesn't need to be defended by deception; the truth will do just fine. We didn't get the truth a year ago, when Bush officials implausibly claimed that Saddam Hussein posed a dire threat to U.S. security. We're not getting the truth today, as President Bush and others depict our struggle in Iraq.... blah blah blah blah blah
Calls into questions some of his other assertions in the article. Were the Iraqis "beaten" as he claimed or did someone accidently bump into them and give Bookman a chance to claim they were abused? Was the object of West's life saving actions really "innocent" as he claims? The issue was not whether he was innocent anyway, ya friggin maroon, it was whether he had information that could save American lives.
This one stinks of Quisling City USA, check out your sources before taking them seriously.