Iraq cannot win this war, but the situation involving Lt. Col. Allen B. West is a good example of how we can defeat ourselves. West and his men were interrogating an Iraqi police officer that was reported to have helped the enemy in a previous attack. The man refused to tell them anything of importance, even after they got a little rough with him. West decided that “civilized” interrogation would probably cost more lives in a future attack, so he fired a shot over the Iraqi’s shoulder. It worked and the detainee gave up the names of a few attackers.
The Hearing. . .
"I felt there was a threat to my soldiers. ... If it's about the life of my men, I'd go through hell with a gasoline can," said Col. West, who sat erect in the witness stand during cross-examination on the second day of a court-martial hearing.
"I love the Army," he said, fighting back tears.
"I know the method I used was not the right method," he said, adding, however, that he felt at the time it was crucial for the safety of his soldiers that he find out about the purported plot.
"If I had to err, I would err on the side of not losing my soldiers," Col. West said.
Inhofe Gets it.
A preliminary investigation alleged that West's actions violated the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The court, on a U.S. base in Tikrit, Iraq, will determine whether West should face a court-martial.
(Sen. James) Inhofe (of Oklahoma) said unless some new information emerges at West's hearing, "I would continue to have the position that Lt. Col. West should be commended for his actions in interrogation that prevented an attack on the soldiers of his command. That's my feeling and I think others may share it but may not want to say it."
During the American Revolution the British fought in outdated fashion by lining up in the open and making great targets. The Americans took the lead of Indians who fought by hiding behind trees for cover. Washington’s crossing the Delaware was a prime example of Yankee ingenuity and clearly against the rules of gentlemen soldiers. You don’t win wars by enforcing rules on your men that the enemy wouldn’t force on their own. If we send a message to the Iraqis that we’re playing with kid gloves, we’re sure to have a lot of double agents like this police officer. If the bad guys don’t fear our soldiers, who will? There are plenty of people who are rooting against our victory in Iraq, and some are in our own country. A good way to please them would be to shame men like West.
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