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Saturday, November 08, 2003

From the Washington Times, November 5th. Please forward this and also send
an email expressing your opinion, whatever that may be, to
president@whitehouse.gov

With the clock ticking toward a scheduled Nov. 10 investigative hearing
for Lt. Col. Allen B. West - on charges of mistreating an Iraqi prisoner in
a successful effort to thwart a guerrilla attack on U.S. troops - it's time
for the military to rethink the ill-considered decision to go forward with
his prosecution.

Col. West said last week that his soldiers faced almost daily attacks as
they worked to impose security near Tikrit, a stronghold of Saddam Hussein
supporters. In August, an informant told soldiers in Col. West's unit that
there was an assassination plot against him and that one of the plotters was
an Iraqi policeman. The policeman was brought in for questioning. Initially,
he failed to provide any information.

That changed after Col. West entered the picture. He took the detainee
outside and fired a 9 mm pistol twice to scare him into talking. The
prisoner then provided the names of two accomplices and told of another
sniper attack planned for the following day. Col. West admits that he made a
mistake by discharging his weapon during an interrogation session. But he
emphasizes that, following the interrogation, there were no more attacks
from that town. In short, his actions very likely saved the lives of many
American soldiers.

Col. West was relieved of his battalion command, effectively ending his
military career. Then a military prosecutor offered him an ultimatum: Resign
immediately and forfeit retirement benefits, or face criminal proceedings
that could lead to a trial and prison term.
Were he to have quit the military before last Saturday, when he became
eligible to retire, Col. West would have lost more than $1 million in pay
and health benefits over his life expectancy. His wife is a cancer survivor,
something which would have made the cost of obtaining medical insurance
prohibitive.
The rules of engagement are proper in times of warfare. But there's also
an important place for prosecutorial discretion in dealing with certain
actions that occur in the heat of combat. Anyone who has talked to their
father or grandfather about service in World War II or World War I at some
length realizes that these conflicts were not waged with strict adherence to
the Marquis of Queensbury rules. It's wrong to send men like Col. West into
battle in a violent place like Iraq, then destroy their lives and humiliate
them for taking action to protect their men. The charges against Col. West
should be dropped, and he should be honorably discharged with full pay and
benefits.

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