Sad Story Merits Attention
On this Veteran's Day we should all take the time to thank those who have risked or given their lives to protect the freedoms we take for granted every day. Our servicemen and women do more for us than any politician or government bureaucrat ever could (or would), rarely asking for anything in return. They are true heroes.
Unfortunately, they often don't get the respect they deserve. One extreme example is the sad story of Lt. Col. Allen West.
Col. West attended UT, and is a 20 year Army veteran and was battalion commander with the 4th Infantry Division. While serving in Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit, a hotbed of terrorism, he was told by an informant of a plot to assassinate him and ambush his troops. One of the plotters implicated was an Iraqi policeman, who was promptly brought in for questioning. When the policeman refused to talk, West fired his pistol near the thug's head (though not at him) as a last resort to get information. This scared the terrorist into admitting to being involved in a planned ambush of American troops. The Iraqi gave the names of his co-conspirators, most of whom were then captured.
Sounds like good work, right? Unfortunately, West was relieved of his battalion command, and offered an ultimatum. Either he had to resign and forfeit all retirement benefits (he was only a few weeks away from being eligible to retire) or face criminal proceedings. Col. West chose the latter, at least partially because his wife is a cancer survivor, which would have made getting insurance difficult.
No one doubts that Col. West's actions saved the lives of many American servicemen, without taking the life of anyone. He deserves gratitude from all Americans for his vigilance. Instead, he could be demoted, lose his pension, and face up to eight years in prison. All this for protecting his men. What kind of justice is this?
The situation is Iraq will not improve until the terrorists who wish to thwart our mission are either captured or killed. Col. West did our cause a great favor by taking murderers off the streets of Iraq, and did it without even physically harming them. How can anyone justify court-martialing him?
If West hadn't gotten the intelligence from the prisoner, and his unit had been ambushed, we can guess what would have happened. Probably there would have been an investigation, and West would have been found to have been negligent. Thus he was presented with the classic "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situation. He made the right call.
Discipline is vital to the military. Did Col. West break a rule? Perhaps technically he did. Col. West himself admits as much. But he also saved lives, and did not harm anyone. If you still think West's actions were inappropriate, consider this: Would you feel the same way if one of your family members were in his unit? Angela West, Col. West's wife, sums it up best, "If you are in a situation where the enemy is not playing by the rules, isn't it the best thing to do to save American lives? I mean, that's what a commander should do - save the lives of his men, not lose them because of a rule." Obviously, some prosecutorial discretion should be utilized here.
Through it all, Col. West has remained remarkably reserved. West said in an e-mail to Fox News, "All I desire is reunion with my family, retirement and to live a God-centered life with my wife and two daughters. The West family solicits prayer that this can be resolved without further stress upon my family."
There is one person who could stop this insanity: Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. So far, Rumsfeld hasn't acted, though he hinted he might do something during an interview on Fox News Sunday. Rumsfeld should act, and soon. If he doesn't, my respect for the Secretary of Defense will diminish.
Local talk show host Hallerin Hilton Hill deserves applause for his coverage of this incident, as does Neal Boortz, the Washington Times, and Fox News. There is also an online petition from the Federalist. Anyone interesting in signing it should visit http://PatriotPetitions.US/colwest/. Unfortunately, much of the media has said little or nothing about Col. West's plight, instead focusing on such important news stories as the Kobe Bryant and Laci Peterson cases.
We should all remember West and his family in our prayers, and call on the military to do the right thing, and grant him an honorable discharge with full pay and benefits. It's the least we can do. It is deplorable that an honorable and heroic man like Col. West would be humiliated and drug through the mud, simply for protecting his men.
John Brown is a senior in political science at the University of Tennessee @ Knoxville. Contact him at johnnyb325@aol.com, or visit www.johnnorrisbrown.com. This column originally appeared in the November 11, 2003 edition of The Daily Beacon, available here.