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LTC Allen B. West 4th Infantry Division, Iraq Allen West Defense Fund
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LTC Allen B. West 4th Infantry Division, Iraq Allen West Defense Fund
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Intro
Letters & Essays Index News Links Player Contact Info Feedback / Contact Back to YAP's front door |
Sign the Petition on behalf of LTC West
Public Statement
by Neal Puckett, Attorney for LTC West
11/24/2003The Article 32 investigation in the case of LTC Allen B. West, USA, concluded on the evening of November 19, at the main palace in Tikrit. LTC West was the last witness to testify. He highlighted his Army career as well as his battalion’s participation in Operation Iraqi Freedom. He also gave a detailed account of the events leading up to the interrogation of the Iraqi policeman on August 20th.
LTC West described the intelligence he had received regarding the planned assassination attempt on his life, including the identity of one of the planners as a local policeman in the town of Saba al Boor. About a week after the assassination plot was briefed, LTC West’s men were indeed ambushed, while returning from a weekly meeting that LTC West should have attended.
The attackers would have had every reason to believe he was in the convoy, but for the fact that a couple of sheiks came to the camp to “meet with” LTC West. He believes that their purpose was to keep him from going to the regularly scheduled meeting that day.
That attack on August 16th gave credence to the intelligence reports of a plot. He understood that because he never traveled alone, that an assassination attempt on his life would necessarily endanger those around him, given the crude nature of the weapons in use in Iraq.
| With the knowledge
that the first election of local district council members was to occur
with a day and a half, (or so most of the town thought, but they had been
secretly canceled due to the intelligence reports of the plot), he knew
that would be the time when he and his men were to have been the most visible
and vulnerable.
After a day of interrogation by a “trained professional interrogator,” no information had been obtained. The young Army interrogator had earlier testified that she had used every interrogation technique available to her, and that the Iraqi policeman refused to give information. There had also been testimony that the Iraqis know that we cannot actually force or psychologically coerce them to give any information they don’t want to give and regularly so state to interrogators. What happened next has long been a matter of record. It is worth noting that 4 of the soldiers who accompanied LTC West that evening did become frustrated and did slap and punch the policeman on the arms legs and body, though LTC West did not direct them to do so. Although the soldiers have been punished individually at Art 15, non-judicial punishment, LTC West assumed full responsibility for their actions. |
Lt. Col. Allen B. West
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There were also several witnesses who testified as to LTC West’s high profile role as a participant in civil military operations. That’s the Army’s term for generally assisting the Iraqis to rebuild their towns, reestablish public services and utilities and begin the transformation to a democratic process for governance.LTC West was at nearly every meeting and spoke in front of the community leaders and sheiks in the town of Saba al Boor. He had earned their trust by delivering the assistance he promised. In return, the sheiks told an interpreter that they were protecting the Americans from attacks because of their respect for and trust in LTC West.
Decisions made by combat commanders are not made retrospectively, though any critical evaluation of those decisions will always have the benefit of hindsight and additional information. Decisions in combat are made based on the best information available at the time. The commander must then weigh all of the risk factors involved and make the decision with the highest likelihood of preserving the lives of his men while accomplishing the mission.
Making his duties even more difficult is the fact that he normally doesn’t have enough time to collect ALL possible information bearing on his decision. In this case, LTC West believed that the best course of action, in the limited time he had, was to take measures to ensure that any potential attacks on his soldiers were averted. He decided that the information must be obtained from the Iraqi policeman.
He psychologically intimidated the detainee, who then provided names and places and methods of attack. Thereafter, LTC West’s men took active security precautions, and no further attacks or ambushes occurred. One of the most important measures of effectiveness in combat is the absence of American casualties.
LTC West and his attorney, Mr. Puckett, are at a Forward Operating Base near Tikrit, patiently waiting for the investigating officer’s report and the Division Commander’s decision as to whether these charges will be referred to trial by general court-martial.
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