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I want to be like Mike...Col. West: âI Went Outside the Lawâ
Slightly EFL:West told Linda Vester on her Fox News program "Dayside": "As a commander, you have a moral obligation to protect your soldiers. I went outside the lines, I understand that, and that was a choice I made and I had to accept those consequences." Vester asked West: "You learned of an assassination plot against you, and that there were other attacks planned against your soldiers. ... You had this detainee, and he wasnât giving up information. Thatâs what led up to this, correct?" "Yes, maâam," replied West. "You reached a point ... where you were pretty desperate." West said that he wasnât desperate, but he "had full confidence" that this person was working with other people, and that the individual had information. West knew that information would stop attacks, and he felt he had a responsibility to his men to thwart those attacks. Vester then asked: "The General, Odierno, who finally administered your punishment, was in a tough spot. He knew that he had to do what one has to do when there is a violation of the UCMJ [Uniform Code of Military Justice] â but at the same time ... heâs getting powerful senators saying âDonât you do anything to Col. West.â Do you understand why Gen. Odierno had to administer some sort of punishment?" "Absolutely," replied West. "And I have no regrets ... no malice whatsoever. The Army has been my love for 20 years." West said that to have any anger against the Army would be to hate himself, because, he said, "It has made me what I am today." West concluded: "We have to stay within the law. I went outside that law, and I paid the consequences." This is Character on parade. I want to be like Mike. Posted by: Dragon Fly 2003-12-19 |
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