Article

2003-11-20 Home Front

West: To protect my men âIâd go through hell with a gasoline canâ

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Posted by Dragon Fly 2003-11-20 6:11:41 AM|| || Front Page|| [3 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 This guy has nothing to apologize for. They should be giving him a medal.

Posted by Jarhead 2003-11-20 6:43:37 AM|| 2003-11-20 6:43:37 AM|| Front Page Top

#2 I will be so disgusted if this man is punished in any way, shape or form, other than a "bad dog, no!" I just hope that the powers that be have the ability to do the right thing, now that he has confessed.

Posted by B 2003-11-20 8:17:30 AM|| 2003-11-20 8:17:30 AM|| Front Page Top

#3 Thats a fact Jarhead

Posted by Mike 2003-11-20 8:30:33 AM|| 2003-11-20 8:30:33 AM|| Front Page Top

#4 Col. David Hackworth has a good take on this in his Nov 11 column at WorldNetdaily: "Fire the Perfumed Princes."
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=35534

Posted by Gasse Katze 2003-11-20 8:33:30 AM|| 2003-11-20 8:33:30 AM|| Front Page Top

#5 The guy did something we've seen a thousand movie stars do in a thousand movies. The US people have been convinced this is not a bad thing over and over for decades. If they put him up on trial they will face a political fiasco.

Posted by ruprecht 2003-11-20 8:35:59 AM|| 2003-11-20 8:35:59 AM|| Front Page Top

#6 What soldier wouldn't want to serve under a leader like this? After his gasoline can remark, I'll bet soldiers are lining up to serve in his unit. He should be promoted not penalized. He could be the next Patton.

Posted by GBadd 2003-11-20 9:49:00 AM|| 2003-11-20 9:49:00 AM|| Front Page Top

#7 Now we are talking Vietnam aLL over again.

I swear if they court martial this guy I will switch sides.

Posted by Michael 2003-11-20 9:56:59 AM|| 2003-11-20 9:56:59 AM|| Front Page Top

#8 Lt. Col. West's efforts were counterproductive.
1.) He allowed his men to beat an Iraqi police officer. The Iraqi is already putting his life and family at risk by volunteering for this duty. He is the real hero. Instead he gets beat until he curls into a fetal position.
2.) He was wrong. The guy didn't know anything.

I support the war and believe that what we are doing there is right. But we can't allow guys like West to create more enemies. In the long run, his actions are putting his men in more danger by alienating the Iraqis. They need to find out who is spreading the false intelligence and cream them. There must be a better way.

Posted by Austin 2003-11-20 10:00:24 AM|| 2003-11-20 10:00:24 AM|| Front Page Top

#9 Austin - I believe this happened during the war at the hieght of major combat operations. Do not think he was a police officer under the coalition.
Rantburgers please correct me if I am wrong.

Posted by Dan 2003-11-20 10:54:28 AM|| 2003-11-20 10:54:28 AM|| Front Page Top

#10 Austin, Dan. The way I understand the story is it happened after major operations. The Iraqi fellow in question was trained by the US as a cop but was working with insurgents to set Lt. Col West's unit up in an ambush. Somehow West's guys figured it out and eventually got the guy to talk by threatening his life. They busted the ambush rather than falling into it.

Posted by ruprecht 2003-11-20 10:58:48 AM|| 2003-11-20 10:58:48 AM|| Front Page Top

#11 Austin; bullshit bro. This is straight out of the article:
"I accept responsibility for the episode, but my intent was to scare this individual and keep my soldiers out of a potential ambush," he continued. "There were no further attacks from that town. *(sounds to me like alienating Iraqis wasn't a problem)* We further apprehended two other conspirators (a third fled town) and found out one of the conspirators was the father of a man we had detained for his Saddam Fedeyeen affiliation." West said Hamoody "and his accomplices were a threat to our soldiers and the method was not right, but why should I lose 20 years of service or be forced into prison for protecting my men?"

I'd trust a proven Battalion Commander w/19+ yrs in to make the call on the scene when it comes to tactics and the welfare of his lads. Combat vets were crying at his farewell speech - you don't get that response from professional soldiers unless you're worth your salt. Unless you got a no-shit my lai massacre on your hands you don't ever second guess the officer on the scene. This wasn't even close to being an issue until it was brought up in an exit survey. If the Army had been smart they'd have handled this in house. Instead, they will just get embarrassed.

Posted by Jarhead 2003-11-20 10:59:28 AM|| 2003-11-20 10:59:28 AM|| Front Page Top

#12 The Military People prosecuting this case already lost it.

This occurred when they offered West immediate retirement without benefits or military trial.

They made it look like a financial issue rather than the ethical issue they are trying to prosecute now.

Posted by Daniel King 2003-11-20 11:37:05 AM|| 2003-11-20 11:37:05 AM|| Front Page Top

#13 This guy is a *hero*.

Posted by CrazyFool 2003-11-20 1:38:32 PM|| 2003-11-20 1:38:32 PM|| Front Page Top

#14 There seems to be two versions of the story being written in the media. The version I read from the Associated Press
seems to indicate that the Iraqi police officer, Yahya Jhodri Hamoodi, was innocent.

Posted by Austin 2003-11-20 1:59:49 PM|| 2003-11-20 1:59:49 PM|| Front Page Top

#15 That 'austin' turd is a troll. Ignore.

Posted by Anonymous 2003-11-20 2:17:00 PM|| 2003-11-20 2:17:00 PM|| Front Page Top

#16 I am not a troll. I am just trying to find out what happened and hoping some of the more knowledgeable posters of Rantburg can provide information.

I have compared the Reuters and AP stories now and have found that Reuters reported that Hamoodi knew details of a pending sniper attack. AP leaves the story sounding as if Hamoodi was innocent. AP should correct their version of events. I feel more confident that Lt. Col. West did the right thing.

As for you, anonymous, understand that discussion can help as long as both sides approach from an open minded position. Don't try to crush or ignore just because you don't like what you read. Seek first to understand and then to be understood. Unlike Murat, I am not closed minded. :)

Posted by Austin 2003-11-20 2:29:40 PM|| 2003-11-20 2:29:40 PM|| Front Page Top

#17 Austin; so the AP differs from the Reuters that much huh? Interesting. That makes your first post more understandable. That's why I posted verbatim from the story I read. I was thinking in the back of my mind -"where'd he hear that stuff from".

Out of the four soldiers that beat on Hamoodi, one of them said he didn't know of any evidence against Hamoodi, the other three of course said they knew of evidence on Hamoodi. Maybe the AP ran with what the one guy said and dismissed the other three & West. That makes sense w/our current journalism bias. BTW - I don't think you're a troll. Seeking the truth is always the bottomline no matter how unpleasant.

There are some nuances to this story that are possibly being distorted for whatever reason. I go off my gut instinct knowing the type of Battalion Commanders I've been lucky enough to be around. None were rash in their actions, typically prudent, and all were highly educated, highly trained individuals. I'd trust a guy of West's background more then some asshole reporter.

Posted by Jarhead 2003-11-20 3:32:32 PM|| 2003-11-20 3:32:32 PM|| Front Page Top

#18 I can only speak for my military experience and LtCol West is EXACTLY what I want in a CO. I think they are going to be hard pressed to find a jury to convict him of the serious charges. Heck he might walk away scott free. But the Army will take his Command away to save face. Too bad I bet he has an EXTREMELY loyal Battalion. People get that way after you save them from being shot.

Posted by Cyber Sarge (VRWC CA Chapter) 2003-11-20 5:52:57 PM|| 2003-11-20 5:52:57 PM|| Front Page Top

#19 I can only speak for my military experience and LtCol West is EXACTLY what I want in a CO

Likewise. I would much rather follow him (even if he IS a cannon-cocker) than the 4th ID CG, or CENTCOM, whoever decided to bring charges against this guy. To them, it's more important to be sensitive to terrorists and appease the leftists, than to worry about getting troops killed. Those cowardly sonsabitches should be thrown out of the service, not West.

Posted by Anonymous 2003-11-20 6:18:46 PM|| 2003-11-20 6:18:46 PM|| Front Page Top

#20 than the 4th ID CG, or CENTCOM, whoever decided to bring charges
I'd start looking first at the Pentagon paper-pushers, rather than field commanders. We have some people in "high places" that got there by being Wesley Clark - all politics and no common sense. Most Division officers and even major commanders get there by doing it the hard way - slogging up through the ranks, filling each position on the TO, and doing it well enough to get recognized as "better than most". Unfortunately, there ARE other decision-making processes in use, but not ordinarily in combat commands.

This Colonel West is certainly better than the one I served under in the 60's. Of course, THAT Colonel West ended up retiring in disgrace.

Posted by Old Patriot 2003-11-20 9:41:17 PM|| [http://users.codenet.net/mweather/default.htm] 2003-11-20 9:41:17 PM|| Front Page Top

#21 I'd start looking first at the Pentagon paper-pushers

In that case, his regimental co, the 4th cg, and CENTCOM should have gone to bat for him. Instead they rolled over and let ~~the colin powells in washington~~ the candy-asses screw him.

This whole episode is incredibly disappointing. No better way to shoot team spirit in the ass than to screw over one of the 'good guys'.

Posted by 4thinfvet 2003-11-20 11:01:38 PM|| 2003-11-20 11:01:38 PM|| Front Page Top

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