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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: unclewest who wrote (337070)	12/2/2009 10:02:48 PM
From: SmoothSail	3 Recommendations Respond to of 794094

Allen West is getting a lot of attention on the SF and the SOG email nets. I wish he was running for senator and getting more press. He's a great speaker - without teleprompters either. Knows his stuff. I'd like to see more people with military backgrounds in the House and Senate to offset the likes of that traitor Murtha. Great comments from probably 95% of the folks on that site.

To: unclewest who wrote (337070)	12/3/2009 2:24:41 AM
From: Neeka	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 794094

Allen West is a driven man if not a bit militaristic. I fully expect him to be the next victim of the politics of personal destruction. His endorsement of Alinsky type tactics to save the republic was a warning shot across the bow imo. I wonder if he has the stamina to organize? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~``` While serving in Taji, Iraq on August 20, 2003 as commander of the 2d Battalion 20th Field Artillery, 4th Infantry Division, Lieutenant Colonel West was in charge of the interrogation of an Iraqi police officer who was suspected of having information about planned attacks on American forces. According to the Iraqi police officer, Yehiya Kadoori Hamoodi claimed that during the interrogation, soldiers under West's supervision assaulted him attempting to get him to talk. The police officer insisted that he did not know anything about planned attacks and was loyal to the United States Army. However, when the detainee didn't talk, Lieutenant Colonel West fired his 9mm pistol close to the man's head and at this point, the man, according to some mainstream media such as CNN (http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/12/12/sprj.nirq.west.ruling/), gave information about a planned ambush, resulting in its being thwarted. According to West, there were no further ambushes on U.S. forces in Taji until he was relieved of command on October 4, 2003. In an interview with the New York Times, the Iraqi police officer, Yehiya Kadoori Hamoodi, said he felt he must have been falsely implicated by another alleged informant as being a plotting assassin and that the information he provided was useless and obtained under duress. At least one man named by Mr. Hamoodi was taken into custody, according to testimony, and his home was searched. No plans for attacks on Americans or weapons were found. The Times also reported Colonel West's own testimony that he did not know whether "any corroboration" of a plot was ever found, adding: "At the time I had to base my decision on the intelligence I received. It's possible that I was wrong about Mr. Hamoodi." The Army Criminal Investigative Division report on this incident likewise stated that no useful information was obtained from Hamoodi in connection with his interrogation by LTC West and his soldiers.Template:CID report cited by Tom Ricks in his book Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq (2006), pp 280-281 West, who at the time was just short of having 20 years of service, was charged with violating articles 128 (assault) and 134 (general article) of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, and was in danger of receiving an 11 year prison sentence, dishonorable discharge and losing his retirement benefits. West was processed through an Article 32 hearing in November 2003, where he admitted wrongdoing, was fined $5,000 over two months for misconduct and assault. He then submitted his resignation, and was allowed to retire with full benefits in the summer of 2004. After West's resignation was brought to public attention the next Fall, he received over two thousand letters and e-mails from the American public offering him moral support. In addition, a letter was drafted to the secretary of the Army, its signatories being ninety-five members of Congress in West's support. Even a prominent critic of the Abu Graib affair, Sen. John W. Warner of Virginia, wrote a letter to his constituents in support of West's honorable intentions during the controversial incident. In January 2004, the conservative Frontpage Magazine named West its Man of the Year.[1] en.wikipedia.org