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June 15, 2008
Hero Lt. Col. Allen West's Response to Black Conservatives Voting For Obama
Allen West's response to: Black Conservatives Conflicted on Obama Campaign
"For most of my adult life I took an oath to a simple document, the US Constitution, to support and defend it against all enemies, foreign and domestic, and to bear true faith and allegiance to the same. My allegiance is to America, its people, and their rights as put forth in that superb document. I shall not discard my principles and commitment to my God and Country, just because. I applaud Senator Obama for his accomplishment, however, there is no way I will vote for someone that is so contrary to my beliefs in lower taxes, limited government, individual rights and freedoms, individual responsibility and accountability, not collective prosperity sharing.
I grew up in inner city Atlanta Georgia, and my elementary school, Our Lady of Lourdes, is across the street from Ebenezer Baptist Church. Dr King's seminal ideal of "content of character vs color of skin" resonates with me. Regardless of the probable ensuing vitriolic name calling, my ideology and principles are not in concert with those of Senator Obama. I wish him well, but I dont wish him to be President of THESE United States of America"
Lieutenant Colonel Allen B West (US Army, Ret)
Republican Candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives
Florida District 22
Here is his website for his campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives .
http://www.allenwestforcongress.com/
He is also listed over at Vets for Freedom along with other Iraq War Veterans that are running for office.
West was in the US Army for 22 years.
.
Wild Thing's comment.........
This is a GOOD man and I pray and hope he wins.
Here is a little history about Lieutenant Colonel Allen B West (US Army, Ret)
Source :
Military.com
dated November 2003
Now let's see if I get this straight. An officer whose Tikrit-based troops have come under attack from Saddam loyalists becomes aware that an Iraqi detainee has information about a planned ambush of his Soldiers, but the prisoner isn't being cooperative.
The officer then goes to interrogate the detainee -- an Iraqi police officer, by the way -- and in the course of questioning, fires his weapon as a way of making the point that he's serious about obtaining straight answers.
The detainee then tells the truth. The ambush is averted, and Soldiers' lives are saved.
The officer is then:
A: given a commendation.
B: promoted to full colonel for showing initiative under pressure and loyalty to his troops.
C: told to resign his commission immediately or face a court martial.
The correct answer, I'm sorry to have to report, is "C."
Lt. Col. Alan B. West, who aggressively interrogated an Iraqi detainee so that he could prevent an ambush and save his Soldiers lives, is being charged with aggravated assault by his unit's JAG officer.
According to published reports, Lt. Col West allowed two of his Soldiers to "physically agress" the prisoner (an act for which they were later fined), and then West brandished his pistol and fired two shots to scare the man into talking.
For this, the Judge Advocate General's office wants to end his 19-year career and possibly send him to prison for eight years. Meanwhile, idiot officers who get their men killed are being given medals and promotions, and generals who have never come under fire are putting themselves in for Silver Stars.
General Schoomaker, this is madness -- and you have to put a full stop to it right now.
Because this is what happens when lawyers, not shooters, run the military.
This is what happens when the Army culture replaces risk-taking and initiative with hundreds of pages of rules and regulations that hamper war-fighting, degrade unit integrity, and place inane limits on how Soldiers can or cannot conduct themselves in battle.
This is what happens when managers and systems analysts replace Warriors in the command structure.
This is what happens when somewhere along the chain of command, the idea that war is about killing people and breaking things gets completely lost. This is what happens when the Army forgets the words of General George S. Patton, Jr.: "We must be eager to kill, to inflict on the enemy -- the hated enemy -- wounds, death, and destruction."
Now, I'm not in favor of hooking prisoners up to field telephones -- although it has certainly happened in the past. Nor am I in favor of taking the Argentine approach to interrogation, i.e., tossing one prisoner out of a chopper 10,000 feet above the South Atlantic and then posing the question to the second prisoner in the chopper.
Moreover, Lt. Col West's actions came nowhere close to anything that can be called torture. Aggressive? Obviously. Outside the box? Absolutely. But aren't those qualities precisely the qualities we want in our officers?
Because if I were a Soldier serving under West's command, I'd say HOOAH, Colonel, and follow him to hell. Why? Because Lt. Col. West demonstrated something that far too few of today's officers are willing to demonstrate to their men and women: loyalty DOWN the chain of command.
Lt. Col. West put his Soldiers' lives above his own career.
And the FOLLOW UP dated December 2003
OPERATION: IRAQI FREEDOM
Lt. Col. West fined $5,000
Avoids court martial for using shock tactics to save lives
An officer in Iraq who used shock interrogation tactics to thwart an impending attack on American soldiers was punished with forfeiture of two month's pay, according to his lawyer.
Previously faced with the possibility of a court martial, Lt. Col. Allen B. West accepted Article 15 non-judicial punishment from the commanding general of the 4th Infantry Division at a hearing today in Tikrit, Iraq, said Neal A. Puckett, a retired Marine officer.
Puckett said the loss of pay amounts to $5,000.
"I'm pleased that it's over with," West told WorldNetDaily by telephone from San Antonio, Texas. "But I thought that taking $5,000 away from a guy who is about to retire was a little bit unnecessary.
"I didn't think that needed to be part of a sentence in order to send whatever message the commanding general thought he needed to send," he continued.
"Simply a letter of reprimand should have done it," Puckett insisted.
West will return to Ft. Hood, Texas, as soon as transportation can be arranged and will be assigned to the Rear Detachment of the 4th Infantry Division as he awaits the processing of his retirement request.
The punishment does not affect his eligibility for retirement and pension, Puckett said.
West's commanding officer, Maj. Gen. Raymond Odierno, had authority to accept or reject the recommendation of administrative punishment from the officer who presided over West's preliminary hearing in Tikrit last month, Lt. Col. Jimmy Davis.
At his preliminary hearing, West acknowledged he allowed two soldiers to beat an Iraqi policeman who refused to reveal details of an ambush plot and fired his pistol near the man's head, threatening to kill him.
As WorldNetDaily reported, under threat of an attack, West took charge of the interrogation of an Iraqi policeman, Yahya Jhodri Hamoody, determined to flush out details as he warned subordinates "it could get ugly." Threatening to kill the Iraqi if he didn't talk, West fired a pistol near the policeman's head.
The scared policeman then immediately disclosed the information, leading to the arrest of two Iraqis last August and cessation of attacks on West's 4th Infantry Division battalion.
At the hearing last month, West was asked by his defense attorney if he would do it again.
"If it's about the lives of my men and their safety, I'd go through hell with a gasoline can," he said.
"But that's what's going on out there in the streets here, and that's how I feel about my boys," he told the hearing, held in one of Saddam Hussein's lavish palaces. "There is not a person in this room I would not sacrifice my life for."
But Army prosecutors believe his actions in the town of Saba al Boor, near Tikrit, violated the Uniform Code of Military Justice. He was charged with aggravated assault and faced a wide range of possible outcomes from no disciplinary action to a sentence of up to eight years in prison.
The prosecutors gave West a choice – face charges or resign within days of his 20 years of service, losing retirement benefits. West chose to face the charges and place his fate in the hands of Maj. Gen. Odierno.
The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee is appealing to the acting secretary of the Army to intervene on behalf of an officer in Iraq facing a possible court martial because of shock interrogation tactics used to thwart an impending attack on American soldiers.
In a letter, Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., and a senior member of his committee, Rep. John H. McHugh, R-N.Y., said they were "highly disturbed" the Army was considering criminal action against Lt. Col. Allen B. West, reported the Copley News Service.
Hunter and McHugh contended West's actions "were necessary to protect the lives and safety of his men" and were reported immediately to his superiors.
....Thank you Dave for the added information Lt. Col. West.
Posted by Wild Thing at June 15, 2008 02:50 AM
Comments
If the prisoner didn't spill the info, I'd grant the prisoner's family the right of Habeus Cadaver.
As for Allen West, he is what the Civil Rights Movement was all about. For some reason, wangs like Obama think that standing tall as an INDIVIDUAL is "assimilation to white culture".
Liberalism is a complete rejection of individualism for the idea of groups, because it's easier to mobilize groups for political power. That's why personal rebellion is so dangerous to liberalism, beginning in their indoctrination camps, the schools, and why conformity is mental death.
As for the military, the worst soldiers I ever knew were the groupers, not the free thinkers.
Posted by: Rhod at June 15, 2008 06:50 AM
The name didn't ring a bell but the story set
off a 4 alarm.I remember think what a load of
crap.If the guy messed himself to damn bad but
thats the way it goes.They interviewed a few of
his troops and they all said the same"they would
follow him into hell with 5 gallons of gas and
a match" Like the Colonel,good officers should
lead from the front not from behind a desk!!!
Posted by: Tincan Sailor at June 15, 2008 11:04 AM
Typo "thinking"
Posted by: Tincan Sailor at June 15, 2008 11:24 AM
Rhod grabbed my thought. Allen West is an individual. He thinks for himself and has values of his own that he answers to. He goes with what he thinks is right, not with what the herd does.
Individuals are the kind of people that built America. The writers of the Declaration of Independence, frontiersmen, the settler, the scout, the railroad tycoon, the inventer, the entrepreneur. People who took chances and opened doors the rest of the herd could go through when it was safer.
Tribes seldom advance as much as individuals. The Bill Gates and Thomas Edisons, the Kit Carsons and Henry Fords are not the types that follow the beaten path but the individuals who beat new and better paths.
Allen West is a real racial pioneer. Absolutely the opposite of the Sharptons and Michelle Obamas, and obviously more comfortable with his moral convictions than J C Watts or Armstrong Williams.
Posted by: TomR at June 15, 2008 12:10 PM
Tom's right.
Progressivism is an assault on individualism. The battle was waged by progs like Woodrow Wilson, Herbert Croly, Dewey, and dozens of others. It was the main obstacle to the triumph of the therapeutic and administrative state. Today the state seems to be winning.
Posted by: Rhod at June 15, 2008 12:16 PM
Absolutely TomR and Rhod, I have had to endure the herd mentality types, I have the utmost respect for those who reject the herd mentality and step out on their own to take personal responsibility and advance in society. Maybe we can get some good future leaders from this war, unlike that post turtle they are foisting upon the public.
Posted by: Jack at June 15, 2008 03:19 PM
Rhod, this is so good it really describes it so well why they hate how all of us are, individuals.
"Liberalism is a complete rejection of individualism for the idea of groups, because it's easier to mobilize groups for political power."
Posted by: Wild Thing at June 15, 2008 05:48 PM
Tincan Sailor, yes he was really respected by his men. It gave me goosebumps to read how strong he was and how his men had deep admiration for him. I hope he wins and I wish I could vote for him but he is out of my area here in Florida.
Posted by: Wild Thing at June 15, 2008 06:00 PM
Tom, beautifully said, thank you and so true.
Posted by: Wild Thing at June 15, 2008 06:03 PM
Jack I hope so too. I pray that happens.
Posted by: Wild Thing at June 15, 2008 06:06 PM
I thank Lt. Col. West for his heroic and honorable service to the country. Hopefully, his district will elect him to the House of Representatives.
Can you imagine a Rep. West aggressively interrogating Speaker Pelosi until she admits the real reason for blocking new oil and gas exploration, the building of new refineries, and the construction of nuclear power plants?
Posted by: Les at June 15, 2008 06:45 PM
Our friends on the left may try an assualt on
our freedoms but for that to work we have to
roll over and expose our Jugular and do nothing.
That will be when Hell freez's over!!! Col.West
reminds me of another General. Say, LTG Russel L. Honore,The libs' are stuck on stupid.I really
believe the 4-5 dollar gas will benifit the Republicans if they attack it in the right way
Posted by: Tincan Sailor at June 15, 2008 08:11 PM
Tincan Sailor, your right I agree.
It sure is an opportunity, I hope they use it and it will benefit all Americans.
Posted by: Wild Thing at June 15, 2008 11:59 PM
Les oh wow that would be fantastic.
Posted by: Wild Thing at June 16, 2008 12:03 AM
