The heroic story of Lt. Col. West is brought to our attention via the worthy blog Weasel Zippers:
Allen B. West is a retired United States Army Lieutenant Colonel and a Republican Party candidate for the United States Congress in Florida's 22nd district. He served in Iraq and as a civilian adviser in Afghanistan.
IRAQ INTERROGATION CONTROVERSY AND RETIREMENT:
While serving in Taji, Iraq, on August 20, 2003, as commander of the 2d Battalion 20th Field Artillery, Lieutenant Colonel West was in charge of an interrogation of a civilian Iraqi police officer who was suspected of having pertinent information regarding attacks on American soldiers. According to the Military Investigation, soldiers under West's supervision assaulted the civilian Iraqi police officer in an attempt to get him to talk.[3] West admittedly fired a pistol near the policeman's head, threatened his life, and allowed his troops to physically assault the man.
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. 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.
At a hearing, 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. Apparently not knowing West's gun was aimed into a barrel, Hamoodi cracked and gave information about the planned ambush on West's convoy, thwarting the attack. West said there were no further ambushes on U.S. forces in Taji until he was relieved of his leadership post on October 4. Hamoodi was detained for 45 days, then released without having been charged.
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.
* * *
You can say whatever you want about what he did with that Iraqi prisoner and in the end you'll just be another armchair quarterback; Alan West was in the heat of battle and while Mock executions are specifically forbidden under the Law of Land Warfare, what he did produced actionable results. My take on it is that I am sure this was not a mock execution - this was the intro to a REAL execution, which of course would have been murder. More to the point, Lt. Col. West was forthright and willing to face the consequences of his actions. - Sean Linnane
STORMBRINGER fully endorses Lt. Col. Alan West for Congress. We need more vets like him in Washington.
Click HERE if you wish to support Lt. Col. West's run for Congress.
Showing posts with label US Congress. Show all posts
Showing posts with label US Congress. Show all posts
Friday, August 6, 2010
Sunday, April 11, 2010
THIS IS WORTH A READ
"Combating Al-Qaeda and the Militant Jihadist Threat"
"Western Europe has become a central battlefield in the war of ideas within Islam between moderates and radicals . . .
". . . the continuing inability of the west to differentiate between moderates and radicals is resulting in the legitimization of the radicals and the isolation of the moderates . . .
". . . the eventual return from Iraq of European Muslims with experience in armed jihad, will lead to even more serious problems in the future, both for Europe and the United States."
italics mine - Sean Linnane
.
"Western Europe has become a central battlefield in the war of ideas within Islam between moderates and radicals . . .
". . . the continuing inability of the west to differentiate between moderates and radicals is resulting in the legitimization of the radicals and the isolation of the moderates . . .
". . . the eventual return from Iraq of European Muslims with experience in armed jihad, will lead to even more serious problems in the future, both for Europe and the United States."
italics mine - Sean Linnane
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Saturday, March 20, 2010
COMBAT VETERANS FOR CONGRESS
Here is the definitive list of United States Combat Veterans running for office:
ArizonaSgt. Jesse Kelly
Sgt. Kelly is a combat veteran of the US Marine Corps
He is running for United States House in Arizona
Primary Date: Tuesday, August 24, 2010
ArkansasCol. Conrad Reynolds
Col. Reynolds is a combat veteran of the US Army
He is running for United States Senate in Arkansas
Primary Date: Tuesday, May 18, 2010
CaliforniaCongressman Duncan Hunter
Congressman Hunter is a combat veteran of the US Marine Corps
He is running for United States House in California
Primary Date: Tuesday, June 8, 2010
GSgt. Nick Popaditch
GSgt. Popaditch is a combat veteran of the US Marine Corps
He is running for United States House in California
Primary Date: Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Maj. Michael Crimmins
Maj. Crimmins is a combat veteran of the US Marine Corps
He is running for United States House in California
Primary Date: Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Maj. Quang Pham
Maj. Pham is a combat veteran of the US Marine Corps
He is running for United States House in California
ColoradoLt. Col. Lang Sias
Lt. Col. Sias is a combat veteran of the US Army National Guard
He is running for United States House in Colorado
Primary Date: Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Col. Robert McConnell
McConnell is a combat veteran of the US Army
He is running for United States House in Colorado
Primary Date: Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Maj. Bob Diggs Brown, Jr.
Maj. Brown, Jr. is a combat veteran of the US Army National Guard
He is running for United States House in Colorado
Primary Date: Tuesday, August 10, 2010
ConnecticutCongressman Rob Simmons
Congressman Simmons is a combat veteran of the US Army
He is running for United States Senate in Connecticut
Primary Date: Tuesday, August 10, 2010
FloridaLt. Col. Allen West
Lt. Col. West is a combat veteran of the US Army
He is running for United States House in Florida
Primary Date: Tuesday, August 24, 2010
IdahoMaj. Vaughn Ward
Maj. Ward is a combat veteran of the US Marine Corps
He is running for United States House in Idaho
Primary Date: Tuesday, May 25, 2010
IllinoisCapt. Adam Kinzinger
Capt. Kinzinger is a combat veteran of the US Air National Guard
He is running for United States House in Illinois
Primary Date: Tuesday, June 8, 2010
New MexicoCongressman Steve Pearce
Congressman Pearce is a combat veteran of the US Air Force
He is running for United States House in New Mexico
Primary Date: Tuesday, June 1, 2010
New YorkSpec Ops Officer Gary Berntsen
Spec Ops Officer Berntsen is a combat veteran of the US CIA
He is running for United States House in New York
Primary Date: Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Former Special Agent Michael Grimm
Former Special Agent Grimm is a combat veteran of the US Marine Corps
He is running for United States House in New York
Primary Date: Tuesday, May 18, 2010
North CarolinaMaj. Will Breazeale
Maj. Breazeale is a combat veteran of the US Army
He is running for United States House in North Carolina
Primary Date: Tuesday, May 4, 2010
OhioLt. Col. Steve Stivers
Lt. Col. Stivers is a combat veteran of the US Army National Guard
He is running for United States House in Ohio
Primary Date: Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Former Sheriff Richard "Dick" Stobbs
Former Sheriff Stobbs is a combat veteran of the US Army
He is running for United States House in Ohio
Primary Date: Tuesday, May 4, 2010
PennsylvaniaLt. Col. William Russell
Lt. Col. Russell is a combat veteran of the US Army
He is running for United States House in Pennsylvania
Primary Date: Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Col. Frank Ryan
Col. Ryan is a combat veteran of the US Marine Corps
He is running for United States House in Pennsylvania
Primary Date: Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Rhode IslandLt. Col. John Loughlin
Lt. Col. Loughlin is a combat veteran of the US Army
He is running for United States House in Rhode Island
Primary Date: Tuesday, September 14, 2010
TennesseeMaj. Gen. David Evans
Maj. Gen. Evans is a combat veteran of the US Army
He is running for United States House in Tennessee
Primary Date: Thursday, August 5, 2010
They gave you their blood, sweat and tears over there; now you can give them your vote over here.
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Thursday, February 11, 2010
HIS LIFE MADE A DIFFERENCE
Charlie Wilson, Former Congressman, Dies at 76
He fought the Soviet Red Army, and won.
Charles Nesbitt Wilson (June 1, 1933 – February 10, 2010) was a former United States Navy officer and a 12-term Democratic United States Representative from the 2nd Congressional District in Texas.
He was best known for leading Congress into supporting Operation Cyclone, the largest-ever CIA covert operation, which supplied military equipment, including anti-aircraft weapons such as Stinger antiaircraft missiles, and paramilitary officers from their Special Activities Division to the Afghan Mujahideen during the Soviet war in Afghanistan. His activities were the subject of the non-fiction book Charlie Wilson's War and film of the same name, starring Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts.
Good Time Charlie
Wilson was known in Washington as "Good Time Charlie" for his reputation as a hard-drinking womanizer. He once called former Congresswoman Pat Schroeder "Babycakes," and tried to take a beauty queen with him on a government trip to Afghanistan.
In a 2003 interview, Charlie Wilson said he wasn't worried about details of his wild side being portrayed: "I would remind you that I was not married at the time. I'm in a different place than I was in at the time and I don't apologize about that,"
Operation Cyclone
In 1980, Wilson read an Associated Press dispatch on the congressional wires describing the refugees fleeing Soviet-occupied Afghanistan. The Communist Democratic Republic of Afghanistan had taken over power during the Afghan Civil War and asked the Soviet Union to help suppress resistance from the Mujahideen. According to biographer George Crile III, Wilson called the staff of the House Appropriations Committee dealing with "black appropriations" and requested a two-fold appropriation increase for Afghanistan. Because Wilson had just been named to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense (which is responsible for funding CIA operations), his request went through.
The formidable MI-24 HIND-D attack helicopter.
In 1983, Wilson won an additional $40 million, $17 million of which was allocated for anti-aircraft weapons to shoot down Mil Mi-24 Hind helicopters. The next year, CIA officer Gust Avrakotos directly approached Wilson – breaking the CIA's policy against lobbying Congress for money – asking Wilson for $50 million more. Wilson agreed and convinced Congress, saying, "The U.S. had nothing whatsoever to do with these people's decision to fight ... but we'll be damned by history if we let them fight with stones." Later, Wilson succeeded in giving the Afghans $300 million of unused Pentagon money before the end of the fiscal year. Thus, Wilson directly influenced the level of U.S. support for the Afghan Mujahideen. Wilson has said that the covert operation succeeded because "there was no partisanship or damaging leaks." Michael Pillsbury, a senior Pentagon official, used Wilson's funding to provide Stinger missiles to the Afghan resistance in a controversial decision.
Texas socialite and businesswoman Joanne Herring played a significant role in helping the Afghan resistance fighters get support and military equipment from the U.S. government. She persuaded Wilson to visit the Pakistani leadership, and after meeting with them he was taken to a major Pakistan-based Afghan refugee camp so he could see for himself the atrocities committed by the Soviets against the Afghan people. About that visit, Wilson later said:
"That was the experience that will always be seared in my memory, was going through those hospitals and seeing, especially those children with their hands blown off from the mines that the Soviets were dropping from their helicopters. That was perhaps the deciding thing . . . and it made a huge difference for the next 10 or 12 years of my life because I left those hospitals determined, as long as I had a breath in my body and was a member in Congress, that I was going to do what I could to make the Soviets pay for what they were doing!"
For his efforts, Wilson was presented with the Honored Colleague Award by the CIA. He is the first civilian to receive the award. However, Wilson's role remains controversial because most of the aid was supplied to Islamist hardliner Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, now a senior Taliban leader and a supporter of al-Qaeda.
Mujahadeen in 1985: the Muj on the right carries the same kind of Lee-Enfield rifle that Charlie Wilson brandishes in his Capitol Hill office (above).
Early Start in Politics
Wilson first entered politics at age 13 by running a campaign against his next-door neighbor, city council incumbent Charles Hazard. When Wilson's dog entered Hazard's yard, Hazard retaliated by mixing crushed glass into the dog's food, causing fatal internal bleeding. Being a farmer's son, Wilson was able to get a driving permit at age 13, which enabled him to drive 96 voters, mainly black citizens from poor neighborhoods, to the polls. As they left the car, he told each of them that he didn't want to influence their vote, but that the incumbent Hazard had purposely killed his dog. After Hazard was defeated by a margin of 16 votes, Wilson went to his house to tell him he shouldn't poison any more dogs. Wilson cited this as "the day (he) fell in love with America."
Regrets
After successfully supporting the Mujahedeen to a victory that helped speed the downfall of the Soviet Union - Wilson was unable to keep the money flowing after the Soviets left. Afghanistan plunged into chaos, creating an opening eventually filled by the Taliban, who hosted the al-Qaeda terrorist organization.
After the September 11 attacks, and the subsequent U.S.invasion of the country it had once helped liberate, Wilson said, "People like me didn't fulfill our responsibilities once the war was over. We allowed this vacuum to occur in Afghanistan and Pakistan, which enraged a lot of people. That was as much my fault as it was a lot of others."
Rarely does a single person's achievements have such a profound impact. Honor him.
- S.L.
.
He fought the Soviet Red Army, and won.
Charles Nesbitt Wilson (June 1, 1933 – February 10, 2010) was a former United States Navy officer and a 12-term Democratic United States Representative from the 2nd Congressional District in Texas.
He was best known for leading Congress into supporting Operation Cyclone, the largest-ever CIA covert operation, which supplied military equipment, including anti-aircraft weapons such as Stinger antiaircraft missiles, and paramilitary officers from their Special Activities Division to the Afghan Mujahideen during the Soviet war in Afghanistan. His activities were the subject of the non-fiction book Charlie Wilson's War and film of the same name, starring Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts.
Good Time Charlie
Wilson was known in Washington as "Good Time Charlie" for his reputation as a hard-drinking womanizer. He once called former Congresswoman Pat Schroeder "Babycakes," and tried to take a beauty queen with him on a government trip to Afghanistan.
In a 2003 interview, Charlie Wilson said he wasn't worried about details of his wild side being portrayed: "I would remind you that I was not married at the time. I'm in a different place than I was in at the time and I don't apologize about that,"
Operation Cyclone
In 1980, Wilson read an Associated Press dispatch on the congressional wires describing the refugees fleeing Soviet-occupied Afghanistan. The Communist Democratic Republic of Afghanistan had taken over power during the Afghan Civil War and asked the Soviet Union to help suppress resistance from the Mujahideen. According to biographer George Crile III, Wilson called the staff of the House Appropriations Committee dealing with "black appropriations" and requested a two-fold appropriation increase for Afghanistan. Because Wilson had just been named to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense (which is responsible for funding CIA operations), his request went through.
The formidable MI-24 HIND-D attack helicopter.In 1983, Wilson won an additional $40 million, $17 million of which was allocated for anti-aircraft weapons to shoot down Mil Mi-24 Hind helicopters. The next year, CIA officer Gust Avrakotos directly approached Wilson – breaking the CIA's policy against lobbying Congress for money – asking Wilson for $50 million more. Wilson agreed and convinced Congress, saying, "The U.S. had nothing whatsoever to do with these people's decision to fight ... but we'll be damned by history if we let them fight with stones." Later, Wilson succeeded in giving the Afghans $300 million of unused Pentagon money before the end of the fiscal year. Thus, Wilson directly influenced the level of U.S. support for the Afghan Mujahideen. Wilson has said that the covert operation succeeded because "there was no partisanship or damaging leaks." Michael Pillsbury, a senior Pentagon official, used Wilson's funding to provide Stinger missiles to the Afghan resistance in a controversial decision.
Texas socialite and businesswoman Joanne Herring played a significant role in helping the Afghan resistance fighters get support and military equipment from the U.S. government. She persuaded Wilson to visit the Pakistani leadership, and after meeting with them he was taken to a major Pakistan-based Afghan refugee camp so he could see for himself the atrocities committed by the Soviets against the Afghan people. About that visit, Wilson later said:
"That was the experience that will always be seared in my memory, was going through those hospitals and seeing, especially those children with their hands blown off from the mines that the Soviets were dropping from their helicopters. That was perhaps the deciding thing . . . and it made a huge difference for the next 10 or 12 years of my life because I left those hospitals determined, as long as I had a breath in my body and was a member in Congress, that I was going to do what I could to make the Soviets pay for what they were doing!"
For his efforts, Wilson was presented with the Honored Colleague Award by the CIA. He is the first civilian to receive the award. However, Wilson's role remains controversial because most of the aid was supplied to Islamist hardliner Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, now a senior Taliban leader and a supporter of al-Qaeda.
Mujahadeen in 1985: the Muj on the right carries the same kind of Lee-Enfield rifle that Charlie Wilson brandishes in his Capitol Hill office (above).Early Start in Politics
Wilson first entered politics at age 13 by running a campaign against his next-door neighbor, city council incumbent Charles Hazard. When Wilson's dog entered Hazard's yard, Hazard retaliated by mixing crushed glass into the dog's food, causing fatal internal bleeding. Being a farmer's son, Wilson was able to get a driving permit at age 13, which enabled him to drive 96 voters, mainly black citizens from poor neighborhoods, to the polls. As they left the car, he told each of them that he didn't want to influence their vote, but that the incumbent Hazard had purposely killed his dog. After Hazard was defeated by a margin of 16 votes, Wilson went to his house to tell him he shouldn't poison any more dogs. Wilson cited this as "the day (he) fell in love with America."
Regrets
After successfully supporting the Mujahedeen to a victory that helped speed the downfall of the Soviet Union - Wilson was unable to keep the money flowing after the Soviets left. Afghanistan plunged into chaos, creating an opening eventually filled by the Taliban, who hosted the al-Qaeda terrorist organization.
After the September 11 attacks, and the subsequent U.S.invasion of the country it had once helped liberate, Wilson said, "People like me didn't fulfill our responsibilities once the war was over. We allowed this vacuum to occur in Afghanistan and Pakistan, which enraged a lot of people. That was as much my fault as it was a lot of others."
Rarely does a single person's achievements have such a profound impact. Honor him.
- S.L.
.
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