Jessica Lynch, Col. West, and common sense

By Trevor Bothwell
web posted November 24, 2003

It is an odd phenomenon that a nation immersed in a war for
civilization itself is inspired more by the capture of a soldier than
by a soldier who prevents capture by enemy forces.

I'm speaking of course about Pfc. Jessica Lynch, who is
currently enjoying the spoils of media celebrity, and Lt. Col.
Allen West, who is right now being punished for brilliantly
thwarting an ambush against his troops in Iraq.

To be fair, it isn't surprising that the media has jumped all over
the Jessica Lynch story. Pretty, young, and blonde are three
attributes not uncommon to success in the entertainment industry,
and we all sympathize with the hardship that Jessica endured
during her capture in Iraq. However, intending no disrespect to
her, Ms. Lynch is not a heroine -- which she herself recently
acknowledged to Diane Sawyer in her first TV interview -- but
merely the victim of an unfortunate wrong turn.

In stark contrast, Lt. Col. West, who commanded an artillery
unit in the Army's 4th Infantry Division, is being charged with
aggravated assault for the heroic tactics he employed a short
time ago to save the lives of his men.

Facing gunfire and ambushes, Col. West detained a local police
officer he learned had been cooperating with the enemy.
Following futile attempts to question the officer, West decided to
interrogate his detainee using stronger methods. He discharged
his pistol to frighten the police officer, taking care to stand
between his weapon and the man, and effectively elicited
information that allowed his unit to preempt the ambushes.

For his trouble, Col. West is now faced with the decision to
resign from the Army without his pension (for which he would
have qualified one week after this incident), or face charges of
assault. This is highly disturbing, not least because a distinguished
officer is facing his ruin at the very time that the Bush
administration is being scolded constantly by the media and other
critics for mounting American casualties in Iraq. But when
engaged in unconventional warfare, one would think that
unconventional methods of survival would seem appropriate
when the alternative is sudden and certain death.

The courage of Col. West is evident, and Defense Secretary
Donald Rumsfeld should affirm this by absolving West of these
charges. But in the event that Mr. Rumsfeld needs some
encouragement, I might point out some earlier heroic actions of
one of Rumsfeld's current employees: General John "Mad Arab"
Abizaid, Commander, U.S. Central Command.

Abizaid, a highly decorated and accomplished general who now
serves as the Pentagon's point man inside Iraq, began his
impressive military career, ironically, it seems, similar to Col.
West's end.

Abizaid's reputation for decisive action was cemented during the
1983 U.S. invasion of Grenada, where, facing a nest of hostile
Cuban troops, then-Capt. Abizaid ordered one of his Army
Rangers to climb aboard a bulldozer, raise its shovel, and drive it
towards the enemy while he and his men advanced behind it
(which inspired a fictional scene in Clint Eastwood's 1986 movie
"Heartbreak Ridge").

But a story that is not so well documented is one told by many
senior officers at West Point, and it concerns an event that
occurred prior to touching down in Grenada. During approach
from the air, Capt. Abizaid allegedly put a .45 to the head of the
Air Force pilot who initially would not fly over the drop zone. He
also jumped from below 600 feet, which is extremely
dangerous.  But Abizaid knew that securing the airport with his
Ranger Company was critical to the success of the mission.

As one Army expert tells me, "Abizaid probably could have
been charged with some type of Article 15 offense (Nonjudicial
Punishment)" for the harsh measure of threatening another
officer, "but any officer (especially in the Special Operations
community) worth the rank on his collar would do the same
thing."

Exactly. 

General consensus in the military is that when the bullets start to
fly, good leaders do what needs to be done in order to
accomplish the mission (within guidelines of the Geneva
Convention, of course).

Most Democrats and critics of this war seem to think we can
defeat radical Islamists by sending the cast of "Queer Eye for the
Straight Guy" into the desert to slap our way to victory. America
chose to send its best into Iraq because it recognized the need to
destroy lunatics who would murder innocent Americans in their
sleep. And Col. West exemplifies the bravery and nerve that
we'd better demand if we expect to come out of this campaign
on top.

Jessica Lynch didn't ask to stand at the altar of idolatry. Indeed,
her TV movie was even made without her cooperation. But her
ordeal should not highlight the dignity of placing women in
combat nearly as much as it should spur consideration of its
discontinuation.
 
Perhaps the media needs Jessica Lynch. But the U.S. military
certainly needs Col. Allen West, if it knows what's good for it.

Trevor Bothwell is editor of TheRightReport.com and is author
of the cookbook, 50 Ways to Impress Your Girlfriend's Parents.
He can be contacted at bothwell@therightreport.com.

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