Allen West

[G8rMom7]

running for Congress District 22 in South Florida...if you don't like this guy, you're a racist. (Kidding of course).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsJJqIztPHc&feature=related#

[DocZaius]

Yeah, he's making a lot of news down here on the local talk radio. Unfortunately, he's not in my district.

[G8rMom7]

I've been on his bandwagon for quite some time actually. The longer version of this Q and A session shows the ex-military guy asking a question based on Helen Thomas trying to understand WHY the extremists have "perverted" the religion as a reason for attacking us. Then the old white guys on either side of west sort of stumble and mumble and can't really answer.

I guess his district is too far east of you huh Doc? I think it's basically the coastline from WPB down to north Broward?

[DocZaius]

Holy fuck. I actually am in his District, by about a block. I swore I was in Debbie Wasserman-Schultz's district, but the government's official map shows my street being in the 22nd. He's running against Ron Klein, right? Hooray for gerrymandering!

[G8rMom7]

Yep.

He's running against Ron Klein, right? Hooray for gerrymandering!

Yep.

[DocZaius]

I haven't really heard any advertising by West, or Klein for that matter, but as we get closer to the election, I expect Klein will try to make an issue out of this:

http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/12/12/sprj.nirq.west.ruling/index.html

TIKRIT, Iraq (CNN) -- The commanding general of the 4th Infantry Division on Friday accepted a U.S. military investigator's recommendation and ordered administrative action against Lt. Col. Allen West, who was accused of using improper methods to force information out of an Iraqi detainee.

Following a military hearing, West was fined $5,000 over two months, according to West's civillian attorney, Neal Puckett.

The punishment does not affect West's eligibility for retirement and pension, Puckett said in a statement.

West, 42, will be assigned to the rear detachment of the 4th Infantry Division awaiting the processing of his retirement request, the statement said.

Maj. Gen. Raymond Odierno, the 4th Infantry's top general in Tikrit, could have rejected the recommendation and ordered a court martial. If he were to be found guilty at a court martial of the two articles against him, West could have faced 11 years in prison, a military prosecutor told CNN.

The case stems from an incident August 20 at a military base in Taji, just north of Baghdad, when West was interrogating an Iraqi policeman, who was believed to have information about a plot to assassinate West with an ambush on a U.S. convoy.

In testimony at an Article 32 hearing -- the military's version of a grand jury or preliminary hearing -- West said the policeman, Yahya Jhrodi Hamoody, was not cooperating with interrogators, so he watched four of his soldiers from the 220th Field Artillery Battalion beat the detainee on the head and body.

West said he also threatened to kill Hamoody. Military prosecutors say West followed up on that threat by taking the suspect outside, put him on the ground near a weapons clearing barrel and fired his 9 mm pistol into the barrel.

Apparently not knowing where West's gun was aimed, Hamoody 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.

"I know the method I used was not right, but I wanted to take care of my soldiers," West testified to a military courtroom of observers and some teary-eyed troops formerly under his command.

Asked if he would have act differently if under similar circumstances again, West testified, "If it's about the lives of my soldiers at stake, I'd go through hell with a gasoline can."

Puckett argued that because West is always accompanied by U.S. troops that he acted to save American lives.

But while West's supporters call him a hero, military prosecutors said his actions amounted to torture and violated articles 128 and 134 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

Prosecutor Capt. Magdalena Pezytulska said West should be tried for assault and for communicating a threat. "This is a case about a man who lost his temper," she argued. "There are consequences for [West's] actions."

When West testified that he had "no malice toward Hamoody" and that he "just wanted information," Pezytulska presented a document of West's typed statement following the August incident. She asked him to read his own written words to the court: "In my anger, I couldn't remember how many shots were fired."

After nearly 20 years of military service, West plans to move his family from Texas to Florida, where he said he hopes to start a new life.

Meh. I'll give him a pass on this one, as the plot was against both him and his soldiers and he got the job done. I don't have a problem getting a little rough on the enemy, and it doesn't sound like he hooked electrodes to the guy's testicles or anything.

[G8rMom7]

^^^If Klein makes an issue out that, he's a day late and a dollar short as I've seen West talk about this very openly and honestly. His reply was that if it protected his men, he would do it again in a heartbeat.

This is a rather lighthearted segment with him featured on Red Eye but at the end he does talk about this incident. I don't think this hurts him at all...at least not in this country's current atmosphere...the way those Navy Seals were treated, etc.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huDnmEQSwLU&feature=player_embedded#

And just for you Doc, this is the video that put him on the map...it has over 2 million hits on You Tube and he talks about it in the above video on Red Eye. It was an impromptu speech he gave to about 400 Tea Party type folks last year sometime.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VP2p91dvm6M&feature=player_embedded#

[IHateUGAlyDawgs]

Terrorists are not enemy combatants and should not be treated.as.such. they should be treated as the terrorist thugs that they are

[G8rMom7]

http://bigpeace.com/dreaboi/2010/07/24/big-peace-exclusive-interview-col-allen-west/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEGXylIGMA0&feature=player_embedded#

[DocZaius]

My wife, is on the Democrats' mailing list, so just about every day we get a mailing about Allen West's debt problems. The mailings have photos of court documents filed against West.

Here's the skinny:

http://www.politifact.com/florida/statements/2010/aug/30/ron-klein/ron-klien-says-allen-west-late-paying-bills/

The credit card judgments were defaults - West never showed up to contest them in small claims court. Don't know if this was because he was serving overseas at the time or not (which would call the default judgments into question), but it doesn't sound like he's contesting them now. Don't know how legit the tax lien on the Indiana property is.

Regardless, seems like a bad idea to attack a guy over having a little household debt in this economy - lots of voters can probably sympathize with having bill collectors on your back for a few thousand dollars. It's not like he racked up $100,000 in debt and then declared bankruptcy.

[G8rMom7]

From what I understand those financial issues all happened in 2005 which is when he was serving overseas. According to his statements as soon as he was made aware, he settled up with anything he owed. I agree I would be careful to chastize someone for having finanical difficulties in their past...I venture to guess there are more of us that HAVE had similar difficulties to than those of us who have friendly relationships with the IRS. I know they don't like when I make my monthly to call to take up issue with something.

[DocZaius]

That's what I was thinking - was he even in the country then? If so, the defaults should never have been entered, as the plaintiff has the obligation to make a good faith effort to see if he's a member of the military. The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act would give him the opportunity to re-open those judgments, but I guess he chose to pay them off.