Colonelin Iraq refuses to resign

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The attorney for Lt. Col. Allen B. West said yesterday his client will not quit the Army, rejecting a prosecutor's offer to resign rather than face charges he threatened an Iraqi detainee to gain information on a planned guerrilla attack.

"Col. West will not resign short of his retirement eligibility," attorney Neal Puckett said in an interview.

Mr. Puckett said he will travel to Iraq next week to investigate the case. He will then defend Col. West at an investigative hearing, called an Article 32, scheduled for Nov. 10 in Kirkuk. If enough evidence of wrongdoing is presented, Col. West could be court-martialed and sent to prison.

The staff judge advocate for the 4th Infantry Division has charged Col. West with communicating a threat and aggravated assault for firing his pistol to scare a detainee into divulging information.

Col. West told The Washington Times in an e-mail this week that he was desperate to gain information to protect his soldiers. They face almost daily attacks as they work to impose security around Tikrit, a stronghold of Saddam Hussein loyalists.

The prosecutor has offered Col. West two choices: quit now, short of his 20-year retirement eligibility tomorrow, or face criminal proceedings that could lead to a trial. The assault charges carry a maximum penalty of eight years in prison.

Mr. Puckett is a retired Marine Corps lieutenant colonel who, as a judge advocate and military judge, handled more than 1,000 criminal cases. He said it is not unusual to suggest an officer quit rather than face charges.

"However, I've never seen a situation where this guy is this close to retirement," Mr. Puckett said.

If he quit, Col. West, 42, would lose more than $1 million in pay and health benefits over his life expectancy. His wife is a cancer survivor, Mr. Puckett said, meaning medical insurance will be extremely costly.