It shouldn't be any surprise to anyone that Rep. Allen West (R-FL) went on an unhinged tirade against Representative Debbie Wasserman Shultz this week, merely for doing her job as a member of Congress and debating West on the budget. The Congressman has a history of being little more than a bully. For example, on his 2010 campaign, West hired a criminal motorcycle gang that had been indicted by the FBI for violent racketeering and attempted murder to preform security for campaign events. And of course, who can forget West's claim to tea party fame, the fact that he tortured a detained Iraqi police officer:
Arriving at the interrogation room, West approached Hamoodi, took out his gun, and chambered a round. He placed it in his lap with the gun barrel facing Hamoodi. "I had drawn out my pistol as a means of conveying a threat to him for the seriousness of wanting the information," West told investigators.Hamoodi said that after West's arrival, "a soldier pulled his shirt over his head, and numerous others began to punch him in the chest." The beating bruised his ribs, said Hamoodi, but those bruises had healed in the month that passed before he met with investigators.
Said West: "Yes, there had been sporadic body punches and shoving to the individual, which I witnessed but did not allow to get too brutal."
Hamoodi still didn't give West or the soldiers the information they wanted, either because he wasn't part of the assassination plot or because he was being an uncooperative witness.
West ordered Hamoodi out of the interrogation room and took him outside the facility, where Hamoodi says West pointed to six soldiers who were standing in line with their weapons in hand. Through the Egyptian translator, West told Hamoodi: "If you don't talk, they will kill you."
When that didn't work, West admitted to pushing Hamoodi's head into a clearing barrel full of sand, which is typically used for clearing weapons. West then put his gun into the same barrel, near Hamoodi's head and fired.
"In my anger I do not know if I fired two shots in to the barrel or one into the air and another into the barrel," said West in his sworn statement.
Clearly, when we look at Allen West's record, the fact that an extremist reactionary is reacting in an extreme manner is kind of a "Dog Bites Man" story.
But when the story morphs into West disgracing the military that I served in and love, that's when I have a problem:
Interestingly enough, when you first interviewed me back when I was a candidate, you referred to me as a military man. There are certain ways that we speak in the military. I guess I haven't learned the DC-insider talk.
Let's be clear: the sexist and disrespectful language West directed at a colleague is incompatible with military service. There is not one officer worth his or her salt that would refer to a peer as "vile, unprofessional ,and despicable". If an Army leader were to criticize another's performance, that leader would criticize them as a Soldier, not levy the insult that the individual is not "a lady". Soldiers are Soldiers, and the same is true of members of Congress.
To take it a step further, to refer to Wasserman Shultz as West's "peer" is rather generous to Rep. West. West is a freshman lawmaker representing a marginal district where he is likely to be beaten in 2012. Wasserman Shultz is not only a member of her party's leadership in the House, serving as Chief Deputy Whip, but also serves at Chair of the Democratic National Committee. Not to mention that Wasseman Shultz is actually West's representative in Congress.
That's right. West doesn't even live in his own district. He's a constituent of Rep. Debbie Wasserman Shultz. This is more like Private Pyle telling General Patton to pound sand than pecking order peers having a disagreement.
Now certainly, we say things in the military that you wouldn't repeat in church or in front of your grandmother. As a noncommissioned officer in the 82nd Airborne Division, I dressed down my share of subordinates (which, of course, is not analogous to West's tirade), but a leader attacks the work performance, not the Soldier. It's no surprise, however, given the circumstances surrounding West's military discharge, that he lacks many of the qualities of a good leader.
One of those qualities is respect, and it is taught to all Soldiers, not just leaders. In fact, respect is one of the seven Army Values that all Soldiers are taught within the first days of Basic Training:
Treat people as they should be treated. In the Soldier's Code, we pledge to "treat others with dignity and respect while expecting others to do the same." Respect is what allows us to appreciate the best in other people. Respect is trusting that all people have done their jobs and fulfilled their duty. And self-respect is a vital ingredient with the Army value of respect, which results from knowing you have put forth your best effort. The Army is one team and each of us has something to contribute.
Clearly, this is a value that eluded West when we was supervising the torture of a detainee in Iraq, as well as torturing him personally, and continues to elude him as he serves in the United States Congress.
And really, being disrespectful in the United States Congress is fine with me. If we starting booting all the disrespectful members in that institution we'd severely reduce it's population. But when Allen West asserts that he learned disrespect from the Army, he is disgracing every Veteran and currently serving member of that honorable institution.
I won't stand for such disgrace, and neither should anyone else who has worn the uniform of our country.
No, Allen West, that's not how we talk in the military. If you aren't going to apologize to your Congresswoman, you should at least apologize to the brave men and women you insulted with your pitiful excuse.
Follow Richard Allen Smith on Twitter: www.twitter.com/rockrichard
From what I can tell according to the posts on HP, all republicans are broke, are without jobs, are without any hope of gaining a job, have lost their 401s, can never retire, can't afford to eat, are frightened of the debt, are frightened of terrorists, are frightened of the Democrats and so they are all mad, mad, mad! They are fearful and frightened and they cling to their guns as a way to feel safe from the unnamed and unknown boogeyman that lurks around every tree and every corner.
They so obviously lead such desperate and despair-filled lives. It must be very hard to be a republican, to have no hope for tomorrow without having someone to hate and blame for their sorry little lives. West feeds into that desperation and despair perfectly.
So sorry that all women don't fit your stereotype, Congressman. And that this fact makes you act like a two-year old having a temper tantrum.
But the people who are bending over backward to support him are doing a grave dis-service to their party. They are looking at the political field and thinking that they dare not concede an inch of territory to the "enemy." Anyone standing in opposition to the Democrats must be supported to the hilt. Particularly if the label "Tea Party" has been stapled to their foreheads.
This is going to cost the Republicans dearly. Americans are looking for leaders and problem solvers. The elections of 2010 were about frustration over problems being ignored. The Tea Party rode that wave and are now delivering anything but solutions. People are seeing that the party of “Hell,No” doesn't solve problems, it creates crisis.
Mr West is the antithesis of the pragmatic problem solver. He,and others like him, will not check themselves. If the Republican Party will not do so, independent voters will. The Republican Party would do well to remember that they that sow the wind shall reap the whirlwind.
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Uh, correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't living in the district you represent (even if it's just your "official" residence) some sort of requirement?
Some folks never learn.
And despite this he has not learned.
come on ? been in any conflict smithy ? been parachuted in a jungle in central america to arrange landing strips, logistics and training - for months at a time - and didn't "speak that way" ??
never witnessed a fellow soldier being held by two bigger ones while a med, cursing his head off, was "cleaning out" his fellow soldier's indiscretion from a fling with a mamacita while sneaking off-base middle of the night ?
what is this ? Obama's vision of a robot-army, non-humanoids speaking politically correct and carrying a copy of the Geneva Convention in their pockets - winning "hearts and minds" ?
Geneva convention doesn't apply in the jungle (or the desert, or mountains for that matter) when bullets (etc) are flying around. Politicians use Geneva Convention to blame other side and when caught, they sacrifice a few of their own.
Comparison does not work.
It's amusing to see how completely your own hypocrisy eludes you as you bash one vet for correctly pointing out the misbehavior (as labelled by the military itself) of another on nothing more than partisan ideology.
Indeed, the military tribunal hearing West's case stated "his crimes merit a court-martial" however they decided against doing so if he resigned and paid a fine.
How he even got away with his actions, which triggered his retirement, is a signal of what is wrong with today's military.
Actually, the last time the military talked like Congressman West it was winning WWII in less than four years.
It's simply hilarious to read how this 'he-man' soldier dressed down other soldiers (face to face of course); Wasserman did no such thing. She waited until West left the floor of the House and then proceeded to 'dress him down' by referring to him as that person '....from Florida...' not even having the guts to face him or use his name.
Do you know long unit cohesion would last if the military acted the way Wasserman did with everyone sniping behind each other's back? About five minutes.
But that's the modern military for you. More like a social club than an organization supposed to be sharpened to a razor's edge to defend a nation and always willing to talk to one another face to face.
I wouldn't want to be in any foxhole with this faux 'soldier'. I'll take Allen West instead. He is man enough - soldier enough - to tell it to your face - a real man who will cover your back - folks like Wasserman go behind someone to shove the knife in.
It's Wasserman and this writer who owes our military an apology.
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2011/07/19/debbie_wasserman_schultz_attacks_allen_west_on_floor_west_responds.html
As to your and West's complaint that Wasserman Schultz' remarks were "behind [West's] back," West had said his piece AND THEN LEFT the Chamber. He couldn't be bothered to stick around and participate in the debate on one of the most important issues of his very short career. Rep. Wasserman Schultz stayed and did her job with honoor and respect, something of which Rep. West is incapable.