Last week, Lt. Col. Allen B. West, U.S. Army, was indicted on criminal assault charges for the psychological intimidation tactic he used to acquire vital intelligence from a captured enemy combatant in Iraq -- intelligence that saved the lives of American soldiers facing imminent attack.

The Army filed the charges against Col. West, a distinguished African-American officer, 19-year veteran and commander of an artillery battalion of the 4th Infantry Division stationed in northern Iraq near Saddam Hussein's loyalist stronghold of Tikrit, after the colonel twice fired his sidearm in the interrogation of an enemy prisoner. The prisoner, an Iraqi police officer, was taken into custody following the discovery of his participation in a series of terrorist attacks against U.S. forces in Saba al Boor, near Tikrit. Col. West's interrogation -- taken as a last resort -- coerced information of an imminent attack against soldiers under his command, undoubtedly saving an untold number of American lives. Highlighting the intensity of the situation in Tikrit and Saba al Boor, Col. West's troops come under almost daily assault from enemy guerillas -- Ba'ath sympathizers loyal to Saddam Hussein and Islamist terrorists fighting any western presence -- and threats of assassination have been made against Col. West personally.

Following the August 16 interrogation, Col. West immediately informed his superiors of his actions. No punitive action was taken against Col. West until the incident turned up in a routine command-climate investigation of the brigade some time later. Only then were charges brought against the colonel, who now faces an Article 32 hearing scheduled for November 10 in Kirkuk, which could result in his court martial. The 4th Infantry's divisional judge advocate initially offered West the option to resign his commission and forfeit his retirement benefits (one week short of his 20-year retirement eligibility) or face a general court martial. West refused to resign, instead offering to retire at a lower rank with benefits, which the Army promptly rejected. Now the judge advocate says he will pursue West's court martial on the charge of aggravated assault, which could result in his dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of pension and benefits, and a maximum of eight years in prison.

Apart from his prosecution, Col. West's so-called "criminal assault" produced other, more constructive results: "There were no further attacks from that town," notes the colonel. "We further apprehended two other conspirators (a third fled town) and found out one of the conspirators was the father of a man we had detained for his Saddam Fedeyeen affiliation."

Article 128 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice describes criminal assault in these terms: "Any person subject to this chapter who attempts or offers with unlawful force or violence to do bodily harm to another person, whether or not the attempt or offer is consummated, is guilty of assault and shall be punished as a court-martial may direct." The Army's judge advocate interprets West's actions to be in violation of this restriction. While the military is successfully adapting its capabilities to meet the challenges of asymmetric, anti-terrorist warfare, a paradigm shift in how the military expects its officers to carry out such a war seems to be in order.

"I accept being retired at the grade of major and paying whatever fine required, but resignation and prison seems an attempt to destroy me," Col. West said in his only interview since the incident. "All I wish is to go away, re-establish my family and retain some of my dignity." West continues, "[The Iraqi policeman] and his accomplices were a threat to our soldiers and the method was not right, but why should I lose 20 years of service or be forced into prison for protecting my men?"

Patriot Petitions asks the same question, and calls on fellow Patriots to come to the aid of Col. West and all line officers charged to prosecute our nation's ongoing war against Islamic terrorism and its state sponsors. How can we expect our frontline officers to fight wars the Bush administration calls "preemptive" if they are not given the latitude to respond -- preemptively -- to the asymmetric threats of terrorist aggressors? Would the deaths of American soldiers in the ambush Col. West thwarted at Saba al Boor have constituted a more acceptable result for the Army's judge advocate?

Please sign the petition to exonerate Col. West from this grossly misguided criminal prosecution.