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CNN Saturday Morning News

Interview with Neal Pukett

Aired December 13, 2003 - 07:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Military officials settled the case of an Army officer accused of using actions which prosecutors said amounted to torture during the interrogation of an Iraqi detainee. Lieutenant Colonel Allen West avoided a court martial in the case; instead, getting a lesser punishment, which will end with his retirement from military service in the next few weeks.
Joining us to talk about the case and the outcome is Lieutenant Colonel West's attorney, Neal Puckett, who is with us this morning from San Antonio, Texas.

Mr. Puckett, thanks for being with us.

NEAL PUCKETT, WEST'S ATTORNEY: Good morning, Heidi.

COLLINS: Appreciate your time this morning.

Let me begin by just asking you how you feel about the outcome.

PUCKETT: I feel relieved about the outcome. Our mission was to convince the Army that a court martial wasn't warranted in this case and we were successful.

COLLINS: Explain, if you would, to the viewers what that means, for some people who are just not familiar with the process in the military.

PUCKETT: Well, there's the judicial process in the military and then there are administrative forms of discipline. And this is what's happened in Lieutenant Colonel West's case. He received yesterday, at a hearing, a fine of $5,000, to be paid over two months.

COLLINS: Right. And in a court martial, often the verdicts that come down really can have a lot to do with, depending upon what the decision is, honor. When a person in the military, Article 15s or dishonorable discharge, things like that, those are some of the things that a person of Lieutenant Colonel West's stature really worry about.

PUCKETT: Well, absolutely. And, of course, his career was over when he was relieved of command on October 4. And we were hoping that wasn't going to be compounded with a federal felony conviction, which a court martial conviction would result in.

COLLINS: So obviously Lieutenant Colonel West feeling pretty happy about this outcome, I imagine. PUCKETT: He's very happy. He's happy to have it over with and he's not dissatisfied with the way the Army handled it and he has never been concerned about that. He's always been willing to face whatever consequences arose from his actions.

But right now he's just focused on returning home.

COLLINS: I'm sure he is.

Talk to us, if you would, maybe Lieutenant Colonel West has shared some of this information with you. How do his soldiers feel about what happened?

PUCKETT: Well, I got to actually meet and talk to his soldiers and they are -- they felt badly about the way the Army handled the situation and they are absolutely...

COLLINS: Why is that?

PUCKETT: Well, because they consider Lieutenant Colonel West a hero and a man who stood up for what was right and for all the right reasons. And to be castigated rather than supported by the Army really disappointed them in the senior leadership of the Army.

COLLINS: We should remind people, when you say that his soldiers looked to him as a hero, what we're talking about is Lieutenant Colonel West actually believed that this Iraqi detainee had information about an assassination attempt against him. So he feels to this very day that he did exactly what he could do to protect himself and his troops?

PUCKETT: That's correct. And, in fact, that information was obtained as a result of his interrogation.

COLLINS: Anything he could have done differently?

PUCKETT: Well, he could have sat back and let the interrogator continue to fruitlessly interrogate the Iraqi detainee. The information wouldn't have been obtained and the assassination would have been set up within two days and probably his men, who were always with him, either he or his men would have been injured.

COLLINS: Let me ask you this. Now, we know that Lieutenant Colonel West reached his 20, as they say in the military, which is a milestone, many years in service. When he looks back, and maybe you've spoken about this, when he looks back over his career, is this going to be a black mark? I'm sure this is not something that he wanted to end his career with.

PUCKETT: No, it's not, Heidi. He would not consider this a black mark. He believes that he acted honorably, did the right thing under difficult circumstances. And remember, a commander has many, many responsibilities. Some of those are following the rules and some of those are protecting his men. And last August, those two responsibilities came into conflict and he chose protecting his men over following those rules of interrogation. COLLINS: Let me also ask you one more question, if I could, about the troops. We've heard a lot about morale in Iraq, some of it good, some of it not so good.

What has this done to his soldiers as far as, as you say, seeing their hero being taken down, in a sense?

PUCKETT: Well, they're going to press on, as good soldiers do, and as he admonished them to do, even though he's not going to be with them. But it damaged their morale in an incredibly serious way. They now have lost their faith in senior leadership, particularly in Lieutenant Colonel West's commander, and it's going to be difficult for them to push on.

COLLINS: All right, Neal Puckett, we certainly do appreciate your time this morning.

PUCKETT: Thank you.

COLLINS: Attorney for Lieutenant Colonel Allen West.

Thanks so much.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired December 13, 2003 - 07:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Military officials settled the case of an Army officer accused of using actions which prosecutors said amounted to torture during the interrogation of an Iraqi detainee. Lieutenant Colonel Allen West avoided a court martial in the case; instead, getting a lesser punishment, which will end with his retirement from military service in the next few weeks.
Joining us to talk about the case and the outcome is Lieutenant Colonel West's attorney, Neal Puckett, who is with us this morning from San Antonio, Texas.

Mr. Puckett, thanks for being with us.

NEAL PUCKETT, WEST'S ATTORNEY: Good morning, Heidi.

COLLINS: Appreciate your time this morning.

Let me begin by just asking you how you feel about the outcome.

PUCKETT: I feel relieved about the outcome. Our mission was to convince the Army that a court martial wasn't warranted in this case and we were successful.

COLLINS: Explain, if you would, to the viewers what that means, for some people who are just not familiar with the process in the military.

PUCKETT: Well, there's the judicial process in the military and then there are administrative forms of discipline. And this is what's happened in Lieutenant Colonel West's case. He received yesterday, at a hearing, a fine of $5,000, to be paid over two months.

COLLINS: Right. And in a court martial, often the verdicts that come down really can have a lot to do with, depending upon what the decision is, honor. When a person in the military, Article 15s or dishonorable discharge, things like that, those are some of the things that a person of Lieutenant Colonel West's stature really worry about.

PUCKETT: Well, absolutely. And, of course, his career was over when he was relieved of command on October 4. And we were hoping that wasn't going to be compounded with a federal felony conviction, which a court martial conviction would result in.

COLLINS: So obviously Lieutenant Colonel West feeling pretty happy about this outcome, I imagine. PUCKETT: He's very happy. He's happy to have it over with and he's not dissatisfied with the way the Army handled it and he has never been concerned about that. He's always been willing to face whatever consequences arose from his actions.

But right now he's just focused on returning home.

COLLINS: I'm sure he is.

Talk to us, if you would, maybe Lieutenant Colonel West has shared some of this information with you. How do his soldiers feel about what happened?

PUCKETT: Well, I got to actually meet and talk to his soldiers and they are -- they felt badly about the way the Army handled the situation and they are absolutely...

COLLINS: Why is that?

PUCKETT: Well, because they consider Lieutenant Colonel West a hero and a man who stood up for what was right and for all the right reasons. And to be castigated rather than supported by the Army really disappointed them in the senior leadership of the Army.

COLLINS: We should remind people, when you say that his soldiers looked to him as a hero, what we're talking about is Lieutenant Colonel West actually believed that this Iraqi detainee had information about an assassination attempt against him. So he feels to this very day that he did exactly what he could do to protect himself and his troops?

PUCKETT: That's correct. And, in fact, that information was obtained as a result of his interrogation.

COLLINS: Anything he could have done differently?

PUCKETT: Well, he could have sat back and let the interrogator continue to fruitlessly interrogate the Iraqi detainee. The information wouldn't have been obtained and the assassination would have been set up within two days and probably his men, who were always with him, either he or his men would have been injured.

COLLINS: Let me ask you this. Now, we know that Lieutenant Colonel West reached his 20, as they say in the military, which is a milestone, many years in service. When he looks back, and maybe you've spoken about this, when he looks back over his career, is this going to be a black mark? I'm sure this is not something that he wanted to end his career with.

PUCKETT: No, it's not, Heidi. He would not consider this a black mark. He believes that he acted honorably, did the right thing under difficult circumstances. And remember, a commander has many, many responsibilities. Some of those are following the rules and some of those are protecting his men. And last August, those two responsibilities came into conflict and he chose protecting his men over following those rules of interrogation. COLLINS: Let me also ask you one more question, if I could, about the troops. We've heard a lot about morale in Iraq, some of it good, some of it not so good.

What has this done to his soldiers as far as, as you say, seeing their hero being taken down, in a sense?

PUCKETT: Well, they're going to press on, as good soldiers do, and as he admonished them to do, even though he's not going to be with them. But it damaged their morale in an incredibly serious way. They now have lost their faith in senior leadership, particularly in Lieutenant Colonel West's commander, and it's going to be difficult for them to push on.

COLLINS: All right, Neal Puckett, we certainly do appreciate your time this morning.

PUCKETT: Thank you.

COLLINS: Attorney for Lieutenant Colonel Allen West.

Thanks so much.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com