The WE News Archives Army officer says he threatened to shoot Iraqi detainee.

TIKRIT, Iraq (AP) -- An Army officer fought back tears Wednesday as he acknowledged threatening to shoot an Iraqi detainee to extract information about a planned attack, saying that to protect his troops, he would "go to hell with a gasoline can in my hand."

Lt. Col. Allen B. West made the statement on the second day of a U.S. military pretrial hearing on accusations that he threatened Yahya Jhodri Hamoodi by firing his gun near the man. West is the most senior officer of the 4th Infantry Division to face such a proceeding.

In addition to firing his pistol near Hamoodi, West also is accused of punching him during the August 20 interrogation in Taji, according to Lt. Col. Jimmy Davis, who presided at the hearing at a U.S. base in Tikrit.

The case is being heard amid increasing criticism by human rights groups about the methods employed by American forces to quell resistance to the occupation of Iraq.

The hearing, which is aimed at determining whether West should face court-martial, was declared closed late Wednesday by Davis, who is expected to issue a ruling in a few days.

West, a decorated officer, was relieved of command of the 2nd Battalion, 20th Field Artillery Regiment.

West, 42, of Atlanta, testified he had received information that Hamoodi, an Iraqi policeman, was allegedly involved in a plot to attack him and his troops. After being arrested, Hamoodi was interrogated but insisted he was not aware of the planned attack.

West said he decided to question the prisoner himself, bringing a number of soldiers with him to the place where Hamoodi was being questioned. The soldiers punched the detainee to force him to talk.

When Hamoodi refused to give any information, West said he led him out of the detention facility to a weapons' cleaning area and asked him to confess, suggesting he would shoot him if he did not talk by the count of five. West said he fired a warning shot and later fired a second shot into the sand near Hamoodi, who still professed his innocence.

West said he only wanted to force the detainee to confess and added that when he saw him visibly shaken, he asked that the prisoner be helped.

"I felt that there was a threat to my soldiers," West said.

"I know that the method that I used was not the right method," West said, adding he was ready to face the consequences of his action.

"To protect my soldiers, I'll go to hell with a gasoline can in my hand," he said, holding back tears as his quavering voice resonated across the silence of the room filled with soldiers.

After confronting the detainee, West left and informed his commander that he had threatened a prisoner with his gun. He said he did not tell his commander that his soldiers hit the detainee.

"I love the Army. I love my soldiers. ... I knew it was over," he said.

Prosecutor Capt. Magdalena Przytulska said West should be tried, saying his actions implied that "we're no better than the enemy we're fighting."

West's lawyer, Neal Puckett, recommended that the charges against his client be dismissed.

During breaks in the hearing, sympathetic soldiers approached and comforted West. One group asked that their picture be taken with him. A female soldier approached West and hugged him outside the hearing room.

A preliminary investigation alleged that West's actions were in violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. West remained in Iraq after the incident and was assigned to other duties in the division, officials said.