People wonder why some folks are losing respect for the military. Now, I have lots of respect for the the troops, and I really do. But I have zero respect for their leaders. Over the past decade, working on issues involving the military, I've seen US military leaders, lie, conspire, and attempt to illegally influence our government like America was some third world banana republic. And since it's not PC to hold our military leaders accountable for anything (Abu Ghraib anyone?) the abuses simply continue unabated.
So, this Tillman guy. Football hero. War hero. Died issuing commands to take the enemy forces.
Not so much.
He actually died, we now find out, yelling at our own forces to stop shooting at him because he was an American. Yes, he died as a result of friendly fire and the Army totally exaggerated his heroism. And best yet, the Army knew Tillman was killed by fratricide, but decided not to mention it - rather, they were quite content to make it look like Tillman was killed by the enemy defending the fatherland - oh, sorry, I meant the homeland.
This is a conspiracy by a US government agency using American tax dollars to propagandize to the American public in an effort to win support for an unpopular war and an unpopular president using a dead football star as cannon fodder. Makes me so proud to be a Soviet, uh, American.
From the Wash Post:
It was a stirring tale and fitting eulogy for the Army's most famous volunteer in the war on terrorism, a charismatic former pro football star whose reticence, courage and handsome beret-draped face captured for many Americans the best aspects of the country's post-Sept. 11 character.America, fuck yeah!
It was also a distorted and incomplete narrative, according to dozens of internal Army documents obtained by The Washington Post that describe Tillman's death by fratricide after a chain of botched communications, a misguided order to divide his platoon over the objection of its leader and undisciplined firing by fellow Rangers.
The Army's public release made no mention of friendly fire, even though at the time it was issued, investigators in Afghanistan had already taken at least 14 sworn statements from Tillman's platoon members that made clear the true causes of his death. The statements included a searing account from the Ranger nearest Tillman during the firefight, who quoted him as shouting "Cease fire! Friendlies!" with his last breaths....
But the Army's published account not only withheld all evidence of fratricide, but also exaggerated Tillman's role and stripped his actions of their context. Tillman was not one of the senior commanders on the scene -- he directed only himself, one other Ranger and an Afghan militiaman, under supervision from others. And witness statements in the Army's files at the time of the news release describe Tillman's voice ringing out on the battlefield mainly in a desperate effort, joined by other Rangers on his ridge, to warn comrades to stop shooting at their own men.
The Army's April 30 news release was just one episode in a broader Army effort to manage the uncomfortable facts of Pat Tillman's death, according to internal records and interviews.
