Pat wasn’t the only remarkable Tillman
If you watched the hearings yesterday about Pat Tillman’s death you probably felt the same way I did. You probably wondered what in the hell went on there and why. Thank goodness the Tillman family is tough and dedicated to getting to the bottom of it all.
Here’s one telling quote from CNN
“The military instead released a "manufactured narrative" detailing how Pat Tillman died leading a courageous counterattack in an Afghan mountain pass, Kevin Tillman told the committee.
Kevin Tillman said the military tried to spin his brother's death to deflect attention from emerging failings in the Afghanistan war.”
Can you imagine a military run by Donald Rumsfeld trying to spin the facts of a death to cover something up? Yeah, I can too.
Why would the military burn Tillman’s uniform and diary right away?
***
Hopefully C-span will play these hearings again. Check the schedule on their home page if you missed it yesterday. Look for “Accuracy of Battlefield Information”.
Here’s one telling quote from CNN
“The military instead released a "manufactured narrative" detailing how Pat Tillman died leading a courageous counterattack in an Afghan mountain pass, Kevin Tillman told the committee.
Kevin Tillman said the military tried to spin his brother's death to deflect attention from emerging failings in the Afghanistan war.”
Can you imagine a military run by Donald Rumsfeld trying to spin the facts of a death to cover something up? Yeah, I can too.
Why would the military burn Tillman’s uniform and diary right away?
***
Hopefully C-span will play these hearings again. Check the schedule on their home page if you missed it yesterday. Look for “Accuracy of Battlefield Information”.
posted by pissed off patricia at 1:38 AM
29 Comments:
I saw some of it and it almost made me want to turn away...it was so disgusting. The testimony of Jessica Lynch was way interesting too.
I never paid attention when the 2 events transpired. Hyped like so many events in the news.
Hearing JL though I was glad to hear she questioned why her story was made up, although she seemed to not be so upset with the military as she was with the media. I wondered if she realized the government used her as much as Tillman.
Give me some truth: Not from this group of stumble bums! ; (
Can you imagine a military run by Donald Rumsfeld trying to spin the facts of a death to cover something up? Yeah, I can too.
One problem is that CNN and the rest cannot imagine that, so whatever the military tells them, they relate verbatim to their consumers.
I was really proud of JL too. She had no motivation for clearing up her story other than wanting the real facts to be known. She truly was a hero for that.
These lies do much more damage in the long run than telling the truth, and they are more hurtful. They have the opposite result than the one desired.
Lies, lies and more fucking lies. When is enough, ENOUGH, already?
I wonder how much the military pays the media to run with their lies and PR. This has to be as much a condemnation of the media as the military. I understand Tillman wrote a letter home stating that when he returned, he would stand up and tell people that these wars are phony. That could have been part of his diary.
I saw as much as I could find (fooey on C-Span for not covering this one).
But my heart felt full and my eyes with tears listening to Kevin Tillman outline the Deceits and Lies about his brother (and 9 others!) used to Advertise the Glories of War!
Everyone deserves the TRUTH of their lives and death - and NO Government (or individuals) get to take that from them and twist it to their own F**ked up purposes.
And ya wonder why I say these folks are not merely incompetent but EVIL!
I watched these hearings and then later watched Tucker Carlson saying it was the media's fault. That sealed it for me, the media participated in the government fed hype and now is falling on their sword to take the blame off of Bush. What a tool.
Patricia,
Thanks for the kind words at my blog! They're much appreciated. I CAN'T WAIT to see Stephanie Miller on MSNBC next week and hope MSNBC will lock her into a huge multi-year contract!
Can you imagine where we'd be if we did not have a democratic congress? The mountain of lies would still be standing and growing everyday. Hearing bits and pieces of the Tillman and Lynch testimony yesterday was revelatory and heartening, but also tragic for what it ultimately reveals. The lies, the years and years of lies.
And remember that the Commander in charge of the whole fake story (Lt. Gen. Jerry Boykin) is just as motivated by religious fundamental nuttery as these hearings show political concerns.
Why am I not surprised that there's not mention of that so far in these hearings...
I continue to have tremendous respect for the men and women of the uniformed services. The professionalism of the military has probably never been greater and I think they fight for the best reason in the world—the next man or woman in the line. If there is a fault it might be an eagerness to do the job they’ve trained for. I detest seeing them fed into the meat grinder of Iraq for no reasons other than that G.W. Bush wanted to swagger and Dick Cheney wanted to dismantle the Constitution and some think-tank bankrupts wanted to redefine world order.
I may be the only liberal who wants to see a return to the draft, but I am convinced that only when the children of families with a political voice (middle and upper classes) are put in peril, will we ask the hard questions that neither Republican nor Democrats asked prior to this fiasco.
Sorry for the sermon. On the subject: This administration seems incapable of telling the truth about anything.
And you have to wonder what was in that diary that they didn't want us to see. It's not like he wrote "I'm about to be shot by my own troops," so why deny his family something personal he wrote. If I was prone to conspiracy theories I might think he had some criticism of the war policy this nation was pursuing on his mind that the Pentagon thought might've gotten too much attention due to his fame, and that a "friendly fire incident" was a convenient way to silence him. But no, this administration has way to much integrity to do that sort of thing.
I saw it,curtsy of food poisoning I’ve been home the last few days, I was shocked by most of what I heard but at the same time kept thinking how it figured with this administration, and made me wonder what else they are hiding…….
There are many ways to entice young men to kill for our country.
One way is to equate murder with honor.
Another is to use good men like Pat Tillman.
To lie about and use Pat's death as a way to encourage other young men to enlist, or to leave an impression with the public that tis war is honorable, is a crime.
The brave Tillman family took on the military and the government, not to satisfy their need to know, but to stop future abuses by our government.
This incident shows that even the government knows how wrong this war is, that they have to lie to entice people to fight, or at least approve of the war.
There's nothing more immoral or criminal.
This administration thinks so much of our troops, that this is the way they honor their service. Not to mention cutting Veterans benefits, not properly supplying the troops, and letting wounded heroes languish in sub-standard conditions.
Why people aren't demanding impeachment, is beyond me.
I feel sad for the Tillman Family. Yet at the same time I can't help but feel annoyed. This story is about one of the most fundamental of human flaws; lying to protect one's own intrests. I recognize that many would respond to that with, "But some individuals should be held more accountable for their actions than others dependent on thier position with in our society." To which I would retort, "Bulls--t." Nothing in this world makes any individual inherently better than anyone else, not education, not social standing, not race, not gender, not a highly respected position in buisness or government, NOTHING. Social Darwinism was a lie. We all have lied when it suited us. Anyone who says otherwise is lying. It's a vicious cycle.
http://shutyourdirtylittlemouth.blogspot.com
Gore Vidal encourages Americans to watch Congressional hearings as the best way to learn about our government.
Kevin Tillman's testimony made me cry.
The elite in our government see us as either political pawns or cannon fodder and won't blink an eye as they use us for either one.
E
I saw it too...made me do a slow burn...he presented articulate testimony that was compelling. Jessica Lynch was more cautious, but just a clear and indicting about the spin and lies.
Kevin besmirched the memory of Pat
by bringing up Abu Grhraib.
Pat's death is a trillion times worse than A/G was.
P.S. Impeachment/punishment for all Neocon/Global Corporatists who plotted Iraqnam?
Yes.
I believe there is no limit to the extent the administration will go to try and spin things to their advantage. They screw up so much, they are probably desperate to generate as much positive P.R. for themselves as they can, even if it means lying to everyone.
Thanks for this post. I believe the manipulation of Pat Tillman's story is something we should NEVER FORGET. Same with Jessica Lynch.
Who told the military to misinform the media? Who told them to keep the truth from Pat Tillman's family for five weeks after his death? I would like to know who did those things, and I would like to see them court-martialed, dishonorably discharged, whatever.
I cannot even begin to say how angry I am right now!
PT did indeed set an example of heroic measures which appears to be lacking in this country. At least in the media. How dare they burn his dairies ?
I have too suspect that Pat Tillman definitely new something that the Military didn't want the public to know. Like why was his diary burned?
They did not want American citizens to know what was in it. It must have been something very damaging to resort to burning it and destroying his uniform as well.
It's looking more and more like premeditated murder under Military orders from someone high up the chain of command.
God Bless.
What bothers me is the Republcans dont believe any of this.
The government lies?
Hi Patricia,
You'll find the full text of Kevin Tillman's testimony here:
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/kevin_tillman/2007/04/deliberate_acts_of_deceit.html
definite well worth reading.
R.
There are some good vids of key segments on YouTube. There are three in a post I put up uesterday at my place, PoP. Feel free to steal, if you'd like.
I just read a SF Chronicle account of what happened to Pat Tillman. Lt. Col. Ralph Kauzlarich...his comments about the Tillmans not being able to get past Pat's tragic death because they are atheists, is way, way out of line. As to Capt. Willim Saunders ignoring the protests of Lt. David Uthlaut, that he felt the platoon would be in danger, he was definitely at fault, insisting that Pat's platoon move on and the other half with Kevin, wait for an Afghan flatbed truck for a humvee that wasn't working...these actions put these men, in two separate convoys, in the direct path of danger.
It doesn't surprise me that the higher-ups in the military and the White House, would cover this up, from what I've read, to deflect attention from the atrocities that took place at Abu Ghraib.
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