Pat Tillman

Pat Tillman, what an awesome guy. The army is beginning what the AP is calling a criminal investigation.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,186840,00.html

According to what I have read, the story is clearly a tragedy, an accident, and not the army's finest moment at getting out relevant information. However, the army is frequently accused of giving a false account when it is actually the media that has reported unconfirmed accounts, whipped up a myth, and then wanted to blame the army for the egg on their faces. Jessica Lynch anybody?

For those who don't remember, she was captured in Iraq and the media reported she went down guns blazing. After her rescue, it came out she was unable to fight the attackers.

Then Katie Couric on the Today Show tried to make Jessica say the army used her. Jessica held strong and said that she didn't feel that way (like when Bono praised the President and drove Couric nuts- both fine moments).

What bugs me about this AP report is this:

"Officers destroyed critical evidence and concealed the truth from Tillman's brother, also an Army Ranger, who was nearby, the report found"

Certainly when I read that, I thought of Generals shredding reports. What this sentence is actually referring to is the Non Commissioned Officers who burned Tillman's BDUs and body armor. A non commissioned officer is a Sergeant. This is not a bunch of officers at the Pentagon trying to crush an investigation. It is some NCOs and maybe the Lieutenant platoon leader playing CYOA. They screwed up and they knew it and tried to save their careers.

So the AP reporting can’t quite get it right, of course. The identity of those officers involved in the cover up should have been made clear, that it was the men involved in the incident, not an official cover up.

Should this be a criminal matter? I wasn’t there but I don’t think so. UCMJ punishment has already been administered to the NCOs for the cover up. Clearance of fires is always a problem and a failure is not a necessarily a criminal act unless details come out that I haven’t heard yet such as drinking.

Comments

[WB]

It appears that they are looking into Negligent Homicide...I wonder what that's all about? That's more than a UCMJ charge for covering up evidence or charges involving simple friendly fire issues--disobeyed orders involving FF? I don't know right now... Something's not quite right here, though. I hate that it had to happen to Tillman--he was a good soldier, a good American...

[crusader bunnypants]

Tillman was a tool. Have you found UBL - RIP? WMDS? Democracy? Theocracy? The Democrats and Republicans in the US Govenrment should be tarred and feathered! Don't forget the corporate media as well. No one is above the law for war crimes and terror

[Ray Robison]

Dear crusader bunnypants...you suck.

[Rotwang]

If it hadn't been for Tillman, I never would have discovered Noam Chomsky.

I hope the truth comes out...and that, this time, it isn't covered up. He deserves that much.