How to treat a hero
I'm sure by now everyone knows the story of Pat Tillman, the NFL defensive back turned Army Ranger after a burst of patriotism following the attacks of September 11. The brief recap: he joined, served in Iraq, spoke candidly of the illegality and foolishness of that effort, was shipped off to Afghanistan and killed by friendly fire.
Of course, the Army waited until the Bush Administration had used his death for political purposes - following on the Army's fictitious story that Tillman was killed by enemy fire during a battle - to announce that he had, in fact, been killed by friendly fire.
As it turns out, the Army was also aware from the beginning that his death was the result of "gross negligence" and they are now opening a criminal investigation. Still, they can't quite get it. Here's the dualing story lines. You decide which one rings true:
A report by the Army found that troops with Tillman knew at the time that friendly fire had killed the football star. Officers destroyed critical evidence and concealed the truth from Tillman’s brother, also an Army Ranger, who was nearby, the report found.
or:
In spite of the Army’s findings, the officer who prepared the report, Brig. Gen. Gary M. Jones, concluded there was no official reluctance to report the truth.
It's becoming cliche to point to stories like this a public examples of the standard operating procedure of this administration. Let's review:
Of course, the Army waited until the Bush Administration had used his death for political purposes - following on the Army's fictitious story that Tillman was killed by enemy fire during a battle - to announce that he had, in fact, been killed by friendly fire.
As it turns out, the Army was also aware from the beginning that his death was the result of "gross negligence" and they are now opening a criminal investigation. Still, they can't quite get it. Here's the dualing story lines. You decide which one rings true:
A report by the Army found that troops with Tillman knew at the time that friendly fire had killed the football star. Officers destroyed critical evidence and concealed the truth from Tillman’s brother, also an Army Ranger, who was nearby, the report found.
or:
In spite of the Army’s findings, the officer who prepared the report, Brig. Gen. Gary M. Jones, concluded there was no official reluctance to report the truth.
It's becoming cliche to point to stories like this a public examples of the standard operating procedure of this administration. Let's review:
- Everything is political, unless it can be used against us
- When the truth doesn't fit the storyline, lie
- When caught in the lie, blame the media
- When that fails (rarely), quickly leave the country and divert attention
posted by John at 8:23 PM
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