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Tillman brother blasts military »
Posted by: JamesMarcus 2 years, 8 months agoPat Tillman's brother accused the military Tuesday of "intentional falsehoods" and "deliberate and careful misrepresentations" in portraying the football star's death in Afghanistan as the result of heroic engagement with the enemy instead of friendly fire.
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JamesMarcus
James Marcus is a writer, translator, critic, and editor. He is the author of Amazonia: Five Years at the Epicenter of the Dot-Com Juggernaut and ...
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Comments: 421
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droid3913
April 24, 2007, 12:34 p.m.Just because he was a football star, everyone is making a big deal about this. All jobs has risk. Even when he was in the NFL. I was in the Army. I know people who are Ranger's. They know the risk. I feel grief for the Tillman family. I do not feel anger or upset with the Army for his death. This was an accident. Many of our fallen heros has been killed by friendly fire. It's a risk of a life of a soldier.
Let Tillman and this matter RIP.
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mamasan
April 24, 2007, 12:36 p.m.I feel very badly for the Tillman family.
BUT
until we decide that there is another way to live
we will continue to send wonderful
young men and women
to their deaths in these wars for power and controll.
We must raise a new generation
who will look for peaceful solutions.
It is OK to love peace and look for ways to make that happen.
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Matteu00
April 24, 2007, 12:39 p.m.It's a tragic story but that hasn't stopped George P. Bush from stating recently that he was inspired in part by Tillman to join the reserves, not active duty. I guess that says something.
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RedstateLib
April 24, 2007, 12:45 p.m.The story is not how he died. The story is why just a few months before the 2004 election was his family and the public lied to about how he died. Were they intentionally mislead for politcal reasons? Were they lead to believe he died by enemy fire simply so we could have a televised funeral for a hero?
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momydearestc
April 24, 2007, 12:48 p.m.Dear Mamasan, WE don't send our children to die for nothing. They volunteer to join to protect our country, learn a trade, get a good education. These kids are heros. All of them. And to Matteu00, I think the presidents name is George W. Bush. And you really need to stop blaming him for everything, its getting old. Mistakes are made on the front line in every war. This constance drumbeat of blame Bush is so old. We have a very real ememy out there that doesnt care what color we are or if we are republicans or democrats....you need to wake up people. They dont want peace, they want our heads.
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SlapALib
April 24, 2007, 12:55 p.m.Maybe the misinformation stemmed not from a sinister plot to help Bush look better but from the shame that one unit had killed a brother-in-arms in a what was a tragic accident.
Why does everything have to be some complicated evil conspiracy when it comes to Afghanistan and Iraq?
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edromar2
April 24, 2007, 12:57 p.m.droid3913 points out that
"All jobs has risk."
Howev er, most do not involve your co-workers ac cide4ntally killing you. And practically none involve your bosses trying to cover up what happened because it might embarrass them or they might lose and elec tion or people might start aski ng seriously why we are there without the resources to really do the job. You don't send a single guy up a mountain on a caterpillar to push a falling side of a mountain back up and then send another further up to plant dynamite to bring the mountainside down over the first guy.
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fotoman1133406
April 24, 2007, 12:59 p.m.Guys,
Georgie, you 'aint F.D.R., so stop tryin to pull the kinda "crap" that he did W.W.II...
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edromar2
April 24, 2007, 1:19 p.m.momydearestc:
I see that you are staying true to your namesake. Actually, our government does "...send our children to die for nothing." They volunteered to protect our country, and for some ulterior motives. That does not necessaril mean that that a'These kids are heros. All of them. A
Ans the pseudo presidents name is dirt. You may have " a very real ememy out there...." But most of us do not. The only real enemy we have is in the White House. color we are or if we are republicans or democrats....you need to wake up people. They dont want our heads, they want us to leave them alone to solve their own problems.
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Twistoflex
April 24, 2007, 1:32 p.m.There may be predator video footage of Tillman's death. It may solve the "mystery".
Special Ops forces who witnessed ObL's escape from Tora Bora (from a mountaintop hideout by Blackhawk helicopter evac'd to Pakistan) were given orders by their commanders to stand down. They watched, flummoxed, as ObL and his top advisors were evacuated. This event was corroborated on the ground by villagers.
Not long after these soldiers were returned to their US base at Fayetteville, NC, news items appeared of 3 mysterious "murder/suicides" involving these witnesses and their wives.
There is no question that the Dumbya dictatorship is lying and covering up a great deal about its serial wars and how they let ObL and most of al Qaeda escape. Unfortunately, the corporate media amnesia industry has no journalistic fortitude to pursue the facts and Congress has been asleep at the switch for six years.
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Amazing1
April 24, 2007, 1:51 p.m.It is a tragedy that Pat Tillman died, just as it is a tragedy when any of our people die for this failed and stupid war. It is especially tragic that it was a friendly fire incident. And to compound it, there is the cover-up of the reality of that death. The Tillmans and all the other citizens of this nation were lied to. Why? To cover someone's butt? To make Pat Tillman into a recruiting poster? To influence the elections in favor of Bush? Whatever the reason for the LIES, as citizens, we should let it be known that we have had enough of it.
And the media is so into following the dictates of their corporate owners that they are nearly useless on any substantive topic. However, you can get the real skinny on Anna Nicole. That kind of crapola is completely, truthfully and exhaustively covered.
AAGGHH!
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CrazyRay
April 24, 2007, 2:01 p.m.Yes, let's all be ignorant and blame Bush for this...
1. Learn politics
2. Discuss politics
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eviln3d
April 24, 2007, 2:06 p.m.Okay... has Tillman's family given back the medal?
I didn't think so.
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NoWayMan
April 24, 2007, 2:10 p.m.wow. BushCo runs a deliberate cover-up for their own gains, and in the process totally disrespects the life, and tragic death, of one of our own soldiers in a time of war.
talk about not supporting our troops!!
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momydearestc
April 24, 2007, 2:39 p.m.WOW, What a surprise...All the Hate America and Hate the Military crowd comes out.....Blame America first is so IN! isn't it.....you loser get your info from Bill Mahar and the Daily Show. You're so smart. Why do you always put down these kids that join the reserves?? They go to Iraq too, I've known several. What lie did Bush tell?? None of you liberals have ever proven one!! Bush had the same intel as Billy boy. Mistakes are always made, not lies. FDR made a hugh mistake by not getting into Europe sooner, if he had gone afew years sooner the Jap's propably wouldn't of attacked us. They also thought we were weak. It also took FDR over nine months to do anything after Pearl Harbor. The lie that was told about Jessica Lynch was by the press. Whats it going to take to wake up the left?? a nuclear bomb?? 9/11 sure didn't.
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normallysilent
April 24, 2007, 2:46 p.m.jordan11:
The point isn't whether or not Tillman was better than his peers. The point isn't to blame the Army for his death. The point is outrage at the Army for USING his death for propaganda. Why do you suppose they did that? To get enlistments, of course. Many young people looked up to Tillman. Using him as a psychological 'rah rah' for war, was despicable. Get it now?
Looks like you got it jordan11. SO WHAT!!!!
What, you think this is something new. and you think properganda is always bad??
Sorry I disagree. It can and has been used for the good of the country in the past,it will be done again and there is nothing wrong with it.
Heck This same type of thing has a lot to do with the US and a few other countrys not having to speak German right now.
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Poulenc
April 24, 2007, 3 p.m."Revealing that Pat's death was a fratricide would have been yet another political disaster in a month of political disasters ... so the truth needed to be suppressed," {Kevin] Tillman said.
This issue, at least for now, is NOT:
Whether young people should go to war, but rather whether a cover-up, with the intention of sparing further grief for the current government, was perpetrated. That's the subject under discussion.
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Sundevil
April 24, 2007, 3:03 p.m.Quote: "Tillman's brother blasts military"
This is not exactly a news flash people, this is ANCIENT news, the guy has been "blasting" the military virtually since the day he came off active duty, which was what... 2 or 3 years ago?? Give me a freaking break, this has been re-hashed about 15 different times now, and is older than dirt. The people who post this stuff clearly have wayyyyy too much time on their hands, and nothing better to do with it, I mean even the tainted dog food story has more news worthiness than this right now, sheesh!!
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richb124
April 24, 2007, 3:18 p.m.Tillman's brother blasts military...
he must be a democrat, democrats hate america, democrats hate the military, democrats hate our freedom. Why don't we send democrats to re-edumacation camps where they can learn to love bush.
better yet, we should just make the republican party the only party. We'll call it "JesusLand" The only problem is: who would we blame all of our failures on?
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donald51
April 24, 2007, 5:08 p.m.And the miitary has planning and execution procedures to avoid this that obviously failed. Only admitting the truth and conducting an investigation will find the truth and prevent such future loss. But, it you like to accept the ways things are that are killing people, then you are a fool! Is a military life so cheap to you to make the effort or even allow the effort? You Bushies once again demonstrate that you don't really care for the troops!
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inkyboy07
April 24, 2007, 9:28 p.m.Damn, wake up. This is not about Tillman's death. It is about the result of that death. It could have been sparked by the death of any soldier from friendly fire. The controversy is about the fact that the military, under the governance of the present administration, has constructed a fabric of LIES, LIES, and more LIES to explain how this soldier was killed. The fact that one of America's sons was killed by friendly fire is not all that unusual. What makes this case unusual is the fact that members of the dead soldier's unit were instructed to LIE about how he died. Members of the officer corps of the United States military ordered lower level soldiers to LIE. Officers LIED to there superiors and superior officers LIED to civilian leaders of the military. Lies, Lies, Lies.OK!
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Thinkingisgood
April 24, 2007, 3:41 p.m.The reason this is news is that the testimony happened today. The story is not about Tillman's death. The story is about the way the Army and Defense Department lied in order to avoid admitting a deadly friendly fire incident and instead spun it into a tale to stir passions for revenge. This was not a "botch" if by that term an error is suggested. It wasn't an error, it was deliberate. The Lynch testimony is in the same story because it illuminates the pattern of deception practiced in this specific administration. The topic is not any other conflict but the ones we have in front of us.
I am astounded by the frothing, spittle-heaving defenses mounted by some people when a simple human story of the aftermath of war is revealed. The family is entitled to outrage and the rest of us who care about the truth are as well.
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JohnQPublicComment has been removed: User banned.
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FSU92grad
April 24, 2007, 11:39 p.m.Like flies to a ribroast in here...Notice any conservative, right winged opionion AUTOMATICALLY gets negative votes regardless of the quality or sincerity of the response...You see, Edinburgh, asked on the next page "Where has all the right-wingers gone ? The truth is many of them left because they couldn't take the liberal slime that was being tossed around in these threads...The socialist views and opinions in here makes people sick and they leave. You can only take so much crap from the left...It's really that simple...Plus Libscape has become a central-hub for all liberal, broad-minded, anti-Bush, anti-conservative droids to come together and worship. So the conservatives have found other havens to have intelligent stimulation...Can't get it here with losers like DonaldDuck, Edinburg, loverboy, and pismo...Just the same CNN sounbites over and over and over...IT makes my eyes bleed...
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SlapALib
April 24, 2007, 4:03 p.m.What I really find funny about the Tillman incident is when it is taken with Cheapshot Chuck Hagel's comment during the "Cheney Shot A Lawyer And For Once People Cared About A Lawyer" incident.
Hagel said if Cheney had been in the military, then Cheney would have learned gun safety.
Guess not.
Maybe the military was trying to protect Hagel. . .
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