The Disgusting Exploitation of Pat Tillman....

[JohnnyBz00LS]

The latest on this disgusting exploitation of Tillman's death........... makes me sick.

http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_5766873

AP Newsbreak: Lawmakers request White House Tillman documents
By SCOTT LINDLAW Associated Press Writer
Article Launched: 04/27/2007 12:38:39 PM PDT


SAN FRANCISCO- Lawmakers on Friday requested documents from the White House and Pentagon describing how and when the Bush administration learned the circumstances of Pat Tillman's death.
The House Oversight Committee is investigating why Tillman's family and the public were misled about the circumstances of his death. The San Jose native, who turned down a lucrative contract with the NFL's Arizona Cardinals and joined the Army following the Sept. 11 attacks, was killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan on April 22, 2004.

Although Pentagon investigators determined quickly that he was killed by his own troops, it was five weeks before the actual circumstances of his death were made public. Instead, the Army claimed he had been killed in an enemy ambush.

Committee Chairman Henry Waxman wrote Friday to White House Counsel Fred Fielding requesting "all documents received or generated by any official in the Executive Office of the President ... that relate to Corporal Tillman."

A second letter was sent to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. Among other things, Gates was told to produce all documents related to Tillman generated by the defense secretary's office and the Pentagon's office of public affairs, as well as the office of Gen. John Abizaid.

The committee gave the administration until May 18 to produce the documents.

The oversight committee held its first hearing on Tillman's death earlier this week. Tillman's family has said they believe the erroneous information peddled by the Pentagon was part of a deliberate cover-up that may have reached all the way to President Bush and then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.
A White House spokeswoman said this week that Bush did not learn about the unusual circumstances of the Army Ranger's death until after the soldier's memorial service on May 3, 2004.

On April 29, a top general sent a memo to Abizaid, who then headed all U.S. military operations in the Middle East and Central Asia, warning it was "highly possible" that Tillman was killed by friendly fire and making clear that his warning should be conveyed to the president. The White House said there is no indication that Bush received the warning.

Two days later, the President mentioned Tillman in a speech to the White House correspondents dinner, but he made no reference to the way he died.

 

[Calabrio]

But you're in favor of more positive PR things, like Abu Ghraib.

No doubt, the Army handled the Tillman death horribly.

 

[TheDude]

I don't understand why "they" didn't come clean in the beginning... friendly fire happens in wars; it's unfortunate, but it happens though.

 

[Marcus]

But you're in favor of more positive PR things, like Abu Ghraib.

Huh?

 

[Calabrio]

Huh?

Were you among the people who thought that the stories of Abu Ghraib were appropriately reported in our media? The Army needs to counter stories like that, ones that serve no purpose but to smear the military and demoralize the public and the troops.

The Army has always gone out of it's way to find examples to sell to the public. Flags of our Father, the book and recent film, is a demonstration of that. Tillman was a remarkable and inspiring story. A man, in the prime of his career, who leaves his million dollar salary in Football, to join one of the most challenging and dangerous units in the Army, the Rangers, just out of patriotic duty.

And then he was killed by incompetent friendly fire.

I understand why the incompetent Army machine might have wanted to white-wash the story, the recruiting fall-out of the story has hurt the Army. But given the access and relentless of the press, it was inevitable that this story would come out and further damage the reputation of the Army. They should have just sugar coated, or spun, the truth at the beginning, not advanced a lie.

 

[eastcoastLS]

They should have just sugar coated, or spun, the truth at the beginning, not advanced a lie.

Exactly. Why'd they have to go about it differently by advancing a lie instead of just spin the truth at the beginning? Is there a valid reason they just flat out lied about it?

 

[JohnnyBz00LS]

But you're in favor of more positive PR things, like Abu Ghraib.

"There you go again", presuming something about me.

Were you among the people who thought that the stories of Abu Ghraib were appropriately reported in our media? The Army needs to counter stories like that, ones that serve no purpose but to smear the military and demoralize the public and the troops.

I expect TRUTH from my government, not some lie. The Abu Ghraib stories may have been over played by the media, but there was truth to those stories. The Army should never lie to the public, let alone to a fallen soldier's family. Despicable.

 

[Calabrio]

I expect TRUTH from my government, not some lie. The Abu Ghraib stories may have been over played by the media, but there was truth to those stories. The Army should never lie to the public, let alone to a fallen soldier's family. Despicable.

They handled it wrong. They shouldn't lie. However, if you don't expect them to "spin" things, you need to welcome yourself to the real world. Unfortunately, this episode again demonstrated the ineptitude of the Army leadership.

Positive propaganda is crucial to a war effort. Tillman was perfect, until he was killed by incompetence.