Posted on 11/02/2005 7:28:41 PM PST by JTN
In 2000, Pat Tillman, safety for the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals, turned down a $9 million contract offer from the St. Louis Rams, in order to remain in Arizona for a mere $500,000. Tillman valued team loyalty, even though his team wasn’t all that good.
Most of us now know what happened next. After Sept. 11, 2001, Tillman felt a different sense of duty. After watching the World Trade Center towers fall, Tillman left football to join the Army Rangers. His brother, a minor league baseball player at the time, joined him. In April 2004, Tillman was killed in Afghanistan en route to a sweep of a small town for Al Qaeda operatives.
The Washington Post and San Francisco Chronicle have since pored over thousands of Pentagon documents pertaining to Tillman’s death. Two themes have emerged from those documents:
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
I seem to remember hearing early on that he died from friendly fire.
Hard to believe there are thousands of pages of documents related to one combat death, no matter the circumstances.
The media doesn't know the difference, not even Radley Balko of FOXnews.com.
The above article is nothing but an antiwar / anti-U.S. military hit piece (the type a man like Pat Tillman would have found offense, I dare say).
The above quote is complete BS! Critical thinking is NOT in short supply within our services. But it certainly is among beat writers and those within the MSM (both print and Tv).
Pat Tillman's death was tragic. Without a doubt. Gross negligence seems to have certainly took place by fellow soldiers within his platoon.
With that said, friendly fire is a part of combat. Pat Tillman knew this risk. He bravely accepted it. He died defending this Country and giving 110% of himself.
Furthermore the allegations that Pat Tillman was "against" the Iraq war are absurd suggestions by the MSM. The fact that a few fellow soldiers say he had questions about it only reflects the intellect of a serious man pondering War!
There are plenty of other fellow soldiers who served with the man who will tell you he fully supported the need of removing Saddam. The MSM do their best to ignore these individuals. Of course.
Old, old story. This has been known in Arizona for a long time. Sounds like someone trying to rehash the rehashed for his own purpose.
It is damned war.
This crap happens in war.
Nobody likes it.
Nobody wants it.
But it has always happened. It always will happen. Proper training and equipment can minimize it, but when people begin shooting in the dark at each other, a lot can go out the window.
COMBAT IS FRIKKING DANGEROUS, FOR GOD'S SAKE. People have to get over it. The same people who are the MOST indignant and outraged about this are the same people who think war is moving around little pointers on a map.
Radley Balko is a leading American libertarian writer, thinker, and speaker. He is a policy analyst specializing in vice issues for the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank. He writes on drug policy, obesity, alcohol and tobacco, and civil liberties. He also writes on trade and globalization issues and more generally on politics and culture. He is also a biweekly columnist for FoxNews.com and a regular contributor to Tech Central Station. His work has been published in Forbes, TIME magazine, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, Canada's National Post, and the Chicago Sun-Times. He publishes a personal weblog, The Agitator, and has appeared on CNN, CNBC, Fox News, MSNBC, and National Public Radio.
Balko earned a B.A. in journalism and political science in 1997 from Indiana University. He attended law school at Washington University in Saint Louis.
True, but none of this is the point of the column. The cover-up is.
Note. This is an editorial, NOT a news story. It's posted in the Views section at Fox.
An agenda? Well, yeah, it's an opinion column.
Tillman's sacrifice was not diminished by the cause of death. Attempting to hide the cause of death suggests that people that die in basic training or an accident or illness contracted in the military somehow give less than someone killed by an enemy. It says right here the dues payment is identical.
Nope. That was buried. It wasn't brought out until later that he was killed by friendly fire.
No, there is much more in this story then simply the "supposed" cover-up -
Consistently throughout the article there are attacks on the U.S. Military that go outside of Pat Tillman's death.
Furthermore, it is not (wildly) unusual for the U.S. military to initially classify a death as by "enemy fire" only to later come back and state it was actually by friendly fire (months after the fact). This has happened in every war America has ever fought.
Pat Tillman's case is only unusual in that he was "Pat Tillman".
Maybe in this little write up. However, the fact is, is the cause of his death was covered up and there were even fabrications made as to the cause of death, until the truth finally came out.
OK, he has a semi-impressive resume; so do many of us. But, did he ever serve in uniform? If not, he should shut the hell up.
There was no cover up to the cause of Pat Tillman's death - The fact is, it is routine to declare hostile fire (enemy fire) as the initial cause of death for a soldier in a combat zone. Until a full declassification of the situation comes out.
Those on the ground where never told to lie about the events that took place. Furthermore after Pat Tillman's death small bits and pieces of the story leaked out to the press which the press ran with - That being Pat Tillman's unit was engaging the enemy when he was killed (and assumed by enemy fire).
Pat Tillman's unit did take fire from the enemy prior to his death. His unit was reacting to that (enemy) fire (trying to take position on a ridge) when the second half of his platoon reached the scene and recklessly fired.
It is very understandable how early on (we are talking less then 45 days) numerous not completely accurate stories came out concerning the events of that day.
Even with that being the case, that does not mean there was some "cover-up" - You watch too much TV.
There are literally hundreds of deaths in the current GWOT where not all the facts have been released or are known. That is a reality of war!
It does not mean a cover-up. At all.
You remember correctly. The news came out the month after he was killed.
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/May2004/n05292004_200405292.html
If you believe that, you'll believe anything.
"There was no cover up to the cause of Pat Tillman's death"
You know, sometimes a fallen soldier's friends will lie to the parents about how he died, to spare them some grief. That happens, too.
Maybe somebody in the army wanted to spare the parents in this case the truth that he died from friendly fire.
No need for a big conspiracy; maybe just some humanity.
But the "gotcha!" press won't stand even for that.
What's new? The point is those in charge, (and others) were clearly less than forthcoming regarding the investigation into the cause of death.
And what? This lends credence to the critics? The chances of resurrecting George Washington or Robert E Lee to take charge of our military is slim. Because they do something ill advised and/or stupid is reason to jump ship? I think not.
I'm not interested in the critics, their credibility or lack of. Only the facts. And the fact is, those in charge, (and others) were clearly less than forthcoming regarding the investigation into the cause of death.
End of story.
Me too. I never heard anything different. How odd.
I never once heard Tillman was anti-Iraq war, or that he ever served in Iraq. Didn't Tillman only serve in Afghanistan? Can anyone verify?
He was killer in April in Afganistan. As we invaded Iraq in 03, I don't believe it is possible for him to have gone to Iraq.
goood solid thinking. By all means thro the baby out with the bathwater.
Not sure that was true. Friendly fire incidents are not usually labeled and declared as such until after an investigation is complete, and one often has 90 days or more to complete that investigation.
It was not buried for long. It was on the news within days, if not weeks after. I remember hearing it widely not too long after his death. If some details were buried, I have no problem with that. That's pretty standard MO. Families don't always get the full scoop. The public does't need to know everything either.
"But, did he ever serve in uniform? If not, he should shut the hell up". Well, then, if YOU have never served in Congress, any court, police, school, media, or any other group, let's not hear anything out of you about them. Personally, I don't need to walk a mile in a honeydipper's shoes to know I probably ain't gonna like it.
A hero is a hero no matter what, and anti-war journalists who write crap like this can't change the truth.
Tillman left a life of true fame and fortune to go fight for his country. That alone makes him a hero. The fact that he died OF ANYTHING on enemy land, weapon in hand, etches his heroism in stone.
"If you believe that, you'll believe anything."
A true 'coverup' requires an underlying crime or gross negligence of some kind, which wasn't the case at all. Death by 'friendly fire' in combat, unfortunately, happens often in war. Happened very often in Vietnam, (I've witnessed it), and it happened with great frequency in WWII. Dying by friendly fire in combat in NO WAY diminishes the heroism and sacrifice of the warriors.
The Leftist media whores dug deep into Tillman's death for the purpose of muddying his sacrifice. The Army, meanwhile, understanding this trend, tried to uphold his image and honor by not releasing all the details of the battle. This was an honorable deed by the military, especially considering they knew a less than full disclosure was dangerous with a leftist, commie media snooping around like vultures.
I am glad the military was in no rush to tell the world that Tillman didn't die from Taliban fire because, frankly, if there were no crime or negligence, nobody really needs to know. War isn't a precise science; in war, s#!t happens, and back before the collective American brain was picked clean of logic and reason by the PC commies and feminist wussies, this was understood and accepted by all.
There are two assumptions behind this paragraph that couldn't be more wrong.
1. Radley Balko couldn't be less of a "leftist" or "communist". Next to the second paragraph in the article you will find his column archive. Read a few and you'll see what I mean.
2. As for the idea that this is an attempt at "muddying his sacrifice", and that the army was just trying to "uphold his image and honor", well, you just plain did not read the article. Otherwise how to reconcile your statements with quotes like these:
he was a curious and independent thinker, a man who embraced the challenges of leadership but shied away from fame and praise. And he was, of course, a guy who — if you’ll pardon the cliché — risked and paid the ultimate sacrifice for his country....
The second theme to emerge from Tillman’s death is that his country probably didn’t deserve him
...
We lost a complicated, interesting, fascinating guy 18 months ago, a guy who exhibited the kind of critical thinking that seems to be in short supply among the men who commanded him. They, and we, owe Tillman a lot.
Sometimes I will make a comment on an article based on a wider view of the subject. Don't know much about Balko, but I do know what the whole liberal media have done with the 'story' since. For example, do you know the names of any other American soldiers who were killed by 'friendly fire'? If so you are probably in a very small minority.
I still believe the Army was correct for not releasing all the information of the circumstances of Tillman's death during the battle, no matter what their motive. Why broadcast information to a deadly enemy that will only make them cheer? Why report battle details to the media that you know they will run with, twist to their perverted views and report through the filter of their treasonous agenda? What they've done so far is to try and make the military look incompetent, and try to make Tillman look less than a hero, by keeping the story alive and beating it to death.
I know we live in times where everything and everyone is scrutinized under a microscope, but I still say to hell with that. Legends are often made more from embellishment and myth than from fact, and what America needs today more than ever is a few 'legends' and heros for our young people to follow.
The whole media fascination with the details of Tillman's death is nothing more than an extention of a the much wider anti-American, anti-Christian agenda they seem to live and breath for. Such as, "Columbus" was nothing more than a poor sailor who got lost and infected the native Americans with VD; or, "their is evidence that Davy Crockett surrendered to the Mexicans and died in prison". Or how about this one: "Thomas Jefferson was a hypocritical white male who owned slaves"? One my personal favorites is: "The early white settlers were greedy Christian butchers of indigenous Americans". Of course their is book out now that claims Abraham Lincoln was a homosexual. On and on it goes........
God bless him and his family.
With that said, the fact still remains there was no "cover up" that many fools like to speculate about.
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