HERO!
Posted on 03/05/2006 7:27:44 AM PST by DJ Taylor
WASHINGTON, March 4 — In a rare rebuke of military investigators, the Defense Department inspector general has told the Army to open a criminal inquiry into the shooting death of Cpl. Pat Tillman, the former professional football player whose enlistment in the Army drew national attention, Pentagon officials said Saturday.
The new inquiry into the killing of Corporal Tillman, a member of the elite Rangers, will be conducted by the Army Criminal Investigation Command. The Army initially had said he died as a hero in a blaze of enemy fire in Afghanistan in 2004 before attributing his death to an accidental shooting by fellow Rangers.
The inquiry follows three other military investigations — two by his Army Ranger unit and one by its parent organization, the United States Army Special Operations Command — that the inspector general's office has now determined were deficient.
The earlier investigations found a series of crucial errors made by Corporal Tillman's fellow Rangers in the heat of combat, but found no criminal wrongdoing.
The new inquiry would be the first criminal investigation into Corporal Tillman's death, a move that military law experts said was unusual and significant.
"It obviously could lead to one of three things," said Eugene Fidell, who teaches military law at the Washington College of Law at American University. "Was there a negligent homicide? Was there a dereliction of duty? Was there a cover-up?"
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
"Was there a negligent homicide?"
The press keeps pushing this term. All deaths resulting from accidental friendly fire could technically be called negligent homicide, but the press is bandying the term about as though it is a criminal charge.
Probably backshot by an embedded liberal reporter. Backstabbing, backshooting . . . this sort of thing happens all the time.
It as a very sad unfortunate affair.
But other than Tillman being classed
"someone of importance," his death
is no more unique than any other
Pvt. Joe Blow mistakenly kllled in
the heat of battle.
I have great sympathy for the parents,
but IMO they are allowing their son's
death to become a political issue in
the same mode as the son of Cindy
Sheehan. Needless to say, the NYTimes
will be hyping the case since Sheehan
has lost her public image as the
bereaved mother.
HERO!
Tillman's "sacrifice" was no greater than any other American who lost his life serving our country. Frankly Ive heard enough about Tillman. I'd rather hear the stories of some of the other great Americans who made the ultimate sacrifice.
Thats the point I am making CPL Tilman was a man just like any other CPL. I think that we would not want the attention!
And why his uniform and body armor were burned/destroyed immediately after his death.
Unless times have changed, it is probably still SOP with field hospital and mortuary service units to routinely destroy the blood contaminated clothing and equipment removed from casualties and bodies they process.
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