I remember this story when it was given out to the public. And now..., everyone reads this and says, "What a 'cock and bull' story!" The next time we hear another story like this, it will simply cause people to say, "Well, I remember the last story they gave like that."
Regards,
Star Traveler
Link to story —
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=450509&in_page_id=1770
—
For “cock and bull” —
http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mcockandbull.html
Happens in all wars. Major Devereaux of Wake Island fame was asked by his interrogators if he really radioed back the defiant message “send more Japs!”. He replied why would he say anything like that? He had more than he could handle! The interrogators had to admit it was good propaganda though.
Hmmmmm
As to the Tillman case, it was probably a white lie to soothe the parents. I understand Tillman’s parents want someone to go to jail for his death, and have speculated that someone within his unit hated his guts and wanted him killed. The problem is that friendly fire deaths often involve really mundane things - mistakes made in the heat of battle - rather than larger conspiracies, and no amount of wishful thinking will change that. Bad things happen to good people in military service. And most of the time, no one is to blame.
Actually, the truth is still being distorted.
The focus was never on her supposed derring do, but on the massacre of her fellows, the search for her, wondering what had become of her, and then finding her.
The nurses can say that they tried to return her, but that doesn’t take anything away from her rescue. The hospital was in a no-go area. They couldn’t just stroll in and take her. They didn’t have certain knowledge of what awaited them. And they already had evidence that the Iraqi militia were using hospitals, including that one, as safe havens and headquarters.
So the interesting story is the Iraqi who got word from his kinfolk who worked at the hospital, and walked through enemy lines to get word out, then returned to reconnoiter several times.
The press started almost immediately to throw dirt on this story, claiming that the rescue was a photo-op, simply because the machine gunners were firing at nothing. They went into a hostile no-go area, mounted a diversion, went in and got her. The rest is press distortion. The idea that there was no danger involved, since there were no troops in the hospital at that moment, doesn’t change the fact that the area was in a hostile zone that they had to cross in order to get there. And we now know, we have plenty of experience now, that you have to move quickly before the fighters know you are there and attack. Choppers make a fat and juicy target. The idea that the rescue was a walk in the park is itself a distortion.
Any idea that she was a hero herself was press hyperbole, which she discounted immediately. In fact, none of them were necessarily heroes, they were caught behind enemy lines and slaughtered by an enemy that doesn’t take prisoners. Why they keep beating this drum, though, is easy enough to see.
As for Pat Tillman’s silver star, the fact remains that he was, in fact, killed leading an attack on the Taliban. His bravery is not in question. That no one wanted to admit the whole truth is not surprising. That the family is playing out its grief in public, raging against Tillman’s fellow soldiers, is sad but understandable. That others are taking advantage of their grief for their own purposes is also unsurprising.
Soldiers die in every war in ways that shouldn’t happen, they die in accidents, they shoot themselves, they get sick, they get run over, they fall out of helicopters. In earlier less bureaucratic wars their deaths might be reported by their buddies as killed-in-action, the family gets a posthumous medal, no need to put too fine a point on it. Turning every battle into a CSI crime scene does nothing to advance the cause for which Tillman died, and will not bring him or anyone else back to life.
In 1961, in a place called Grafenwoehr in Germany, I watched as an eight inch round, fired by an artilary group that were training, landed on a mess tent with about 100 men lined up for chow. I was 300 yards away and saw it all. This was friendly fire, during training, it happens in peacetime and in war. Too bad his parents can't simply deal with it and too bad the pentagon lied about it.
Though this may not seem on topic, now would be a good time to thank all the true and principled who sat home, voted third party, or worse , directly for the Democrats for teaching all of us a lesson.
Yes sir, by Gawd , you all really showed all of us less than perfect types.
As far as Miss Lynch, anyone here not believe she is up there chattering with Sheets Byrd’s sponsership?
Jessica Lynch has maintained all along she wasn't heroic and frankly, I don't remember anything the military said to say that she had been. That doesn't mean that they didn't suggest it, it just means it wasn't memorable. However, Jessica participating in this effort to demoralize the troops is lamentable. These people are being used by people who aren't even interested in attending briefings on our military situation.
There should be complete outrage that these veterans and their families are being manipulated into this situation to harm the country.
I don't remember a Pentagon spokesperson ever saying JL went down shooting at the Iraqis, etc. I do remember the media making a big deal out of her being taken away.
I am amazed that this is a big story today. It was well known here and at some other sites I visit that Lynch was a pumped up story. The guy that supposedly walk 10 miles to tell US where she was is also crap BTW.
Mad out.
Not really, as George Orwell demonstrated - few people follow the advice of Aeschylus (see my tagline).
A couple of things here for those who choose to climb into the “way-back” machine.
Much of these “Lies” that the pentagon purpotedly told were based originally on reports picked up by soldiers that had “witnessed” Lynche’s capture, picked up by the media and reported as fact before the “fog of war” had cleared.
By the time the facts began emerging, the media had already written the story. Why, at that point should the military refute a story that did so much for Morale?
In Tillman’s case, he was such a celebrity, that to report that he died of friendly fire would have been a major blow to morale.
Clauswitz stated, “All military action is intertwined with psychological forces and effects.” - On War, 1832.
This war, like all wars, is being fought on many fronts. The home front needs heroes to sustain its own support for war. Lynch and Tilmans family, while concerned for the truth, have failed to think through the consequences of their actions. In the end, they will hurt the cause for which they sacrificed.
There was a great scene in flags of our fathers when the three Heroes of Iwo were on the Bond tour and were complaining that they were not heroes and the whole thing was a sham.
One of organizers put it bluntly, if they didn’t get out there and play their assigned roles so the money could be raised to carry on the war, it would be lost, as would the sacrifices of all their buddies.
In both these cases, short-sighted selfish interests have won out over the big-picture of winning the WOT.
So, when is she going to give back the Bronze Star she was awarded?
As for Pat Tillman, it was the fact that he left the NFL to fight for his country that makes him a hero in spite if the circumstances of his death.
If you dive into the freezing river to rescue a child but die while the child is pulled out of the water by a helicopter with a stokes basket you are still a hero.
“I’m still confused as to why they chose to lie and try to make me a legend when the real heroes were my fellow soldiers that day.”
uhhhhh.........funding?
I don’t have a problem with her telling what actually happened wayyyyy after the fact. But we were in the process of invading a country. Why would we say, “Well, we had this little blonde who was riding along with some soldiers, and she was hurt when the Humvee she was in crashed because her convoy had taken a wrong turn somewhere down the road. She had a gun, but she couldn’t make it work. And then she woke up in a hospital and was rescued by some men with guns that worked.”
She should just be happy that she made it out alive. She doesn’t need to gripe about the folks who made sure she got out alive.
I don’t think that it was exactly the military that was making up the stories. The stories were mostly pieced together hearsay reports posted by the imbedded media who were looking for the “big story”.
But from what I've read about Miller, he wouldn't want the attention anyway. So maybe it's best he just remain one of the multitude of American heroes that have served through the years.
Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!
Good Morning. It is June 4, 1944. Welcome to The Mullings Cable Network's continuing coverage of: "Operation Overlord: What's Taking So Long?" I'm Rich Rundling. Let's go first to MCN's White House reporter, Greg Smith for the latest.
SMITH: Thank you, Rich. Hill Leaders have told MCN news that an invasion of Europe is, in their words, "very, very imminent." These sources, who have been privy to briefings by the Roosevelt War Cabinet, tell us that "the number of troops, the number of ships, and the sheer size of war materiel shipments" clearly point to an invasion, possibly within the next 24 hours. Rich?
RUNDLING: Thank you, Greg. Now to the War Department and our reporter there Jim Smith. Jim? What are your sources there saying about a possible attack point?
SMITH: Well, Rich. Advisors to General Marshall are hinting at a strike at Pas de Calais, perhaps as early as tomorrow. However we believe this might well be disinformation and the real point of attack will be at Normandy. We have learned that Ranger and Airborne elements have been, in effect, rehearsing for the kind of terrain they are likely to encounter on the Normandy beaches and that Airborne units might be dropped in as early as tonight.
RUNDLING: So, Winston Churchill's famous phrase: "We shall fight on the beaches..." now must be considered as a clearly coded message to the French Resistance. For more on invasion plans, let's switch to London and our MCN reporter Eric Smith. Eric what are you hearing about where these troops may be going and when they might be going there?
SMITH: Rich, as you can see, the weather here is not good. Military meteorologists have advised SHAEF Command to stand down for at least the next 24 hours. If we can zoom in on this map behind me, you can clearly see that the combination of time and tides is most favorable for only the next 48 hours for a landing in France. Senior advisors to General Eisenhower are aware of, and very concerned with, the reports of growing impatience among many Americans with the amount of time it has taken to mount this invasion.
RUNDLING: Indeed, many here are asking why it has taken two-and-a-half years from the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 to June 1944 to reach this point. Eric, if they can't go within that window, what are Eisenhower's options?
SMITH: No good ones, Rich. Intelligence officers here in Britain are worried that if this operation has to be delayed for as long as two weeks, word will almost certainly leak to the German high command allowing them to move their defensive forces from their current location at Pas de Calais to behind the Atlantic Wall above Normandy.
RUNDLING: That would be unfortunate. Let's turn now to our MCN military analyst retired General Theodore "Teddy" Smith, the famous "Senior Señor of Santiago Bay." General, you helped design the invasion of Cuba in 1898 -- just 43 years ago -- during the Spanish-American war, what do you make of this?
SMITH: Well, Rich, I'll use this map to illustrate. Assuming our troops will try to cross these beaches here ... and ... here. And assault these cliffs... here, then they will have to be supported by a naval bombardment from... here. So, we expect the Hun is flying air reconnaissance and will bring to bear their air assets to disrupt any pre-invasion shelling as soon as Allied ships are detected in this area ... here.
RUNDLING: What about tanks, General - the Panzer Divisions of General Rommel?
SMITH: Rommel is almost certainly moving his Panzer Divisions behind the Atlantic Wall ... here ... for use in a counterattack if and when the Allied forces breach those lines.
RUNDLING: Now, to Christianne Smith on a satellite phone in the French countryside. Christianne, what can you tell us?
SMITH: Rich, there is a growing sense of apprehension here about 40 miles away from what we assume will be the point of attack on the beaches of Normandy either tomorrow or the next day. Mayor Jacques Capituler is with me. Mayor, tell our viewers how you feel about the coming invasion.
CAPITULER: We don't want to be liberated. We don't need to be liberated. The Germans have established a perfectly workable government, here. The Americans should go liberate someone else, somewhere else.
RUNDLING: The thorny issue of civilian casualties and collateral damage brought onto our living room screens from right there in France, Thank you Christianne. To ... where? Ok, to Edward Smith with the forces of General George Patton in Britain. Edward.
SMITH: Rich, I am here in Kent, England opposite the Pas de Calais just across the English Channel which, if the weather were better, you could see behind me. MCN can now confirm that the activity here in Kent, which has been named "Operation Fortitude" is, for want of a better phrase: A complete fake.
RUNDLING: Fake? Explain, please, for our viewers.
SMITH: MCN can now report that Patton has constructed, literally, a phony army here. The tanks are cardboard. The planes are rubber. The radio traffic is faked. Reports of troop movements are completely fabricated. This operation, clearly, is designed to fool the Germans in Europe and Americans back home into falsely believing that the attack -- which we now think will come tomorrow if the weather lets up -- will be aimed at Pas de Calais instead of Normandy.
RUNDLING: Excellent reporting, Edward. Joining me, now, in the studio is MCN's Senior Ethics Advisor Emma Smith. Emma? What does it mean to the American way of life when their very own government engages in this kind of deliberately false and misleading information?
SMITH: The academic community has been warning for years that the American government would too easily sacrifice the truth on the altar of some alleged short-term military so-called advantage. "If the people can't trust the word of their government," many of us are asking, "then what we are fighting for in the first place?"
RUNDLING: Thank you, Emma Smith. And good luck with your exciting new book: "The Soviet Experience; Success, Solidarity, and Stalin." We have received a few e-mails from viewers expressing discomfort with General Theodore Smith's use of a word to describe our German adversaries, which, in some minds, is derogatory. MCN apologizes for the use of the "H" word on our air.
So, there you have it. The Allied Expeditionary Forces will, in fact, invade Europe not at Pas de Calais as the American public had been lead to believe, but at Normandy. And, that attack will take place either tomorrow or the next day, depending upon the weather.
This is Rich Rundling, MCN News. Now back to Imus.