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Benghazi was tragic, but how about Pat Tillman?
This isn't a competition about which incident was more tragic, but I find the media's skewed coverage revolting.
Here's a guy (Tillman) who was killed by "friendly" fire, and had his death exploited and mined for all the patriotic fervor the Bush administration could muster by claiming he was killed by "the terrorists." Turns out, the administration knew he was killed by his fellow soldiers almost immediately...the squad he was with certainly did (since there were no enemy combatants in sight, and they were the ones who killed him). And they were told to shut up and fall in line with the "official" story:
"There is growing evidence that Tillman's death was a prime topic at the highest levels of the military and Bush administration. When he was killed in April 2004, the White House was dealing with the bloodiest month in Iraq to date and the Abu Ghraib prison scandal. Six days after Tillman's death, a White House speechwriter, John Currin, contacted the Pentagon to get more information about Tillman and how he enlisted, an e-mail released Tuesday showed. Currin wanted it for a speech by President Bush to the annual White House correspondents dinner. "
"A day after that e-mail, Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, commander of joint special operations, warned top generals that Tillman's death was likely caused by friendly fire. McChrystal was worried that Bush might include comments about Tillman in a speech. He warned in the memo that "it was essential that you received this information as soon as we detected it in order to preclude any unknowing statements by our country's leaders which might cause public embarrassment if the circumstances of Cpl. Tillman's death become public." "
"Bush praised Tillman and his courage at the dinner, but made no specific comments about how he died. McChrystal and another general, Philip Kensinger - who attended the San Jose memorial but did not tell the family how Tillman died - were severely criticized in Gimble's report, and face punishment under an ongoing review by a four-star general, William Wallace. "
"Gimble admitted to the House committee that he "did not look into" possible contacts between the Pentagon and White House over the case, and that investigators did not question Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld about what he knew and when. Instead, Rumsfeld sent a letter to the investigation that he did not know the true nature of Tillman's death for several weeks, Gimble said. Kevin and Mary Tillman said they found that difficult to believe. Rumsfeld was keenly interested in Tillman's service and had written him a personal letter of thanks after his enlistment."
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/07/27/363445/-Was-Pat-Tillman-killed-on-Cheney-s-or-Rumsfeld-s-orders
"A day after that e-mail, Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, commander of joint special operations, warned top generals that Tillman's death was likely caused by friendly fire. McChrystal was worried that Bush might include comments about Tillman in a speech. He warned in the memo that "it was essential that you received this information as soon as we detected it in order to preclude any unknowing statements by our country's leaders which might cause public embarrassment if the circumstances of Cpl. Tillman's death become public." "
"Bush praised Tillman and his courage at the dinner, but made no specific comments about how he died. McChrystal and another general, Philip Kensinger - who attended the San Jose memorial but did not tell the family how Tillman died - were severely criticized in Gimble's report, and face punishment under an ongoing review by a four-star general, William Wallace. "
"Gimble admitted to the House committee that he "did not look into" possible contacts between the Pentagon and White House over the case, and that investigators did not question Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld about what he knew and when. Instead, Rumsfeld sent a letter to the investigation that he did not know the true nature of Tillman's death for several weeks, Gimble said. Kevin and Mary Tillman said they found that difficult to believe. Rumsfeld was keenly interested in Tillman's service and had written him a personal letter of thanks after his enlistment."
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/07/27/363445/-Was-Pat-Tillman-killed-on-Cheney-s-or-Rumsfeld-s-orders
The medical examiners' suspicions were outlined in 2,300 pages of testimony released to the AP this week by the Defense Department in response to a Freedom of Information Act request.
Among other information contained in the documents:
_ Army attorneys sent each other congratulatory e-mails for keeping criminal investigators at bay as the Army conducted an internal friendly-fire investigation that resulted in administrative, or non-criminal, punishments.
_ The three-star general who kept the truth about Tillman's death from his family and the public told investigators some 70 times that he had a bad memory and couldn't recall details of his actions.
No evidence at all of enemy fire was found at the scene no one was hit by enemy fire, nor was any government equipment struck.
Among other information contained in the documents:
_ Army attorneys sent each other congratulatory e-mails for keeping criminal investigators at bay as the Army conducted an internal friendly-fire investigation that resulted in administrative, or non-criminal, punishments.
_ The three-star general who kept the truth about Tillman's death from his family and the public told investigators some 70 times that he had a bad memory and couldn't recall details of his actions.
No evidence at all of enemy fire was found at the scene no one was hit by enemy fire, nor was any government equipment struck.
And yet, at a congressional hearing, Rumsfeld claimed he "couldn't recall" whether he read a memo detailing the true circumstances of Tillman's death, or when it was he even heard about Tillman's death, even though it was sent directly to his office shortly after it happened. Bush didn't bother to address it at all.
When the story broke months, if not years, later (that it was a big fucking lie), it hardly made a splash in the mainstream press. Where the fuck was FAUX News (and the M$M) then?! Those motherfuckers are dedicating an entire Brett Baier-narrated hour to the Benghazi incident as we speak (even though the facts aren't even hashed out - as Juan Cole deftly points out)! I don't remember them having a day-by-day, hour-by-hour recap of the Tillman fuck-up. And how about the fact that the Tillman family was ACTIVELY stonewalled by the Bush administration from learning the truth for years (and they still haven't found out the whole truth). Tillman's mother (and father) were shit on and shoved under the rug.
I guess that vile old fuck (re: Rumsfeld) can get away with the Alzheimer's routine while Bush gets off scot-free, but President Obama is not only supposed to have absolute knowledge of what happens half-way around the world the second after it occurs, but put on his Superman cape and prevent it from happening with his bare hands.
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