Startling findings in probe of Tillman's death

[Kadie]

Startling findings in probe of Tillman's death
By SCOTT LINDLAW and MARTHA MENDOZA, Associated Press Writers

Wednesday, November 8, 2006



(11-08) 14:22 PST -- This Associated Press story was scheduled for publication on Sunday but the embargo was broken by several newspaper websites earlier today.

In a remote and dangerous corner of Afghanistan, under the protective roar of Apache attack helicopters and B-52 bombers, special agents and investigators did their work.

They walked the landscape with surviving witnesses. They found a rock stained with the blood of the victim. They re-enacted the killings -- here the U.S. Army Rangers swept through the canyon in their Humvee, blasting away; here the doomed man waved his arms, pleading for recognition as a friend, not an enemy.

"Cease fire, friendlies, I am Pat (expletive) Tillman, damn it!" he shouted, again and again.

The latest inquiry into Tillman's death by friendly fire should end next month; authorities have said they intend to release to the public only a synopsis of their report. But The Associated Press has combed through the results of 21/4 years of investigations -- reviewed thousands of pages of internal Army documents, interviewed dozens of people familiar with the case -- and uncovered some startling findings.

One of the four shooters, Staff Sgt. Trevor Alders, had recently had PRK laser eye surgery. Although he could see two sets of hands "straight up," his vision was "hazy," he said. In the absence of "friendly identifying signals," he assumed Tillman and an allied Afghan who also was killed were enemy.

more...
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/11/08/BAG7NM76RO2.DTL

[gratuitous]

1. I sure wish Congress would get around to investigating this

Oh wait; there's a good chance the next one will. As well as do a little investigation into the torture and killing at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo, and how well our money's been spent in Afghanistan and Iraq, and a whole host of other naggy little questions that the Republicans just didn't seem too curious about.

[SouthernBelle82]

3. I hope so too

I just have this really bad feeling about this. The reactions of people like Ann Coulter make me suspicious enough.

[Generic Other]

2. And that platoon came back to my town.

They bring that hell back home in a thousand awful ways.