But death by friendly fire is more common than most realize. Yes, there is often negligence or incompetence involved, some procedure not followed properly, but after all, war is chaos and endless death, and this is all part of what we sign up for when we endorse war.
The company commander's name was just recently released. He is Capt. William Saunders. In the subsequent investigation of Tillman's death, Saunders testified that he got no objections from Lt. Uthlaut about splitting up the platoon, but communication records disproved this. Nevertheless, as Coll writes, "although initially threatened by perjury charges, Saunders was given immunity and allowed to change his prior testimony." It is here that the disgrace comes in. Recall that Army slogan seen so often on TV, "Be all you can be." A better one would be, "Take no responsibility, pass the buck when you can, and always lie your ass off." It's the new Army way.
Coll goes on to describe how the Army tried to play Tillman's death to its advantage. Coll writes that, "The records show Tillman's superiors exaggerated his actions and invented details as they burnished his legend in public, at the same time suppressing details that might tarnish Tillman's commanders". Army commanders hurriedly awarded Tillman a posthumous Silver Star for valor and released a nine-paragraph account of his heroism that made no mention of fratricide. A month later the head of the Army's Special Operations Command, Lt. Gen. Philip R. Kensinger Jr., called a news conference to disclose in a brief statement that Tillman 'probably' died by 'friendly fire.' " Not surprisingly, the brave General Kensinger refused to answer questions - consistent with the new Army mantra I announced above.
Tillman was buried in his hometown of San Jose, California. One of those giving a eulogy was Sen. John McCain of Arizona. McCain's only connection was that Tillman had gone to Arizona State University and played with the Arizona Cardinals football team. But McCain saw Tillman's death as an opportunity to gain some spotlight in his obsessional bid for the 2008 presidential nomination and he hurriedly got himself to San Jose. It was only later that details came out about fratricide. It was also learned that one of Tillman's fellow Rangers "burned Tillman's bullet riddled body armor -- which would have been evidence in a friendly-fire investigation. He later testified that he did so because there was no doubt it was friendly fire that killed Tillman. Two days later, Tillman's uniform and vest also were burned because they were soaked in blood and considered a biohazard. Tillman's uniform also was burned."
And when this new information came forth, where was the hero, John McCain? He was off to his next campaign gimmick, like the Jay Leno show, to show what a great guy he is. New York Times columnist Paul Krugman puts John McCain in proper perspective. Writes Krugman in a recent article:
"It's time for some straight talk about John McCain. He isn't a moderate. He's much less of a maverick than you'd think. And he isn't the straight talker he claims to be.
"Every once in a while he makes headlines by apparently defying Mr. Bush, but he always returns to the fold, even if the abuses he railed against continue unabated"And he isn't a maverick, at least not when it counts. When the cameras are rolling, Mr. McCain can sometimes be seen striking a brave pose of opposition to the White House. But when it matters, when the Bush administration's ability to do whatever it wants is at stake, Mr. McCain always toes the party line."
I don't mean to argue that some lives are more valuable than others. Every combat death is a tragedy of equal magnitude. It's just that some stories hit home more effectively than others. And some, like Pat Tillman's death, raise important issues of how the military conducts itself today under Bush command. The bottom line is that all the deaths in Iraq were to fulfill one man's will, that of George W. Bush. And more American soldiers will die next week and still more the week after, and so and so on, all to fulfill George Bush's pathological drives. Who will they be? Which families will have well dressed military men or women knock on their doors to deliver the heartbreaking news?
What was this war really about anyway? Was it about oil? Was it about establishing a military presence in the Middle East? Or was it a personal issue, Saddam having once planned to assassinate George Bush Sr.? I don't think we will ever know, anymore than we know what drove Hitler, who we can at best only write off as a psychopath, a madman, who somehow had the charm and the charisma to hypnotize a nation when it was at its weakest point, devastated by the severe and unfair surrender terms of World War I. To this day Germany still feels the disgrace for having sat passive and idle while Hitler and his madmen took advantage of these conditions and ended up destroying not only much of Europe and Asia, but in the end, their own once great country.
Could this happen now in the United States under "Hitler-Lite," George Bush, as he sits on the world's largest nuclear arsenal? Is passive, weak America -- once proud and courageous -- still cowering in fear after 9/11, willing to turn their lives, and perhaps the fate of the world, over to a madman?
References:
Ref. 1:
Brian Mockenhaupt , "Waiting to blow Up: Moments from the War Zone,"
Ref. 2:
Tony Perry, "Coming to Terms with the Death of a Marine,"
Ref. 3:
The company commander's name was just recently released. He is Capt. William Saunders. In the subsequent investigation of Tillman's death, Saunders testified that he got no objections from Lt. Uthlaut about splitting up the platoon, but communication records disproved this. Nevertheless, as Coll writes, "although initially threatened by perjury charges, Saunders was given immunity and allowed to change his prior testimony." It is here that the disgrace comes in. Recall that Army slogan seen so often on TV, "Be all you can be." A better one would be, "Take no responsibility, pass the buck when you can, and always lie your ass off." It's the new Army way.
Coll goes on to describe how the Army tried to play Tillman's death to its advantage. Coll writes that, "The records show Tillman's superiors exaggerated his actions and invented details as they burnished his legend in public, at the same time suppressing details that might tarnish Tillman's commanders". Army commanders hurriedly awarded Tillman a posthumous Silver Star for valor and released a nine-paragraph account of his heroism that made no mention of fratricide. A month later the head of the Army's Special Operations Command, Lt. Gen. Philip R. Kensinger Jr., called a news conference to disclose in a brief statement that Tillman 'probably' died by 'friendly fire.' " Not surprisingly, the brave General Kensinger refused to answer questions - consistent with the new Army mantra I announced above.
Tillman was buried in his hometown of San Jose, California. One of those giving a eulogy was Sen. John McCain of Arizona. McCain's only connection was that Tillman had gone to Arizona State University and played with the Arizona Cardinals football team. But McCain saw Tillman's death as an opportunity to gain some spotlight in his obsessional bid for the 2008 presidential nomination and he hurriedly got himself to San Jose. It was only later that details came out about fratricide. It was also learned that one of Tillman's fellow Rangers "burned Tillman's bullet riddled body armor -- which would have been evidence in a friendly-fire investigation. He later testified that he did so because there was no doubt it was friendly fire that killed Tillman. Two days later, Tillman's uniform and vest also were burned because they were soaked in blood and considered a biohazard. Tillman's uniform also was burned."
"It's time for some straight talk about John McCain. He isn't a moderate. He's much less of a maverick than you'd think. And he isn't the straight talker he claims to be.
"Every once in a while he makes headlines by apparently defying Mr. Bush, but he always returns to the fold, even if the abuses he railed against continue unabated"And he isn't a maverick, at least not when it counts. When the cameras are rolling, Mr. McCain can sometimes be seen striking a brave pose of opposition to the White House. But when it matters, when the Bush administration's ability to do whatever it wants is at stake, Mr. McCain always toes the party line."
I don't mean to argue that some lives are more valuable than others. Every combat death is a tragedy of equal magnitude. It's just that some stories hit home more effectively than others. And some, like Pat Tillman's death, raise important issues of how the military conducts itself today under Bush command. The bottom line is that all the deaths in Iraq were to fulfill one man's will, that of George W. Bush. And more American soldiers will die next week and still more the week after, and so and so on, all to fulfill George Bush's pathological drives. Who will they be? Which families will have well dressed military men or women knock on their doors to deliver the heartbreaking news?
What was this war really about anyway? Was it about oil? Was it about establishing a military presence in the Middle East? Or was it a personal issue, Saddam having once planned to assassinate George Bush Sr.? I don't think we will ever know, anymore than we know what drove Hitler, who we can at best only write off as a psychopath, a madman, who somehow had the charm and the charisma to hypnotize a nation when it was at its weakest point, devastated by the severe and unfair surrender terms of World War I. To this day Germany still feels the disgrace for having sat passive and idle while Hitler and his madmen took advantage of these conditions and ended up destroying not only much of Europe and Asia, but in the end, their own once great country.
Could this happen now in the United States under "Hitler-Lite," George Bush, as he sits on the world's largest nuclear arsenal? Is passive, weak America -- once proud and courageous -- still cowering in fear after 9/11, willing to turn their lives, and perhaps the fate of the world, over to a madman?
References:
Ref. 1:
Brian Mockenhaupt , "Waiting to blow Up: Moments from the War Zone,"
Ref. 2:
Tony Perry, "Coming to Terms with the Death of a Marine,"
Ref. 3:
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