Wednesday, August 24, 2005

 

Pentagon to investigate itself in Pat Tillman case

The parents of former NFL player Pat Tillman, who was killed in Afghanistan by his fellow Army Rangers, have raised enough ruckus to force the Pentagon into the appearance of investigating itself. The Pentagon tried to turn Tillman into a war hero, as they did with Jessica Lynch (who started college yesterday).

Josh White of the Washington Post reports,

The Defense Department's inspector general is reviewing the Army's investigations into the friendly-fire death of Cpl. Patrick Tillman after repeated assertions from his family that the probes did not hold officials accountable for wrongdoing and did not fully explain the shooting in Afghanistan last year.
....

Tillman's mother and father have railed against the Army for what they have said were repeated lies about the nature of their son's death and what they view as a cover-up.

Tillman was killed on April 22, 2004, while fighting with his Army Ranger unit in the mountainous terrain of Afghanistan. Tillman was shot multiple times by comrades who told investigators they mistook him for the enemy.

Officials in Afghanistan then burned Tillman's uniform and body armor. They reported Tillman had been killed by enemy fire, ordered other soldiers not to discuss the incident, and then honored Tillman with a Silver Star. Army officials waited until weeks later to tell the family that they believed it was a friendly-fire case.

Related post
"I think I need some serious counseling"—Hero propaganda (2/10/05)

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