Investigation into ex-NFL player Pat Tillman's death

Expect plenty of disagreement. Just keep it civil.
User avatar
MK
Posts: 946
Joined: Mon Jul 07, 2003 4:24 pm
Location: North America

Investigation into ex-NFL player Pat Tillman's death

Postby MK » Wed May 04, 2005 12:09 pm

Remember Pat Tillman? He used to play for the Arizona Cardinals, and after Sep. 11, he joined the army, feeling compelled to follow in a military tradition within his family. He became an army ranger and in 2004, when he was killed, it got a lot of media coverage, and the NFL paid tribute at their games. During the tributes and coverage, it was widely reported that Tillman was killed in an ambush.

Months later, apparently there was a lot that wasn't disclosed, including an investigation that Tillman was killed by fellow Rangers, and eventually that seemed to be the case, and now today, the Washington Post reports that Army officials actually seemed to have known/concluded/? that within a matter of days. Picked up from the AP wires:

AP - Wed May 4,12:58 AM ET

WASHINGTON - Army officials knew within days of Pat Tillman's death that the former NFL player had been killed by fellow Rangers during a patrol in Afghanistan but did not inform his family and the public for weeks, The Washington Post reported.

A new Army report shows that Gen. John P. Abizaid, the theater commander in Afghanistan, and other top Army officials were aware an investigation had determined the death was caused by an act of "gross negligence" four days before a nationally televised memorial service, the Post reported after reviewing nearly 2,000 pages of documents it had obtained.

Tillman, 27, turned down a multimillion-dollar contract with the Arizona Cardinals to join the Army after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. He was taking cover behind a boulder along a canyon road near the Pakistani border when a firefight erupted at twilight on April 22, 2004.

The Post reported on its online edition Tuesday night that troops on the scene said they were immediately sure Tillman was killed by a barrage of American bullets.

The documents show that officers erroneously reported that Tillman was killed by enemy fire, destroyed critical evidence and initially concealed the truth from his brother, also an Army Ranger, who was near the attack, the Post reported.

The memorial service in San Jose, Calif., took place May 3, 2004. The Army announced May 29 that Tillman likely died because of friendly fire.

Brig. Gen. Gary M. Jones, who prepared the report, concluded there was no official reluctance to report the truth, according to the Post.

But an Army spokesman, Paul Boyce, told the newspaper: "Notifying families in a timely way that they have had a loved one killed or severely injured is complex and imperfect work. We can do better."
"When people speak to you about a preventive war, you tell them to go and fight it. After my experience, I have come to hate war." – Dwight D. Eisenhower

"Neither slave nor tyrant." - Basque motto

User avatar
CitizenDan
Posts: 396
Joined: Fri Jan 14, 2005 11:26 am
Location: Capitol City, Minn.

Postby CitizenDan » Wed May 04, 2005 1:36 pm

Wow, killed by his own guys, just like Niedermeyer from Animal House. He should've stuck with football -- even playing for the Cardinals isn't this bad.
We were right about Vietnam. We were right about Nixon. We were right about Reaganomics. Trust us -- we're right about Bush, too.