A U.S. House committee has announced it will hold hearings to
investigate misleading military statements that followed the friendly
fire death of Pat Tillman in Afghanistan and the rescue of Pfc.
Jessica Lynch in Iraq.
As reported by the Associated
Press, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
said an April 24 hearing will be part of its investigation into
whether there was a strategy to mislead the public.
It will "examine why inaccurate accounts of
these two incidents were disseminated, the sources and motivations
for the accounts, and whether the appropriate administration officials
have been held accountable,'' the panel said on its Web site.
The House Armed Services Committee also is considering
Tillman hearings, a spokeswoman for that panel said Monday.
The Tillman and Lynch cases are two clear and blatant
examples of how the government has consistently lied to the public
about events during both the wars in Afghanistan and in Iraq,
often spinning situations and distorting reality in order to put
the US military occupations in a better light.
We have covered both cases extensively and exposed
the propaganda and the cover ups that have followed, now it seems,
rather encouragingly, that some within the House are taking an
interest in uncovering the truth and exposing the lies perpetrated
by the Neocon White House war machine.
The Lynch case is well documented. In 2003 facing
flack and extreme criticism the Bush administration orchestrated
a clear piece of war propaganda in an effort to rally the people
behind the troops and the Invasion of Iraq.
In April 2003 the US Army's 507th Ordnance Maintenance
Company took a wrong turning near Nassiriya and was ambushed by
Iraqi soldiers. Nine of Lynch's US comrades were killed. The Iraqis
took Lynch to the local hospital, where she was kept for eight
days.
The Iraqi soldiers fled the hospital days before
Lynch's rescuers stormed it. The doctors there, having already
tried and failed to return Lynch to the Americans after they fired
upon an ambulance which she was being transported in, described
the "rescue" as a Hollywood show, as special forces
stormed in with cameras rolling.
"It was like a Hollywood film. They cried,
'Go, go, go', with guns and blanks and the sound of explosions.
They made a show - an action movie like Sylvester Stallone or
Jackie Chan, with jumping and shouting, breaking down doors."
one doctor later recounted.
First, a U.S. military spokesman in Iraq was ordered
by CENTCOM to tell journalists that soldiers exchanged fire during
the Rambo like rescue, without adding that Iraqi soldiers had
already abandoned the hospital, then the military released a green-tinted
night-vision film of the mission, adding to the drama.
Releasing its five-minute film to the networks,
the Pentagon then claimed that Lynch had stab and bullet wounds,
and that she had been slapped about on her hospital bed, interrogated
and possibly even raped.
Then news organizations began repeating reports that Lynch had
heroically resisted capture, emptying her gun as she fired at
her attackers.
But subsequent disclosures have proved all those details to be
complete fabrications. Lynch was badly injured by the crash of
her vehicle, her weapon jammed before she could fire, the Iraqi
doctors made friends with her and treated her kindly, and the
hospital was already in
friendly hands when her rescuers arrived.
Asked by the ABC
News anchor Diane Sawyer after the event if the military's
portrayal of the rescue bothered her, Lynch said: "Yeah,
it does. It does that they used me as a way to symbolize all this
stuff. Yeah, it's wrong,".
Lynch went on the record quickly and has since gone
on to denounce the whole debacle as outright propaganda. This
was perhaps wise given that four of Lynch's rescuers and colleagues
have coincidentally died since.
Petty Officer First Class David M. Tapper died of wounds received
in Afghanistan. He took part in the rescue.
Lance Cpl. Sok Khak Ung was killed in a drive-by shooting. He
was also part of the rescue team.
Spc Josh Daniel Speer died when his car crashed into some trees
for no apparent reason. He was part of the rescue team.
Kyle Edward Williams, who worked in the same company as Lynch,
died of "suicide".
Will the House committee be investigating these
deaths as part of the hearings?
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We have previously
reported on how Pat Tillman's tragic death was also seized
upon and used as a cheap propaganda tool by the government for
the war on terror and the invasion of Iraq. His death may have
even been a criminal plot manufactured to this end, a suspicion
that both military investigators and Tillman's family have repeated.
After his death it was announced that Tillman, the All American
poster boy, the former sporting hero who had traded in his football
boots for army boots after witnessing the 9/11 attacks, had been
tragically gunned down by evil Taliban terrorists whilst he was
charging up a hill side to attack, bellowing orders to fellow
Rangers.
A nationally televised memorial service and a Silver Star commendation
cemented Tillman's place as the nation's first war hero since
the story of Jessica Lynch's capture and phony details of her
rescue were foisted on the public in 2003.
The truth was that Tillman's death was being exploited
for public relations purposes by the U.S. military and the
administration.
Weeks later, the Army acknowledged that Tillman had been a victim
of friendly fire whilst on a routine patrol.
Tillman's platoon of the Second Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment,
began the day that he died dealing with a minor annoyance in the
southeastern part of Afghanistan where the soldiers were conducting
sweeps, the Army records show, one of their vehicles would not
start.
Against their own policy and after the overruling of some objections,
the platoon split into two parts so that half the team, including
Tillman, could go on to the next town for sweeps while the second
half could tow the disabled vehicle to a drop-off spot.
But both groups ended up in the same twisting canyon, along the
same road, without radio communication. And after the sounds of
an enemy ambush, three Rangers in the second group wound up firing
at members of the first group — at an Afghan soldier who
was fighting alongside Tillman, and then at Tillman himself.
The Afghan was killed. According to testimony, Tillman, who along
with others on the hill waved his arms and yelled “cease
fire,” set off a smoke grenade to identify his group as
fellow soldiers. There was a momentary lull in the firing, and
he and the soldier next to him, thinking themselves safe, relaxed,
stood up and started talking. But the shooting resumed. Tillman
was hit in the wrist with shrapnel and in his body armor with
numerous bullets.
The soldier next to him testified: “I could hear the pain
in his voice as he called out, ‘Cease fire, friendlies,
I am Pat f—ing Tillman, dammit.” He said this over
and over until he stopped,” having been hit by three bullets
in the forehead, killing him.
It was also admitted that soldiers destroyed evidence —
Tillman's uniform and flak vest — after the shooting, claiming
that they were a "biohazard". However another soldier
involved offered a contradictory take, saying "the uniform
and equipment had blood on them and it would stir emotion"
that needed to be suppressed until the Rangers finished their
work overseas.
An initial investigation by then-Capt. Richard Scott, interviewed
all four shooters, their driver, and many others who were there.
He concluded within a week that while some of the gunmen demonstrated
"gross negligence" others demonstrated "criminal
intent" and recommended further investigation to push for
the harshest possible criminal sentencing.
But Scott's report disappeared after circulating briefly among
a small corps of high-ranking officers. Some of Tillman's relatives
think the Army buried the report because its findings indicated
foul play. Army officials refused to provide a copy to the media,
saying no materials related to the investigation could be released.
A second investigation was then commenced by a higher ranking
officer which called for less severe punishment.
Richard Scott later gave testimony alleging that Army officials
allowed witnesses to change key details in their sworn statements
so his findings could be softened.
Scott stated “watching some of these guys getting off,
what I thought … was a lesser of a punishment than what
they should’ve received. And I will tell you, over a period
of time … the stories have changed. They have changed to,
I think, help some individuals.”
The document containing Scott's testimony was reviewed by the
San
Francisco Chronicle. In a published story in September 2005
the Chronicle highlighted the following passage from Scott:
“They had the entire chain of command (inaudible) that
were involved, the [deleted], all sticking up for [deleted] …
And the reason the [deleted] called me in … because the
[deleted] … changed their story in how things occurred and
the timing and the distance in an attempt to stick up for their
counterpart, implied, insinuated that the report wasn’t
as accurate as I submitted it …”
In another section of his testimony, he said witnesses changed
details regarding “the distance, the time, the location,
the lighting conditions and the positioning” in Tillman’s
killing.
There are many other examples of conflicting testimony in the
Tillman case including the fact that he may not have been killed
immediately and was certainly given CPR hours after being shot
in the head three times.
At least one Army officer, the records show, changed his sworn
statements about which supervisor had actually ordered the split
of the platoon and what conversations had occurred before the
order was given.
A further review of the case by the Pentagon's inspector general,Gen.
Gary M. Jones found that Army officers told soldiers to remain
quiet about the circumstances of Tillman's death for fear of negative
news coverage.
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One or more members of the Tillman family will testify in the
new hearings, in addition to Jessica Lynch herself.
The Tillman family have been very reluctantly outspoken
since the tragic Death of Pat Tillman, "All I asked for is
what happened to my son, and it has been lie after lie after lie,"
Tillman's father told the New
York Times, explaining that he believed the matter should
remain "between me and the military" but that he had
grown too troubled to keep silent.
Quoted elsewhere Mr
Tillman has stated “The administration clearly was using
this case for its own political reasons... This cover-up started
within minutes of Pat’s death, and it started at high levels.
This is not something that (lower-ranking) people in the field
do,” he said.
"After it happened, all the people in positions
of authority went out of their way to script this," Mr Tillman
has said. "They purposely interfered with the investigation
…. I think they thought they could control it, and they
realized that their recruiting efforts were going to go to hell
in a handbasket if the truth about his death got out."
Mr Tillman is certain that a cover up has been perpetrated
and believes his son's death may not even have been an accident.
"There is so much nonstandard conduct, both
before and after Pat was killed, that you have to start to wonder,"
Mr. Tillman said. "How much effort would you put into hiding
an accident? Why do you need to hide an accident?"
Kevin Tillman, Pat's brother (pictured above) has
also been very outspoken and recently slammed the Bush administration
and the war in Iraq in a lengthy
article. Kevin Tillman wrote:
Indeed, it has been revealed since his death that Pat Tillman
was himself highly critical of the war in Iraq where he also served
a tour of duty. Fellow soldiers have described the well spoken,
well educated Tillman as having strong views, often openly stating
"this war is so f— illegal." and describing Tillman
as "totally against Bush.”
Moved in part by the 9/11 attacks, Tillman decided to give up
his career, saying he wanted to fight al Qaeda and help find Osama
bin Laden. He spurned an offer of a three year, $3.6 million NFL
contract extension with Arizona Cardinals and joined the Army
in June 2002.
Instead of going to Afghanistan, as Tillman expected, their Ranger
battalion was sent to participate in the U.S.-led invasion of
Iraq in March 2003.
Word of the new hearings comes three years after Tillman was
killed and two weeks after the Pentagon released the latest findings
of its own investigations into Pat Tillman's death. The
latest report once again faults as many as nine officers as
responsible for mistakes and irregularities during the investigation
into Tillman's death, but also dismisses the notion of a cover
up, much the same as a previous
report did in 2005.
In all, the Army and Defense Department have conducted
five investigations into Tillman's April 22, 2004 death, with
the most recent one pointing toward high-ranking military officers
knowing the circumstances of his death long before Tillman's family.
As reported by the AP, a
memo sent to a four-star general a week after Tillman's death
revealed that then-Maj. Gen. Stanley McChrystal warned that it
was "highly possible" the Army Ranger was killed by
friendly fire. McChrystal made it clear his warning should be
conveyed to the president.
The memo was provided to the AP by a government
official who requested anonymity because the document was not
released as part of the Pentagon's official report into the way
the Army brass withheld the truth. McChrystal was, and still is,
commander of the Joint Special Operations Command, head of "black
ops" forces and was the highest-ranking officer accused of
wrongdoing in the report.
Tillman's
parents have since stated that they believe the memo backs
the cover up theory. "He knew it was friendly fire in the
very beginning, and he never intervened to help, and he essentially
has covered up a crime in order to promote the war," Mary
Tillman said in a telephone interview. "All of this was done
for PR purposes."
As the AP commented, The memo reinforces suspicions
that the Pentagon was more concerned with sparing officials from
embarrassment than with leveling with Tillman's family.
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Although it is encouraging that the high profile
Tillman and Lynch cases are being investigated, it seems there
are countless others that should be deserving of the same treatment.
One such example is the
case of Jess Buryj, a soldier from Canton, Ohio, who (it turns
out) died in a friendly fire incident – shot in the back.
When his parents were told by the U.S. military
that Polish soldiers were responsible for his death, a soldier
who served with Buryi could not bear for the truth to be buried
and so told Buryi's parents that an American G.I. was actually
at fault. Buryj’s father was so shaken by the alleged cover-up
that he came to question whether the body they buried was even
their son’s.
Again and again, the press, the public, parents
and spouses have been lied to about how young Americans in the
military have died. The lies and the propaganda are endemic, just
as the Bush government cannot afford to allow Americans to see
flag draped coffins coming home, nor can they allow the truth
of the war machine to be exposed and jeopardize their international
killing spree.
