[Matt Wiser]

Did anyone notice that the same Congressional Committee that Jessica testified to back in April had another hearing on Pat Tilman? The members from both parties were pretty hard on former SECDEF Rumsfield, the former JCS chairman Meyers, former CINC-CENTCOM Abazid, and the current head of Army SOCCOM. Nearly all of the members were persistent in criticising the panel for the way the Tilman case was handled, and the panel all regretted the handling of the case. Only one committe member raised Jessica, and that was Kucinich-the same skunk who wanted the whole rescue footage released, regardless of whether or not it showed tactics and proceedures used by the SEALs. (He's also running for President again, and is at 1% in national polls) Don't be suprised if this congresscritter tries using this in his campaign in some way, given how politics are these days.

[patience]

Did anyone notice that the same Congressional Committee that Jessica testified to back in April had another hearing on Pat Tilman? The members from both parties were pretty hard on former SECDEF Rumsfield, the former JCS chairman Meyers, former CINC-CENTCOM Abazid, and the current head of Army SOCCOM. Nearly all of the members were persistent in criticising the panel for the way the Tilman case was handled, and the panel all regretted the handling of the case. Only one committe member raised Jessica, and that was Kucinich-the same skunk who wanted the whole rescue footage released, regardless of whether or not it showed tactics and proceedures used by the SEALs. (He's also running for President again, and is at 1% in national polls) Don't be suprised if this congresscritter tries using this in his campaign in some way, given how politics are these days.

The committee was trying to blame Donald Rumsfeld for this screw-up, which is what the panel, after their testimony, pretty much admitted that it was. A screw-up, not a cover-up. From what I could ascertain from the testimony, it was the Army who screwed-up. It was an Army matter and the buck stopped there.
An old saying-"The louder you holler, the less you have to say", and Kucinich was very loud with his accusatory statements and questioning of Rumsfeld, who quite ably answered the thrust of his questions.

For anyone interested in viewing some of the hearing, the following link has the video of the Waxman's opening statement.
http://oversight.house.gov/story.asp?ID=1446

[mainzman]

Congress is on Rumsfeld's and other gov't officials case for covering-up Pat Tillman's death. A few generals are on the hot seat about Tillman's death also. It's interesting to note that during the testimony that members of the Tillman and Jessica gave, I believe more emphasis was placed on the death of Pat Tillman that what happened to Jessica. Who knows what "interesting stuff" will be brought to the surface concerning Pat and Jessica in the years to come.

[patience]

Since the video on the Waxman Hearing committee website is incomplete, I'll post a news article from MSNBC. It has the video of Rumsfeld's reply to Dennis Kucinich's accusation that Rumsfeld was engaged in a cover-up of the friendly fire incident that took the life of Pat Tillman. In addition, it summarizes some of the basic testimony.
For the sake of the Tillman family, who were present at the hearing, I hope that the truth of this incident will be uncovered soon.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20056399/

Excerpt
'Not a scrap of evidence'
Rumsfeld was mostly sober and measured in his testimony. On occasion there were flashes of the sock puppety, combative Rumsfeld known to the public from Pentagon briefings.

Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, demanded to know whether there was a White House and Defense Department strategy to manage press portrayals of the war and other events.

“Well, if there was, it wasn’t very good,” Rumsfeld remarked.
“Well, you know, maybe it was very good,” Kucinich objected loudly. “Because you actually covered up the Tillman case for a while, you covered up the Jessica Lynch case, you covered up Abu Ghraib, so something was working for you.

“Was there a strategy to do it, Mr. Rumsfeld?”

“Congressman, the implication that ‘you covered up’ — that’s just false, you have nothing to base that on, you have not a scrap of evidence or a piece of paper or a witness that would attest to that,” Rumsfeld replied hotly. “I have not been involved in any cover-up whatsoever.”

[Matt Wiser]

Kucinich sure proved that statement, patience. But it's no suprise from him, given that Kucinich has....distrust, if not outright hostility, towards the military and anyone associated with it. He tried patronizing some Citadel cadets during that CNN/Youtube debate, but when the camera focused on them, they were rolling their eyes when he was speaking.
I wouldn't be suprised if the House Armed Services Committee starts digging into this also.

[Dilligafst]

Well, it was Rumsfeld, or "Rummy," that was running things at the time and Kucinich is onto something about how these little things have been covered up during his tenure there. The shenanigans at Abu Garib were uncovered by the press; it was not until leaks came out on what really happened to Tillman that the story surfaced, though, to be honest, the press was right there with it at first. Then, of course, there was that initial Jane Rambo myth of Jessica, feeding the spin to a hungry press until it unraveled. All of this and then some were on "Rummy's" watch.

Kucinich is not necessarily anti-military but he is rather suspicious of the neo-cons and their spin on things. I did not see the citadel thing, but this is the military academy that refuses, or once did refuse, to admit women, and openly harassed the women it did initially let into the school after trying so hard to stop it. I am not sure if this is still happening now down there, which I doubt, but several of the lady cadets did quit because they could not take the harassement anymore. I have no idea if that was the subject or not but that is what sticks in my mind about the citadel.

Kucinich will not win the nomination anyway. God, another election:(

[patience]

The Washington Post has written the following information about the P4 memo. The events which followed, who received the memo and when they received it, seems to lie at the core of the ongoing Tillman friendly fire investigation.
The second link I'm posting, gives just the bare facts about the time line of events as given during Wednesday's committee hearing.

By The Associated Press
The Associated Press
Friday, August 3, 2007; 4:45 PM

-- The text of the "P4" memo about the death of Army Ranger Pat Tillman that then-Maj. Gen. Stanley McChrystal sent on April 29, 2004, to Gen. John Abizaid, then head of U.S. Central Command; Gen. Bryan Douglas Brown, then head of the U.S. Special Operations Command; and Lt. Gen. Philip R. Kensinger, then head of the Army Special Operations Command. The Associated Press obtained and published the memo in March.

Sir,

In the aftermath of Corporal Patrick Tillman's untimely yet heroic death in Afghanistan on 22 April 04, it is anticipated that a 15-6 investigation nearing completion will find that it is highly possible that Corporal Tillman was killed by friendly fire. This potential finding is exacerbated by the unconfirmed but suspected reports that POTUS and the secretary of the Army might include comments about Corporal Tillman's heroism and his approved Silver Star medal in speeches currently being prepared, not knowing the specifics surrounding his death.

The potential that he might have been killed by friendly fire in no way detracts from his witnessed heroism or the recommended personal decoration for valor in the face of the enemy. Corporal Tillman was killed in a complicated battlespace geometry involving two separate Ranger vehicle serials traversing through severe terrain along a winding 500-600 foot defile in which friendly forces were fired upon by multiple enemy positions. Corporal Tillman disembarked from his vehicle, and in support of his fellow Rangers and demonstrating great concern for their welfare over care for his own safety entered the enemy kill-zone into which both enemy and friendly fire impacted.

I felt that it was essential that you received this information as soon as we detected it in order to preclude any unknowing statements by our country's leaders which might cause public embarrassment if the circumstances of Corporal Tillman's death become public.
© 2007 The Associated Press
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...l?tid=informbox

April 22, 2004 _ Tillman is shot to death while on patrol in Afghanistan.

April 23 _ Gen. John Abizaid says Maj. Gen. Stanley McChrystal called him and told him that Tillman had been killed in combat and that the circumstances were heroic. Abizaid says he then called Gen. Richard Myers, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

April 28 _ Abizaid says he went to Afghanistan, where he spoke with Tillman's platoon leader, Lt. David Uthlaut, who gave him no indication that there was a possibility of friendly fire.

End of April _ Myers says he learned there was a possibility of friendly fire and that McChrystal had started an investigation.

April 29 _ McChrystal sends a "personal for" memo to Abizaid, Lt. Gen. Philip Kensinger and Gen. Bryan Douglas Brown that says there is an investigation that is likely to conclude Tillman died as a result of friendly fire. The memo, known as a P4, warned that "our nation's leaders," including the president, could embarrass themselves if they publicly made statements referring to Tillman's death by enemy fire.

May 1 _ President Bush mentions Tillman in a speech at the White House correspondents' dinner, making no reference to the circumstances of Tillman's death. Bush said Tillman's death "brought home the sorrow that comes with every loss and reminds us of the character of the men and women who serve on our behalf."

May 3 _ At a nationally televised memorial service, no military official, including Kensinger, the head of Army Special Operations Command, mentions his suspicion of friendly fire.

May 6 or later _ Abizaid receives the P4 memo, which was initially sent to his office in Tampa, Fla., while he was overseas and languished before being forwarded to him. He says he immediately called Myers to discuss it and got the impression Myers already knew about the investigation. Myers says he can't recall how he was told, but possibly by Maj. Gen. Eric Schoomaker.

After May 20 _ Donald H. Rumsfeld, then the secretary of defense, said he could not remember when he was told Tillman's death was possibly a fratricide. As he later tried to pinpoint the date, he said someone remembered being in the room when Rumsfeld heard the information for the first time. That person was a colonel who had just returned from Iraq on May 20, which Rumsfeld said helped narrow down the date.

May 29 _ Defense Department announces to the Tillman family and the public that the death was a friendly fire incident.

http://www.townhall.com/news/us/2007/08/01...knew_on_tillman

[Matt Wiser]

The P4 memo seems to indicate that Gen. McChrystal was worried that senior officers and politicians up to and including the President, would say things about Tillman's death that the investigation would likely contradict, and he seemed to want those officials to keep silent, basically saying "There is a suspicion that his death was from friendly fire, but the Army is investigating and we shouldn't comment until that investigation is finished." That other general who dodged the committee hearing ought to find a good lawyer, if he hasn't already. He's retired, but he'll likely lose a star anyway, and have his pension reduced. That doesn't happen very often.

The CNN/Youtube debate was held at the Citadel, so no suprise about cadets being in the audience. Kucinich's attitude towards the military and defense matters in general can be summed up as the "Neville Chamberlain" approach. He went to Baghdad in early '03, and when he returned, practically sang Saddam's praises with a couple of other liberal congresscritters. When someone wants to gut the defense budget in the times we live in post 9-11, like Kucinich wants to do, he's either naive or soft in the head. And he wants to release the full rescue video, without concealing the faces of the SEALs or other SF personnel on the mission. Anyone wanting to "out" SF personnel like that, just to make political points, needs their head examined.

[tekteam26]

The P4 memo seems to indicate that Gen. McChrystal was worried that senior officers and politicians up to and including the President, would say things about Tillman's death that the investigation would likely contradict, and he seemed to want those officials to keep silent, basically saying "There is a suspicion that his death was from friendly fire, but the Army is investigating and we shouldn't comment until that investigation is finished." That other general who dodged the committee hearing ought to find a good lawyer, if he hasn't already. He's retired, but he'll likely lose a star anyway, and have his pension reduced. That doesn't happen very often.

The CNN/Youtube debate was held at the Citadel, so no suprise about cadets being in the audience. Kucinich's attitude towards the military and defense matters in general can be summed up as the "Neville Chamberlain" approach. He went to Baghdad in early '03, and when he returned, practically sang Saddam's praises with a couple of other liberal congresscritters. When someone wants to gut the defense budget in the times we live in post 9-11, like Kucinich wants to do, he's either naive or soft in the head. And he wants to release the full rescue video, without concealing the faces of the SEALs or other SF personnel on the mission. Anyone wanting to "out" SF personnel like that, just to make political points, needs their head examined.

It seems that once again, the media has created a perception of wrongdoing on the part of the Pentagon when the facts of Corporal Tillman's chain of command trying to properly investigate what really happened were ignored by the mainstream media's portrayal of events. The media did the same thing with Jessi. Of course, in both cases, certain politicians with an agenda have worked to push the same misleading perception of how the military investigated what happened. I'm not saying that the Pentagon can do no wrong, especially since many of the facts of Jessi's capture and captivity have been suppressed by the Pentagon (32 out of 34 pages of Jessi's debriefing deleted from the 15-6 investigation report for example). But the media and politicians have a bad habit of telling only the information that promotes their agenda while leaving out significant elements that refutes it.

I will get to see this war in a much more intimate manner than most people. I have been called to active duty and will be in Baghdad in two months. I am thankful that the vast majority of Americans still support the troops. I just hope that they understand the necessity of the mission as well, in spite of what the media and certain short-sighted politicians have been saying.

[Dilligafst]

Tek:

Though I have never yet been able to understand what the mission in Iraq (versus Afghanistan) exactly is, I wish you the best, if those are the right words to describe it, and hope that you will make it through unharmed and come back to your home where you belong. I know this may seem inadequate. I've said good-bye to so many friends these last few years. With luck, Tek, you will never have to go "over there" again.