[lanieer416]

Lynch to Testify
Jessica to testify on April 24th regarding "Misleading Info from the Battlefield". She will testify as well as Tillman family members.

[Dilligafst]

It should be interesting. She's spent her life since then trying to undo the damage from all those misleading accounts that she had no part in and were framed about her when she was helpless to do anything about them. Wonder what will happen.

[Matt Wiser]

It should be interesting to watch: normally I don't pay much attention to C-Span, but on the 24th I will make an exception. I'm surpised that this isn't being done in the Armed Services Committee, though.

[mainzman]

I don't think Jessica, the Tillman Family. or anyone for that matter will get anywhere testifying before some B.S. committee in Congress. I think it wil most likely become another "Dog and Pony Act" similar to most worthless Congressional Gatherings. As far as the military getting involved in this matter, I believe they would prefer to just to sweep the incident that happened to the 507th and Pat Tillman under the rug.

[patience]

There's another article on the Oversight Committee web page.
Henry Waxman is the chairman of the committee.
http://oversight.house.gov/story.asp?ID=1242
I'll look for the C-Span Schedule for the time of this hearing.

[mainzman]

It mentioned in the link that Patience posted that reps. from the Defense Dept. will be also testfying at the hearings. It should be "REALLY INTERESTING" what they have to say concerning Jessica and Pat Tillmans' situation. I tend NOT to believe anything that comes from the mouths of those from the Defense Dept.

[patience]

I checked with C-Span to find out if this hearing would be televised. The information I received is that their schedule for the following day is not published until the evening prior to the hearing date.
However, I also checked with the House Oversight Committee Office. I was told that their hearings are on video and they can be accessed by going to their website and clicking on:
http://oversight.house.gov/hearings.asp

and click the video you want to watch. When I checked this out, not all of the listed hearings were on video.
I was also told that the hearings could be watched live on their website the day of the hearing or at a later date, as they archive the videos.

[Matt Wiser]

One thing I've noticed in the news stories mentioning her upcoming testimony is that she was "kidnapped." Jessica was captured in a combat situation and was held as a POW, but to reporters who don't follow the military, there's no difference. If the online version of the story has the reporter's e-mail address, you might want to drop them a line and let them know otherwise.

[lanieer416]

I'm actually looking forward to Jessica and the Tillman's testimony. There are certainly enough questions regarding both the capture and rescue.

[RichardLowry]

I contacted Waxman's committee and offered to help them get the truth about what happened. I doubt seriously that they will return my emails and voice mails. This will be a witch hunt against the military.

Richard
Marines in the Garden of Eden

[Matt Wiser]

Rich, I did the same thing, offering to share the info I've developed on Jessica's POW experience. I even sent them PDFs of the 15-6 report. No reply as of yet. That youtube video of the rescue certainly raised more questions than it answered, IMHO.

[patience]

I contacted Waxman's committee and offered to help them get the truth about what happened. I doubt seriously that they will return my emails and voice mails. This will be a witch hunt against the military.

Richard
Marines in the Garden of Eden

If it is the truth they"re after, and not just some effort to get that last drop of blood, so to speak, it seems that they would welcome your valuable input. The least they can do is to invite you and Matt to the proceedings.
Keep us informed.

[mainzman]

After Jessica and the Tillman family speakes before this committee, what (if any) good will come out of it. Has the military and gov't closed the case on the 507th or have they just stuck the files in the back of some large filing cabinet in the Defense Dept. or somewhere else?

Only time will tell what the results of these hearings will be.

[Dilligafst]

I rather doubt that Waxman's committee is going to crucify the military in these testimonies. If anything, they are going after the propagandists' (for lack of a better word at the moment) that twisted both stories into something different than what they really were for all the usual reasons that they do it. In both cases the victims, one living and the other gone now, have suffered much because of the stories initially made up, or covered up, about them with a certain means to an end in mind. This is what the committee will be looking into and Jessica's testimony will, no doubt, help them.

[Matt Wiser]

You mean the PAO (Public Affairs Officer) or PR (Public Relations) types? Still, remember the Time piece on Jessica that came out when the book did? It mentions that someone heard the story of a "blond soldier who fought bravely, and she..." and then took that to the Washington Post, and we all know the rest. Some idiot jumped to conclusions, assumed that soldier was Jessica, and a legend was instantly created. Col. Heidi Brown, who commanded the 32nd Air Defense Brigade at the time, said in the 60 Minutes piece on Pat Miller that the whole thing started because an intercepted Iraqi radio transmission was mistranslated: she instead of he. We know now that person was Sgt. Donald Walters. The Time piece also mentioned a DOD staffer saying, "It was the Army looking for a hero." If it was a directed leak...Someone's got some explaining to do, regardless.

Another thing is that Jessica and the other 507th POWs might very well be under a gag order: remember the Dateline interview with the other five? They hinted strongly that they were under orders not to discuss certain aspects of their captivity. Hopefully some member of the committee will ask Jessica if there are some things about her captivity that she can't talk about because of such an order. And if she says yes, there will be some very interesting questions to be asked of DOD. Then you might see it kicked over to the Armed Services Committee.