Congress Announces Second Hearing On Tillman Cover Up
As noted on Friday, Chairman Henry Waxman and Ranking Republican Tom Davis of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee wrote letters to White House Counsel Fred Fielding, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, and RNC Chairman Mike Duncan requesting further documents regarding the handling of information surrouding the death of Army Ranger Specialist Patrick Tillman.[..]
On Wednesday, August 1, 2007, at 10:00 a.m. in 2154 Rayburn House Office Building, the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform will hold a hearing entitled "The Tillman Fratricide: What the Leadership of the Defense Department Knew." The hearing will examine what senior Defense Department officials knew about U.S. Army Corporal Patrick Tillman's death by fratricide.
On Friday, July 13, Chairman Waxman and Ranking Minority Member Tom Davis sent letters to the White House and the Department of Defense objecting to the withholding of documents related to the death of Corporal Tillman, who was killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan in 2004. Chairman Waxman also wrote the Republican National Committee to request communications about Corporal Tillman's death by White House officials using e-mail accounts controlled by the RNC. (See also here)
WHO: The following witnesses are invited to testify:
- The Honorable Donald Rumsfeld
Former Secretary of Defense
- Gen. Richard B. Myers (Retired)
Former Chair, Joint Chiefs of Staff
- Gen. John P. Abizaid (Retired)
Former Commander, U.S. Central Command
- Gen. Bryan Douglas Brown (Retired)
Former Commander, U.S. Special Operations Command
- Lt. Gen. Philip R. Kensinger, Jr. (Retired)
Former Commander, U.S. Special Operations Command
- Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal
Commander, Joint Special Operations Command
It will be," I don't recall." The shortests memeories of any administration.
I hope we can finally get to the bottom of this. The memory holers have no shame
Glad to see they didn't try to give this hearing some kind of sunshine-y Orwellian name. Call it want it is and get some answers. We owe the Tillmans that much at least.
What e-mails? The ones that vanished?
Rumsfeld: "Congressman Waxman, as I articulated during my tenure as Defense secretary, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns - the ones we don't know we don't know.
"I would only add one caveats to my earlier analysis -- you can't handle the truth. Thank you for this opportunity to testify."
Waxman: "Thank you, Mr. Secretary. I would add two more caveats -- there is obstruction, and there is perjury.
"Sergeant-at-arms, remand the secretary to custody in House security quarters until further notice."
we cant get any of the criminals behind bars for massive breaches in trust against the American people and the world, so maybe they'll toss us a few crumbs and put a Captain or Colonel on trial. Is this supposed to make me feel as though some justice has been done? (hoooray if something comes out of this, But - we invaded an innocent country, killed hundreds of thousands and made a huge F-ing mess. Our government is full of corrupt moronic asswipes, our ecenomy is waaay uncertain and all the major domestic issues are nowhere near being taken care of. What the hell is wrong with Americans and what the hell is it going to take for you people to do something significant? Stop paying your taxes, get a group of 100 together and write your congressman everyday for a month straight. Do something!
Did Congressional Hearings always have titles that sounded like the first slide on a high school PowerPoint presentation? I'm glad we're having these hearings, but I don't remember there ever being long-winded, coloned titles to hearings in the past.
I'm sure their Alzheimers will kick in the day of the hearings...I have an idea...instead of Inviting them to come to the hearing why not subpoena them, is that too much to ask?
Case @ 7:
Good! I hope they grill those men hard. I can understand a politician like Rumsfool covering up a incident but its an entirely different matter when your own senior commanders do it. Maybe Tillman's death, the following cover up and all the lies that were told to get us into Iraq in the first place are starting to sink in with the military. We might already be seeing it in regards to the military's presidential campaign contributions. Now, this is just a Republican military campaign contribution list but it is still telling. Hands down thus far, the military is contributing to the anti-war Republican candidate Ron Paul. I think that says a lot about what the military thinks about The Republicans in general. I would love to see one for the Democrats. I bet that one is even more telling than this one.
Military support for the republican candidates
Percentages**:
49.5% Ron Paul
34.6% McCain
7.0% Romney
4.6% Giuliani
2.0% Hunter
2.3% Others
http://thespinfactor.com/thetruth/2007/07/16/military-support-for-the-re...
hey On-The-Clock, I have that book of Rumsfeld's poetry and haiku too!
How can we find out anything if (1) the paper and email trails have been destroyed, (2) everyone just lies with impunity or (3) nobody can recall anything? Everything seems so hopeless sometimes. Except for the 2008 election.
Too bad they wanted Tillman all over the MSM for thier propaganda machine. Then when they found out the truth, they STFU faster than the speed of light, hoping no one would care anymore.
Strawberry @ 9:
Let's try that again shall we? We pick names like that to explain things to the 26%ers using itty bitty words. Repugs use terms like Clear Skies, Clean Coal Technology or Patriot Act to try and pull the wool over the eyes of the 26%ers.
Che's Lounge @ 12:
There's been a lot of talk that he was killed because he was becoming vocal about his anti-war stance. Can't have a dissenting poster boy.
Let's hope that some of these military men are honorable enough to show up and tell the truth. Tillman was a hero, not because of the way he died but because he sacrificed his NFL career for his country. What they did to him was a fucking crime.
bush/cheney don't want any info out because they will be implemented in this scandal as enemy combattants. why make this worse by declaring "executive privilege"? is it to cover up this is another alleged ploy by these two to keep the war going?
I think Tillman's family needs to picket the White House or camp out on Georgie's doorstep in Crawford, ala Cindy Sheehan!
Pat Tillman's murder it the key to undoing this administration.
That RNC mail server must be chock full of useful information. Too bad it’s not the Democratic mail server. We would have had this info long ago. By hook or by crook.
Who cares what the title is. Let's see what the results are. They covered up the death of Pat Tillman. They covered up the reason he died and went to war. What the hell else are they covering up and lying to us about. The reason we went into Afghanistan and Iraq in the first place? They are both oil rich nations that people would've loved to go into with reason or not.
Investigate. Impeach. Honor the family of Pat Tillman.
And I hope his family chooses to make news about this as well.
Ronin Tetsuro @ 14:
This is exactly what I'm leading to believe from this corrupt chicken hawk greedy ass administration of losers. Fight for the country like Pat Tillman did, wherever it leads to. He won't be forgotten.
This whole situation regarding executive privilege regarding Tillman is appalling...
The events surrounding Tillman's death needs to be clarified...
This man sacrificed his life willingly...
And his family deserves the truth...
At best, this will lead to a slap on the wrist for some assistant deputy of defense or something. Tillman's family deserves an honorable remembrance of their son by this nation. They don't deserve to have Tillman used for propaganda by the military or for political reasons by the Democrats in the House. Unless the House leadership can do this with amazing tact (Waxman might be right for this spot), it will come off as cheap attacks on the administration using a dead soldier as the foil.
Just my two cents, and I don't mean to rip on the Democrats. This whole war (or each of them) is such a waste.
bush/cheney support for the troops
retire the disenting generals
execute the disenting lower ranks
hide the evidence by executive privilege
what a losing bunch of bastards that NEVER SERVED OUR COUNTRY.
I am so grateful to the Tillman family for sticking it out. They could have just given up due to sorrow, respect for the military information or seeing their loved one so honored. Thanks to this tough as nails family we are closer to rooting out the corruptors of our democratic government. The Tillman family and every official and citizen that are working for the truth have my whole-hearted support.
23 Old Billy Says: (read for yourself)
Let's get it right old billy, it's the repugs who have lied and covered up tillman's death.
it's the democrats that want to bring the truth to a clear day.
After seeing what Bush-league and the other traitors did to this brave guy, I will never have one ounce of respect for any repug.
How many defferments did Cheney buy?
The Honorable Donald Rumsfeld
Former Secretary of Defense
Honorable???? WTF is so "Honorable" about Rumsfield???
americahatesearth @ 6:
for the love of God, yes! this should be posted at the beginning of every single article on this site. bitch as much as you want here, but for the love of god, put down the mouse and DO SOMETHING REAL. If henry david thoreau, if the peasants of the french revolution, if the founding fathers could still speak, there would be a resounding "FINALLY SOMEONE SPEAKS SENSE AROUND HERE" echoing through your brains. thank you, AmericaHatesEarth. quite the appropos name, I might add.
You can start with this message.
http://myfightfordemocracy.blogspot.com/2007/07/new-declaration-of-indep...
We Canucks think Tillman was a hero to.
Isn't it illegal for the WH to be using the RNC for email. There's got to be some law against that down there.
BTW. You Dem's are doing a heck of a good job. Almost all of us up here are rooting for you. Remember you gotta swing those middle of the road folks over to Democrat so be careful. I'd guess about 20% of the folks that voted for numbnuts King Geo. last time are realy Dems. Don't insult them too much and your Dem candidate will have one sweeping kick-ass victory for Pres. Then I can stop my worries about my good neighbours to the south and get back talking to my loons and moose. xoxo
This is what I heard. Tillman was killed by friendly fire. I also heard he was shot 3 times in the face. No one else was injured.
Friendly fire in his face?
Time for the Tillman family to go back on ESPN.
More stonewalling.
Pat Tillman was shot and killed on purpose by one of his fellow soldiers.
I don't think there's an American outside of Bush's inner sanctum who, at least knowing the truth, wouldn't view this event as anything but a national disgrace.
Pat Tillman, the guy who just wanted to be another soldier, didn't want to be glorified, didn't even want the public to know he was over there, was in the end held up as a martyr, used as propaganda.
Which would have been sickening, even without knowing he was killed by friendly fire--AND THEY KNEW IT.
How is it so easy to see the face of evil in everyone but your own leaders?
Make them explain how info on Tillman's death can be held back. Ask them over and over and over. What are you hiding? We should all be asking our representatives that. And with that, Seevee left his favorite board to go fire off an angry email.
Should email this in, but just stumbled on it.
Guardian Video: Inside the surge
The Guardian's award-winning photographer and filmmaker Sean Smith spent two months embedded with US troops in Baghdad and Anbar province. His harrowing documentary exposes the exhaustion and disillusionment of the soldiers.
From CNN:
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The last soldier to see Army Ranger Pat Tillman alive, Spc. Bryan O'Neal, told lawmakers that he was warned by superiors not to divulge -- especially to the Tillman family -- that a fellow soldier killed Tillman.
O'Neal particularly wanted to tell fellow soldier Kevin Tillman, who was in the convoy traveling behind his brother at the time of the 2004 incident in Afghanistan.
"I wanted right off the bat to let the family know what had happened, especially Kevin, because I worked with him in a platoon and I knew that he and the family all needed to know what had happened," O'Neal testified. "I was quite appalled that when I was actually able to speak with Kevin, I was ordered not to tell him."
Asked who gave him the order, O'Neal replied that it came from his battalion commander, then-Lt. Col. Jeff Bailey.
"He basically just said ... 'Do not let Kevin know, that he's probably in a bad place knowing his brother's dead,' " O'Neal told House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Henry Waxman. "And he made it known I would get in trouble, sir, if I spoke with Kevin on it being fratricide."
The military instead released a "manufactured narrative" detailing how Pat Tillman died leading a courageous counterattack in an Afghan mountain pass, Kevin Tillman told the committee. (Watch Kevin Tillman accuse the military of lying Video)
Remember, Jessica Lynch was Bush admin "fake news", too. VNR's: Video News Releases by the Bush administration to your local news, and they don't tell you it's fake news. Lookup VNR's video news releases. The GAO said it's "propaganda"!
Wise_Fool @ 29:
americahatesearth@6
Are you a Canadian? Ha-ha! Your remedies for this situation are PRECISE hopefully it won't take the initiating of Martial Law to make it happen. Then again, we can taste martial law in the wind, which would be of course to smack the american people back down again. Believe me, many millions of people are aware as never before. We are in a state of shock that our rights and constitution can be torn away like a spiderweb, and that elections can be stolen out from under us. Two elections.
That anyone in office can just REFUSE to obey laws of the office by just saying NO.
That our Supreme Court can be stacked with blatant political HACKS.
The democrats are going for everything they can now, indictments galore. At this time impeachment will be voted against because of a need for 60% majority.
We too are heartened by the efforts of the dems, finally.
What is also the real tragedy of Tillman, is that he bought the story and volunteered.
This whole Tillman thing is mind blowingly pathetic.And it should be at the top of the list of indictments against this (mis)administration if and when we conjure the balls/votes to impeach these mofos.
I saw parts of the first investigation. He was murdered by U.S. soldiers, and it wasn't friendly.
Oh for Pete's sake:
"Chairman Waxman also wrote the Republican National Committee to request communications about Corporal Tillman’s death by White House officials using e-mail accounts controlled by the RNC."
Do they ACTUALLY THINK their request will be answered? Lets send the mafia a stern letter requesting they tell us where their money is laundered. Those email accounts are ILLEGAL. If congress wants the evidence they needed to prosecute the crime and seize the servers. No they just keep sending "requests" while the hard drives or entire servers are replaced and destroyed. It is effing ridiculous.
You know, it really saddens me, and makes me sick - Tillman was a guy who had a comfortable life, and didn't have to go join up, but he did, because he believed in serving his country. And what did he get for being an American? Shot and killed by a fellow American. And does the leader of this country want to find out what happened, a man who has said if anyone under him commits a crime he wants to know, and will deal with such people? Nah, he covers it up. He started the war to get people like Tillman to fight for his misguided ideas, and when Tillman gets killed, by his own troops, then it's a cover up, don't release the documents. It's a fucking travesty, and this rodeo clown and his cronies should all go to jail. I can't imagine what the Tillman family is going through, but if they needed anything, I'd do my damndest to get it to them. Fuck Bush.
The military instead released a "manufactured narrative" detailing how Pat Tillman died... Necessary Illusions.
This alone should be grounds for impeachment!
His folks ought to get together with CINDY SHEEHAN and push impeachment to fruition!
The "honorable" donald rumsfeld?
I just threw up in my mouth a little.
This is how our government treats soldiers and their families. Lies, deceit, cover-up, disrespect. Just when you think they've done enough crap to this family, they do more.
Court of Progressive Justice @ 48:
http://www.truthcult.com/cindy_sheehan
Every day this criminal administration continues to unravel more & more on its slide toward impeachment.
The Ho
norrrible Donald RumsfeldBetter?
We don't have habeas corpus or due process anymore. Can we just line these people up against a wall and shoot them if they don't talk? Can I water board Rumsfeld I really want to waterboard Rumsfeld. I want want to take pictures of his shriveled genitals and laugh at him. Does he have any kids I really want to force him to perform sexual acts on his children. I'll take photos and send them to the smirking chimp. Monkey boy can masturbate to them and then hold a news conference and unconvincingly tell people we don't torture. I'll tell Rush that it was all like a fraternity hazing. He'll understand.
23 Old Billy, don't you worry a bit the Tillman family they are one hundred percent in support of this. So ,don't you cry no GOP crocodile tears with your disingenuous concern for the Tillmans. Instead just take your paid pumper ass down the pike and try to fool someone else with your amoral and repulsive fake concern.
yeranalyst @ 55:
You don't know what you're talking about regarding my concerns.
The fact is that we can make the president or his underlings look bad with an investigation of Tillman's death. If we investigate crimes that we know he has committed (like the NSA warrantless wiretapping), we can impeach him.
A key fact to add to the Tillman cover-up is that - right in the middle of the brouhaha - "60 Minutes" ran its first story about Abu Ghraib. Tillman was killed on 22 April. The Abu Ghraib story ran on 28 April. On April 29, the famous "P4" memo was sent to the White House. The point is that, in the middle of what was to become the most damaging story to the Bush Administration, they certainly weren't going to reveal anything even close to the truth about Tillman's fratricide. The notion that now - some three years later - they're claiming 'executive privilege' is truly, truly jaw-dropping in its audacity and sheer obscenity.
"Invited to testify."
I'm sure that will work.
RMHK @ 32:
"friendly-fire" what an oxy-moron!!
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