The First Casualty
The Truth is, proverbially, the first casualty of war. This may have never been as true as it is today. The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight has piled lie upon lie upon lie. But the really maddening thing is how the war promoters have manipulated people and facts . . . and the most maddening example of that has to be the Pat Tillman case. Tillman was the most prominent (but hardly the only) example of a patriotic American motivated to sacrifice for his country, only to have his sacrifice manipulated and betrayed. The investigation into that cover-up has now led to several letters of reprimand, including one to "human resources":
Brig. Gen. Gina Farrisee, director of military personnel management at the Pentagon, is expected to receive a letter of punishment for her involvement in the oversight of the awarding of Tillman's Silver Star.
[snip]
Farrisee's rebuke is tied to the Army recommendations that Tillman receive the Silver Star. The investigations found that Army officials were aware that Tillman probably died as a result of friendly fire, but that they moved ahead with the medal, for heroism in the face of the enemy.
The thing is, Tillman was actually heroic. But the tragedy of his death--an unnecessary, senseless death--did not fit into the military brass's preferred narrative. So they did what so many found so easy, post-9/11. They lied, and they buried the truth.
posted by Number Three @ 6:25 AM
3 Comments:
For a long while I didn't really get the Tillman story. They tried to use his death for propaganda purposes when it turns out he was killed by friendly fire. OK, that's pretty bad, but it doesn't stack up to Abu Ghraib, WMD, etc. File under: Lynch, Jessica.
But now it appears he may have actually been murdered by a fellow soldier or soldiers, and that the army systematically covered it up and then arrogantly congratulated themselves for their deceit. That turns the stomach. Even if he wasn't fragged, the blocking of an honest investigation is deeply disturbing.
De veritate non curat lex militaris.
"At the end of the day," the Pat Tillman story may be the "black energy" doppleganger of the 100% kitsch post-Reagan era . . . in the sense that Tillman was one of the rare Americans who "had it made," gave "it" up to sacrifice for his country, and ended up getting fragged. I don't know whether this story is true, but Jeebus. If it is, there's an obvious explanation for why the U.S. media is staying very, very far away from it. The irony content of the story may be 110%--which is impossible, I know, but however improbable . . .
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