Pat Tillman

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Mother ----- the Whitehouse.

George W. - Go F&CK yourself.


AP: Tillman memo contradicted citation

SAN FRANCISCO - Just a day after approving a medal claiming former NFL player Pat Tillman had been cut down by "devastating enemy fire" in Afghanistan, a high-ranking general tried to warn President Bush that the story might not be true, according to testimony obtained by The Associated Press.

Despite this apparent contradiction, Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal was spared punishment in the latest review of Tillman's shooting. On Tuesday, the Army overruled a Pentagon recommendation that he be held accountable for his "misleading" actions.

In a sometimes contentious November interview under oath and via videoconference, Pentagon investigators sharply questioned McChrystal about the conflicting accounts, according to the testimony obtained by the AP under the Freedom of Information Act.

McChrystal acknowledged he had suspected several days prior to approving the Silver Star citation on April 28, 2004, that Tillman may have died by fratricide.

He said that suspicion led him to send a memo to top generals imploring "our nation's leaders," specifically "POTUS" — the acronym for the president — to avoid cribbing the "devastating enemy fire" explanation from the award citation for their speeches.

"Why did you recommend the Silver Star one day and then the next day send a secret back-channel message warning the country's leaders about using information from the Silver Star in public speeches because they might be embarrassed if they do?" an investigator asked McChrystal.

Despite numerous questions, the general never directly explained the discrepancies.

"That question seems to imply the fact that we were giving the award with one hand and then with the other hand saying it was something different," he protested. "But that's exactly the opposite of the way I felt and feel now."

McChrystal told the investigators that he believed Tillman deserved the award, and that he wanted to warn top U.S. military and political leadership that friendly fire was a possibility.

"Because I thought it was friendly fire I thought it was important that key attendees know that that theory could become the finding of the investigation, and if they were going to make a statement about 'killed by enemy fire,' it might not be certain," McChrystal said.

The "secret back-channel message" was a memo known as a P4 that McChrystal wrote on April 29, 2004, to Gen. John Abizaid, head of Central Command, and to two other generals.

The P4 noted rumors that Bush and other top officials "might include comments about Cpl. Tillman's heroism and his approved Silver Star medal in speeches." He warned that it "might cause public embarrassment" if the circumstances of Tillman's death were released.

In the Silver Star citation, McChrystal had praised Tillman for placing himself "in the line of devastating enemy fire."

Tillman's comrades who were nearby in the moments before he was killed have testified that fellow Americans were shooting at them. A few also have testified that the enemy may have been firing as well, but ineffectively. No enemy bullet, rocket or mortar appeared to come close to Tillman during his last minutes on a barren hillside in eastern Afghanistan.

McChrystal was then and remains commander of the covert Joint Special Operations Command, the military's clandestine "black ops" corps, which fights in the shadows of battles in Iraq, Afghanistan and beyond.

Among those who work with him, McChrystal is respected and admired for his leadership and integrity. He also has the trust of Bush, who — despite the secrecy of McChrystal's operation — publicly praised him last year when al-Qaida in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was killed in a U.S. airstrike.

Attempts to reach McChrystal this week by telephone and e-mail were unsuccessful. Ken McGraw, a spokesman for US Special Operations Command, said in an e-mail Friday that it would be "inappropriate" for McChrystal to comment or speculate about the punishment decisions.

McChrystal also declined an invitation to appear Wednesday before a congressional committee investigating the misinformation given to Tillman's family and the American public following his friendly fire death in Afghanistan.

Tillman's parents have been critical of the military's punishments surrounding their son's death. The Army waited about five weeks after it suspected friendly fire was involved before telling Tillman's family the true nature of his death.

McChrystal testified in a previous investigation that he had decided not to tell the Tillman family of friendly fire "based on my thought that providing incorrect information before an initial investigation was complete was not in line with normal policies." However, Army regulations require that families be notified when such an investigation is under way — not when it is completed.

Like several other officers involved in the case, McChrystal testified that he did not know about the rule.

After a year-long inquiry that ended in March, the Pentagon's acting inspector general found that McChrystal should be held "accountable for the inaccurate and misleading assertions" in the Silver Star award recommendation; and for failing to notify the officials processing the award that friendly fire was likely.

"The P4 message did not request or suggest any action to correct the information in the award recommendation package," wrote Thomas Gimble, then the Pentagon's top investigator.

Gimble recommended that the acting Army secretary "address and take action" against McChrystal and one subordinate for failing "to submit an accurate Silver Star recommendation." McChrystal was the highest-ranking of nine officers Gimble recommended be "held accountable" for their involvement in the aftermath of Tillman's death.

But the Army cast that aside Tuesday when it overruled the Pentagon's recommendation.

Another Army general, William Wallace, concluded McChrystal had behaved reasonably in assuming the supporting material presented to him for Tillman's Silver Star recommendation was accurate. The Army's statement Tuesday made no mention of McChrystal's acknowledgment under oath that he had known prior to approving the Silver Star that fratricide was a strong possibility.

Asked by a reporter at a news conference Tuesday why McChrystal did not simply call Tillman's family, Army Secretary Pete Geren said that was the job of another chain of command run by Lt. Gen. Philip R. Kensinger Jr., who then led Army special operations forces.

Kensinger, who has since retired, was censured by the Army for allegedly lying to investigators and for a "a failure of leadership."

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Army to open criminal probe of Tillman death

"Tillman's family demanded to know why his uniform and body armor were burned a day after he was killed and why they were not immediately told he might have been killed by fellow soldiers."

"A 2005 report from Brig. Gen. Gary Jones contained sworn statements from soldiers involved in the incident who said they burned the items because they had taken pictures of the scene, walked around and knew how Tillman had been killed.

Initially, Tillman's blood-covered uniform and armor were said to have been destroyed because they were considered a biohazard."

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Rumsfeld: No cover-up in Tillman's death

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Wednesday there was no evidence of a cover-up of the circumstances of Army Ranger Cpl. Pat Tillman's death.

"I know that I would not engage in a cover-up. I know that no one in the White House suggested such a thing to me," Rumsfeld testified before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which is examining what senior Defense Department officials knew about Tillman's death and when they knew it.

Rumsfeld testified that he didn't recall precisely when he learned of Tillman's death, or the possibility that it was the result of fratricide.

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'Friendlies! Cease fire!'

Tillman's platoon was on a mission in eastern Afghanistan, along the Pakistan border. His platoon was trying to flush out enemy Taliban or al Qaeda fighters. The platoon's problems began with a broken-down Humvee, which had to be towed by a local truck and was slowing the platoon.

The platoon was split into two groups, on orders of a commander at a base far away, according to Army documents. The split was ordered over the objections of the platoon leader. But the base commander was concerned that the broken vehicle was delaying the mission.

Cpl. Pat Tillman was with the first group that pressed on, moving safely through a deep canyon and arriving at a small village. The second group -- with the Humvee in tow -- included Tillman's younger brother Kevin, who enlisted with Pat after September 11.

That second convoy followed a different route but found the terrain too rugged.

So they backtracked and followed the first group deep into the narrow canyon. Although they were just a half hour back, the first group was unaware the second group was coming up behind them.

In the canyon, the second group was ambushed from above by enemy fighters. To add to the confusion, in the deep canyon, the two groups lost radio contact.

But Pat Tillman's group heard the gunfire back in the canyon and turned back to help. Tillman -- as described in his Silver Star citation -- showed great courage under fire in leading a small rifle team -- including an Afghan soldier -- to the top of a ridge to engage the enemy.

Down below, a Humvee armed with a .50-caliber machine gun and four soldiers with other weapons pulled out from behind the truck and broken Humvee.

As they emerged from the canyon, the soldiers in the vehicle were firing with an abandon that one Army investigator said demonstrated gross negligence. The soldiers later said that they thought the enemy was all around them. As they fired in all directions, they began hitting U.S. troops. The platoon leader was hit in the face and another soldier shot in the leg.

From Tillman's position up on the ridge came anguished cries of alarm. First, the Afghan soldier was shot and killed by the soldiers in the Ranger vehicle. The soldier standing alongside Tillman described what he witnessed in a sworn statement.

"A GMV [vehicle] with a .50-cal rolled into our sight and started to unload on top of us," he said.

"Tillman and I were yelling 'Stop! Stop! Friendlies! Friendlies! Cease fire!' But they couldn't hear us."

According to another sworn statement obtained by CNN, the driver of the Humvee was initially confused when he saw the Afghan soldier with Tillman on the ridge -- and then realized others in his Humvee were firing on fellow Rangers.

"I yelled twice 'We have friendlies on top!'" said the driver. "The crew must have not heard me because my vehicle opened fired on them. I screamed, 'No!' and then yelled repeatedly several times to cease fire. No one heard me."

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Pat Tillman shot and killed by his own unit, army rules

Army Spc. Patrick D. Tillman was accidentally shot and killed by members of his divided Ranger unit after part of it had been ambushed by enemy fighters in a canyon in Afghanistan, senior Defense Department and Army officials told reporters In Washington Monday.

An early unit-level report listed Tillman as being killed by hostile fire, acting defense department Inspector General Thomas Gimble told reporters at a Pentagon news conference.

However, findings of follow-on investigations showed that Tillman was the accidental victim of friendly fire, Gimble said. Yet, Tillman's parents weren't told that their son had died in that manner, he said, until a memorial service held weeks after his death.

"What should have happened (is) the moment that they d suspected fratricide, there should have been a supplemental notification that processed through (the chain of command and to Tillman s family)," Gimble said.

This situation represents "a failure to follow the directives," and it's inexplicable at this point as to why the supplemental notification wasn't made, Gimble said.

Follow-up investigations will determine why the proper notification was delayed, Gimble said. At least nine individuals, including a general, have been identified for further questioning involving this and other administrative aspects surrounding the reporting of Tillman's death, he added.

The family of Tillman however have rejected the findings. "In our opinion, this attempt to impose closure by slapping the wrists of a few officers and enlisted men is just another bureaucratic entrenchment," a family statement said. "Once again, we are being used as props in a Pentagon public relations exercise."