So I watched 'The Tillman Story ' on Showtime last night. If you aren't familiar, it's the story of Pat Tillman, a former NFL football player for the Arizona Cardinals, who soon after 9/11 made the decision to enlist in the Army with his brother in order to serve as an Army Ranger.
During a second combat tour, this one in Afghanistan, Pat was killed. Initial reports from the military and news was that Tillman had led an offensive attack on Taliban forces when another part of his convoy was ambushed. It was a tragic story about a patriotic young man who left a life of professional sports to serve his country and, in turn, paid the ultimate sacrifice.
Soon after the initial story, reports started to surface that suggested that Tillman was not killed by enemy fire in the midst of combat, but that he was killed by friendly fire in the "fog of war". There was confusion all around and it ultimately cost him his life. Well, it seems like that was bullshit too. I won't go into any further details. It's easy to Google it to discover the facts or watch the movie. Suffice to say that the death of this young man was used to benefit other's agendas.
I can't tell you how pissed off this story makes me. As someone who spent 20 years serving in our military, I think this kind of shit literally spits in the face of all that serve. At the end of the day doesn't anyone who volunteers to serve their country deserve, at the very least, respect and the truth???
There is one scene when Donald Rumsfeld, among other high ranking military officials, testify in front of a House Oversight Committee. Any human being with a lick of common sense could see that these people were full of shit but everyone just seemed to turn the other cheek and pretended like all of the people responsible for this huge coverup had been punished already. It just so happens that the only person, up to that point, who has been publicly reprimanded was retired at the time. Convenient.
This just keeps playing into my continued frustration with our government and the people we elect to serve us. Where the fuck is basic common decency in this day and age? How can people that participate in this madness sleep at night? I mean there wasn't one fucking person on that committee who wanted to stand up and say "This is bullshit and the American people deserve better!"
Not only that, but a few years later, right after being put in charge of the Afghan war, Gen. Stanley McChrystal publicly apologized for his role in the Tillman coverup. "I was a part of that and I apologize for it," Army Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal told a Senate hearing.
Wait a fucking minute!! This guy admits to, at the very least, falsifying a homicide investigation and then he's rewarded with the assignment as Commander, U.S. Forces Afghanistan? Someone please tell me how this shit happens? And don't think for one second he was the only one involved in this.
To add insult to injury, President Obama recently appointed McChrystal as a co-chair of a military families commission. Some think it was a move to help patch up relations with some officers who never were happy with McChrystal's firing in 2010 following some incidents of insubordination. I seriously couldn't make this shit up.
We all, as American citizens, deserve better than that. The lack of decency by many of these people is despicable!! Maybe we should change our focus when electing our public servants. Instead of asking how they would balance the budget or their views on whatever other issue, just ask them if they are going to tell the fucking TRUTH!!! And yes, I'm pointing fingers back at our politicians. You'd have to be a fucking deaf and blind person to not know something was up and to not really push these assholes to punish all those responsible.
These people should be ashamed. I personally feel like I've been slapped in the face. Apparently service only means something to these people as long as there isn't an "angle" to play. This was the worst kind of propaganda. The people responsible for this don't have a decent bone in their damn body. It's so frustrating to see so many people get away with something as disgusting as this.
Finally, let's not all be so naive to think this is an isolated case. Pat Tillman was a high profile military service member so this story certainly had legs. How many other times do you think the military/government has gone out of their way to hide the truth of how a Soldier, Sailor, Airman or Marine is killed? When they hide the truth like this it insults my intelligence. As with many jobs in the world, military service can be dangerous. Accidents happen. Shit happens.
Just give it to us straight and stop bullshitting!
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