AP: Gen. tried to warn Bush on Tillman

[rodeodance]

Source: AP

AP: Gen. tried to warn Bush on Tillman

By SCOTT LINDLAW, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 6 minutes ago

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Just seven days after Pat Tillman's death, a top general warned there were strong indications that it was friendly fire and
President Bush might embarrass himself if he said the NFL star-turned-soldier died in an ambush, according to a memo obtained by The Associated Press.


It was not until a month afterward that the
Pentagon told the public and grieving family members the truth — that Tillman was mistakenly killed in
Afghanistan by his comrades.
......
In a memo sent to a four-star general a week after Tillman's April 22, 2004, death, then-Maj. Gen. Stanley McChrystal warned that it was "highly possible" the Army Ranger was killed by friendly fire. McChrystal made it clear his warning should be conveyed to the president.

"I felt that it was essential that you received this information as soon as we detected it in order to preclude any unknowing statements by our country's leaders which might cause public embarrassment if the circumstances of Cpl. Tillman's death become public," McChrystal wrote on April 29, 2004, to Gen. John Abizaid, head of Central Command.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070331/ap_on_re_us/tillman_friendly_fire;_ylt=AvzBQ7qo1DtGnRJujRdV6Zes0NUE

---

this is your Friday night news dump

[rodeodance]

1. KO did a good segment on this tonight.

[rodeodance]

2. Countdown Friday: The Tillman Cover Up:

http://thenewshole.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/03/30/107710.aspx

Was Bush Warned? A week after Tillman's death, a month before anyone told Tillman's family, a startling memo from April 2004 surfaces tonight. It's from a Major General, to General John Abizaid, warning him to warn the President: do not refer to how Tillman died, it was "highly possible" he died from "friendly fire." Two days later, in his speech about Tillman, President Bush made no reference to how the Army Ranger was killed.

[rodeodance]

3. k

[rodeodance]

4. Left Radio is talking of this now

[Doctor_J]

5. At ths point, how could Smirk possibly embarrass himself?

he is completely shameless

[rodeodance]

19. ah, one MORE!

[Vidar]

6. Bush and the ruth seldom travel the same roads.

[TacticalPeek]

7. What did the so-called president know, and when did he know it?

Harsh interrogations methods have been authorized by the powers that be.

[rodeodance]

39. I can understand holding it a few days but as C-in C--he has the

duty to demand the information be out!!(as soon as an investigatation is held--which he should have ordered up right away).

[Divine Discontent]

8. used his blood spilling

despite it being sadly from FF, for a bump in the polls and a "nationalist" feeling to breed in the nation's hearts, to enable their war mongering... :(

right wing moralist have no problem with this however..

www.cafepress.com/warisprofitable <<-- check it out, top '08 stuff!

[El Duderino]

9. as much as Clinton made my skin crawl

At least he didn't have a godammed scandal every other day coming out. Monica? in the great scheme of things, who gives a shit.

[Divine Discontent]

10. I take it you mean the way you thought of Clinton's

private life and his behaviors made you feel that way. Yeah, outside of that he was a great pres, too bad he let his moral compass slide concerning respecting the oval office... but, when you think about it, B&sh shits on the constitution every frigging day, so there's no comparison. At least you respected that Clinton tried to make this country better for all, right? Oh, and welcome to DU!

[lefador]

12. Clinton made my skin crawl too...

...but for a different reason, I always thought that his policies were to the left of Nixon's, and that just meant the country had become so conservatively brainwashed after Reagan/Bush I that everything had shifted so much to the right, that what was considered "liberal" nowadays could have been labeled "moderate conservative" a few years back.

I would have appreciated if Clinton's had just been able to say "this is a matter between my wife and me, so bugger off" and be done with it since the very beginning. But no... he had to be the political animal and pull that whole BS.

Anyhow, when I see scandal after scandal it doesn't make me yearn for the Clinton years... it just makes me yearn for a real opposition party that would not be afraid of calling a spade a spade. I am tired of politeness and having liberal politicians having to walk on eggshells because they may say something not nice about the current bunch of turds in the government. While the right can get away with calling my kind "traitors" and using "liberal" like it was something to be ashamed of.

Excuse my attrocious grammar... need to get some sleep. :-)

[truth2power]

23. Thank you. I concur with your last paragraph...

Clinton did his part to sell us out, too. NAFTA. Consolidation of the media etc.

Excuse please...I don't want to make this a sub-thread. But, just sayin'.. :)

[RedSock]

35. not me

i hated many of his policies ... he could have as much sex with whoever he wanted ... i didn't care

clinton was able to do something ronald reagan only dreamed about -- abolish the guarantee of welfare to all americans. why so many DUers think he walks on water is beyond me.

[annabanana]

20. Welcome to DU!

I hope you stay and read plenty of stuff. There is very little real information coming out on what some people consider "left-leaning" news. I know that this story is generating traffic that might not have found the Democratic Underground otherwise.

[19jet54]

11. Copy of the Memo

0 292234Z APR 04
FM TASK FORCE
TO RUCAACC/USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB PL//CDR//
INFO RUCQSAS/USSOCOM FP MACDILL AFB FL//CDR//
RUERHNB/CDRUSASOC FT BRAGG NC//CDR
RUEPVBT/TASK FORCE
BT
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX PERSONAL FOR CDR USCENTCOM CDR
USSCOM CDR USASOC
DELIVER DURING NORMAL DUTY HOURS XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
DO NOT TRANSMIT VIA OPINTEL BROADCAST
OPER/OEF//
MSGID/GENADMIN/TASK FORCE //
SUBJ/P4 CONCERNING INFORMATION ON CORPORAL TILLMANS DEATH//

RMKS/SIR, IN THE AFTERMATH OF CORPORAL PATRICK TILLMAN’S UNTIMELY YET HEROIC DEATH IN AFGHANISTAN ON 22 APRIL 04, IT IS ANTICIPATED THAT A 15-6 INVESTIGATION NEARING COMPLETION WILL FIND THAT IT IS HIGHLY POSSIBLE THAT CORPORAL TILLMAN WAS KILLED BY FRIENDLY FIRE.
THIS POTENTIAL FINDING IS EXACERBATED BY THE UNCONFIRMED BUT SUSPECTED REPORTS THAT POTUS AND THE SECRETARY OF THE ARMY MIGHT INCLUDE COMMENTS ABOUT CORPORAL TILLMAN’S HEROISM AND HIS APPROVED SILVER STAR MEDAL IN SPEECHES CURRENTLY BEING PREPARED, NOT KNOWING THE SPECIFICS SURROUNDING HIS DEATH.
THE POTENTIAL THAT HE MIGHT HAVE BEEN KILLED BY FRIENDLY FIRE IN NO WAY DETRACTS FROM HIS WITNESSED HEROIS OR THE RECOMMENDED PERSONAL DECORATION FOR VALOR IN THE FACE OF THE ENEMY. CORPORAL TILLMAN WAS KILLED IN A COMPLICATED BATTLESPACE GEOMETRY INVOLVING TWO SEPARATE RANGER VEHICLE SERIALS TRAVERSING THROUGH SEVERE TERRAIN ALONG A WINDING 500-600 FOOT DEFILE IN WHICH FRIENDLY FORCES WERE FIRED UPON BY MULTIPLE ENEMY POSITIONS. CORPORAL TILLMAN DISEMBARKED FROM HIS VEHICLE, AND IN SUPPORT OF HIS FELLOW RANGERS AND DEMONSTRATING GREAT CONCERN FOR THEIR WELFARE OVER CARE FOR HIS OWN SAFETY ENTERED THE ENEMY KILL-ZONE INTO WHICH BOTH ENEMY AND FRIENDLY FIRE IMPACTED. I FELT THAT IT WAS ESSENTIAL THAT YOU RECEIVED THIS INFORMATION AS SOON AS WE DETECTED IT IN ORDER TO PRECLUDE ANY UNKNOWING STATEMENTS BY OUR COUNTRY’S LEADERS WHICH MIGHT CAUSE PUBLIC EMBARRASSMENT IF THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF CORPORAL TILLMAN’S DEATH BECOMES PUBLIC.//
DECL/DERI:DRV. FROM XXXXXXX/-
/INSTXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX//
DT

CLASSIFIED BY: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
REASON XXXXXXXXXXXX
DECLASSIFY ON: XXX

[renate]

32. thanks so much for going to all the trouble of typing this out for us

(I'm guessing that you didn't cut and paste because of the smiley face at the end that probably wasn't in the original!)

Where'd you find it?

Thanks again!

[19jet54]

34. That's Classified...

... and if I told you, then you would have to disappear forever :sarcasm: :rofl:

[WePurrsevere]

38. The "odd" phantom smilie probably happened by accident...

if he did a C&P. Goodness knows I've had to edit to remove a phantom smilie gif a time or two (or 12;)) myself.

As you may know boards like this use certain cues to generate smilie gifs. My SWAG is that it's supposed to look like this only w/o the space between the colon and the D... : DRV. As you probably know if you put the colon and the D together normally on this board (as well as many others) the board program will generate the grin gif. :D

[Canuckistanian]

37. Whoa, that looks official

Link, perhaps?

No, wait. Keep your sources confidential.

Thanks!

on edit: Welcome to DU!
:toast:
:hi:

[Pachamama]

13. He knew...and yet like on so many things, he chose to lie....

Absolutely despicable....Bush really isn't even good enough to shine the boots on any one of our soldiers....

I hope the Tillman family gets their congressional hearing and investigations into this matter and that Bush and all his collaborators are exposed....

May Pat have his justice. :patriot:

[tblue37]

28. It's like when he was warned not to use the 16 words in the SOTUS. (eom)

[rodeodance]

14. says 'review of records' says Bush not receive memo--But did

someone tell him???



White House spokesman Blain Rethmeier said Friday that a review of records turned up no indication that the president had received McChrystal's warning. Rethmeier emphasized that the president often pays tribute to fallen soldiers without mentioning the exact circumstances of their deaths.

The Tillman family has charged that the military and the Bush administration deliberately deceived his relatives and the nation to avoid turning public opinion against the war.

Tillman's mother, Mary, had no immediate comment Friday on the newly disclosed memo.

The memo was provided to the AP by a government official who requested anonymity because the document was not released as part of the Pentagon's official report into the way the Army brass withheld the truth. McChrystal was the highest-ranking officer accused of wrongdoing in the report, issued earlier this week.

In his memo, McChrystal said he had heard Bush and Brownlee "might include comments about Cpl. Tillman's heroism and his approved Silver Star medal in speeches currently being prepared, not knowing the specifics surrounding his death."

[rodeodance]

15. of course he knew-the explanation above is just Stupid

[Arkansas Granny]

16. If he didn't know, it just points out the incompetence of his staff.

I'm more inclined to think that he didn't care about the truth and he really didn't think that it would come out.

[truth2power]

25. Dammit!!! I am getting SO sick of this...

They use the same friggin' excuse over and over and over again.

Condi didn't know. Gonzo didn't know. Bush didn't know. NOBODY KNOWS ANYTHING!!! This has been going on ever since that blivet set foot in the WH. And they always get a pass on every crime they commit because, well, "they just didn't know". That makes it ok.

Isn't there anyone willing to stand up and say that, aside from their many crimes, if the communication is so poor then they're incompetent to be leading this nation. How many do-overs do they get???

:rant:

[Lord Balto]

29. But they really *don't* know!

The country is really being run from the corporate offices of
Exxon and Halliburton. Bush and Cronies, Inc., are just
following orders. Like good little Nazis.

[truth2power]

42. You have a point. It's possible that even Cheney

is taking his orders from higher up. Keerist!! What a fscking mess this country's in. :banghead:

[curiousdemo]

17. Just like everything else,

the decider have his head in the sand again. This lowlife thug doesn't care about anyone except Barney and Laura. This loser is a Tragedy.

I'm :crazy: :crazy: :crazy: :crazy:, somebody help me..

[rodeodance]

18. Abizaid got the memo also but says his office did not return the call.

[noel711]

21. So much for the late Friday 'news dump...'

Wonder how long that memo was hidden until now....

And why NOW, and not later...?

The mind is frenzied with possibilities...

[weezy2736]

33. It's much better for them

to have a minor scandal now and again. Their ship can only sink so many times.

[PinkyisBlue]

22. I wish they would find out why Tillman's diary and personal effects were destroyed.

Is that commonly done after a soldier dies in war?

[rodeodance]

24. no, everything is saved-and sent home (well not the toothpaste)

[Dhalgren]

27. Right. There can be no justification for the destruction of Tillman's personal papers.

This is a serious breech of procedure and "accident" at this point just won't cut it...

[Zambero]

26. With Bush, appearances mean everything

Reality means nothing. It's all about political gamesmanship, and playing to the base. "Mission Accomplished" -- they say it is, therefore it is. Bullshit. What the public truly needs to know is kept top secret in a clandestine closed-government stance, such as Cheney's energy task force, and details surrounding the awarding of no-bid gov't contracts in the billions. Iraq will be (already is in fact) Bush's Achilles heel -- what was intended to enshrine him in glory has exposed his administration as a gang of inept liars and crooks who would sell out this country and endanger the entire world to stay in power and enrich the privileged few at the expense of everyone else.

[DanWithAngel]

30. did his family want this story brought up and all this attention?

or did someone else decide to take matters into their own hands? the family should have 100% say in what is plastered all over the news about their loved ones.

[rodeodance]

41. His mother had suspicions she was not being told the whole

story. Once this was out-the media took over (celebrity thing).

[benld74]

31. Hel he couldn't even read My Pet Goat, how the hell could he read the memo

or listen to ANYONE who spoke the truth for that matter!

[Canuckistanian]

36. Disgusting

If there was any doubt that the troops were used as political theater, this myth should be demolished by now.

IIRC, there were "rumors" that the Tillman death was not quite the heroic or "noble" act that was advertised.

[rodeodance]

40. IT seems Tillman was used as a war prop by the Admin!