Second Soldier Alleges Former Tillman Commander Ordered "360 Rotational Fire" in Iraq

[Hissyspit]

http://www.truth-out.org/second-soldier-alleges-former-tillman-commander-ordered-360-rotational-fire-iraq63153

"Both McCord and Stieber say they saw their mission as a plan to "out-terrorize the terrorists," in order to make the general populace more afraid of the Americans than they were of insurgent groups."

Second Soldier Alleges Former Tillman Commander Ordered "360 Rotational Fire" in Iraq
Sunday 12 September 2010
by: Ralph Lopez, t r u t h o u t | Report

Another former soldier of Bravo Company 2-16 (2nd Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment) has said in a radio interview that a controversial battalion commander ordered soldiers to open fire on civilians in an indiscriminate pattern of "360 rotational fire," upon being hit by an improvised explosive device (IED). The interview took place last month with Scott Horton of AntiWar.com Radio. The commander in question is the same commander who led the first of many investigations into the death of NFL football star Pat Tillman in Afghanistan, in 2004, and was one of Tillman's commanding officers. A documentary on what the Pentagon has said was a "friendly fire" incident has just been released, "The Tillman Story." In the interview with Horton, Spc. Josh Stieber said that he witnessed the street massacres, which resulted when the order was carried out "maybe five to ten times."

The first soldier to reveal the order, Spc. Ethan McCord, told World Socialist Website News reporter Bill Van Auken last April that the commander, Lt. Col. Ralph Kauzlarich, told his men in different settings and at various times that they were to have a new "S.O.P." (standard operating procedure) whenever an IED went off. At that time, in early 2007, the Bush "surge" was just getting underway, and IED attacks and troop deaths had risen sharply. McCord told Van Auken: "He goes, 'If someone in your line gets hit with an IED, 360 rotational fire. You kill every motherf*cker on the street.'" McCord said that he had also witnessed the order carried out, saying: "I've seen it many times, where people are just walking down the street and an IED goes off and the troops open fire and kill them."

High-level orders to kill civilians in the context of retaliation for attacks on forces have already been successfully prosecuted as a war crime...

- snip -

Both Stieber and McCord have said that a number of soldiers in Bravo Company refused to carry out Kauzlarich's order to kill civilians, and agreed among themselves that they would fire into the rooftops of buildings instead. McCord told Van Auken in his April, "you couldn't just disobey orders to shoot, because they could just make your life hell in Iraq." In describing reaction among soldiers to hearing the order, McCord has said, "a lot of soldiers wouldn't do that."

- snip -

Tillman's mother, Mary Tillman, confirms that he had an appointment with Dr. Chomsky, which Chomsky also confirms, upon his return to the states. Some speculate that Tillman may have been considering going public against the Iraq war, at a time when it was going badly and calls were growing for the impeachment of George Bush. ... Kevin Tillman, Pat's brother, who had also enlisted after 911 and was with him in Afghanistan, recounted in a 2006 open letter on the anniversary of Tillman's death, "How fighting as a soldier would leave us without a voice ... until we got out."

- snip -

Lt. Col. Kauzlarich, a born-again Christian, came under fire after he likened Tillman's alleged atheist beliefs as akin to being "worm dirt" when you are dead. In an interview with ESPN, as an explanation for why the Tillman family continued to pursue the case, Kauzlarich, dubbed "Col. K" by his men, offered that it was because they did not believe in an afterlife. He said: "When you die, I mean, there is supposedly a better life, right? Well, if you are an atheist and you don't believe in anything, if you die, what is there to go to? Nothing. You are worm dirt."

MORE

[proud2BlibKansan]

1. I read the book this summer

It's a must read. Anyhow, the way they are playing the distribution game for the movie means we will all have to wait for the DVD before we see it. So the book is the next best thing.

Tillman was also brought in as window dressing for that idiotic Jessica Lynch 'rescue'.

Very important story. Thanks hissy! :hi: