Tillman's misuse has impacted us all

What a horrible story the death of Pat Tillman has become. To bring further injustice to the situation, the United States Army has chosen not to pursue criminal charges against any of the officers involved in the cover up of Pat Tillman's friendly fire death, yet their actions were nothing short of criminal. It seems like every day we learn of another breach of conduct occurring within our government, yet nobody ever seems to be held accountable. What is it going to take to truly invoke the wrath of the American citizens? I would have thought this would be enough, but our leaders continue unswayed.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070810/ap_on_re_us/tillman_friendly_fire

I don't know what's more disgusting, the fact that Tillman's death turned into a marketing venture for President Bush's misleading war, or the fact that no one is going to pay for these crimes while our leaders continue unchecked. The actions taken after Tillman's death were deliberate by our government and intentionally deceptive for a purpose. Multiple levels of authority were involved in numerous breaches of conduct, yet the bureaucratic nature of the Army and our government have made it all too easy too simply plead ignorance, free from the hand of the law.

What are we to take from the actions our government is committing, deceiving our nation of the truth and manipulating our understanding of the reality of these situations? Are the American citizens too far removed from any semblance of power to usefully make their beliefs felt, and opinions heard? What can be done to hold our leaders more accountable for their negligent actions? These questions need to be answered, and they need to become a priority to a nation which is quickly watching their basic freedoms and rights being stolen from them.

Look at the facts from this cover-up and tell me it doesn't stink of murder or a much larger conspiracy. Tillman was shot three times in the head from a distance of ten yards, making it difficult to believe that the shooter didn't know his target. Tillman's uniform was burned immediately after his death, despite the fact medical examiners immediately ruled out death by enemy fire, an obvious act to destroy evidence. Despite the fact that friendly fire was immediately suspected by Army medical examiners, Army officials did not open an investigation into Tillman's death and instead created a false account of his death, which the quote below addresses.

"He made the call. He dismounted his troops, taking the fight to the enemy, uphill, to seize the tactical high ground from the enemy. This gave his brothers and the downed vehicle time to move off that target. He directly saved their lives with that move. Pat sacrificed himself so his brothers could live."

Those were the words by Steve White, a Navy SEAL, who addressed a crowd of roughly 2,000 people on live television at Tillman's memorial service. However, those weren't really his words. White claims he was contacted by an ARMY representative shortly before giving his speech for Tillman at the memorial, and was coached on what he was to say. ESPN, of all media outlets, has done an excellent job of investigative reporting on this issue and made it into a four part series. The link is below and I recommend anybody who is the least bit concerned about this issue, and our governments operation, to fully read all the facts and become vocally active.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=tillmanpart1

The deception goes even further. Tillman was posthumously awarded a silver star in battle, an award which has never been given to a soldier killed by friendly fire. It is now being seen as a PR move by the Army, and a quote from the recommendation is as follows:

"Corporal Tillman put himself in the line of devastating enemy fire as he maneuvered his Fire Team to a covered position from which they could effectively employ their weapons on known enemy positions. While mortally wounded, his audacious leadership and courageous example under fire inspired his men to fight with great risk to their own personal safety, resulting in the enemy's withdrawal and his platoon's safe passage from the ambush kill zone."

http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070814/OPINION01/708140352/1035/OPINION

None of that occurred. Why is it we continue to allow our government officials the benefit of the doubt, especially when it is so obvious these officials are anything but honest? This whole war has been one giant deception, and still the wheels continue to churn. Our government is one giant conflict of interest, and as such, justice is not a possibility, especially when our government is suspected of wrongdoing. Tillman was effectively murdered, and our country is turning it's back on an individual who refused to turn his back on his country. Every American citizen should feel compelled to act out against this injustice. These criminals need to pay for their crimes, but our corrupted, conflicted government is above criminality. How can we be expected to defend a nation which refuses to defend it's fallen? These weren't innocent mistakes people, these were hideous acts that were intended to mislead. And in typical American fashion, capitalization was the goal. I demand more accountability from our leaders, though that will not come within our elitist run bureaucracy, as our system is inherently flawed. We need to rekindle the democracy this nation was founded on and make criminal examples of those who have operated above the law. No one should have to lose their life in such a disrespectful way as Pat Tillman. This is not a political issue. It is a leadership issue, it is a systemic issue, it is an issue that equally affects everyone from the left, middle and right. This is not the way our government should be allowed to operate. This is not what we have to accept.

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