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DOUG
The latest news on atheist Pat Tillman's death by friendly fire in the war in Afghanistan.

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"Cease fire, friendlies, I am Pat (expletive) Tillman, damn it!" the NFL star shouted, again and again.

The latest inquiry into Tillman's death by friendly fire should end next month; authorities have said they intend to release to the public only a synopsis of their report. But The Associated Press has combed through the results of 2 1/4 years of investigations _ reviewed thousands of pages of internal Army documents, interviewed dozens of people familiar with the case _ and uncovered some startling findings.

One of the four shooters, Staff Sgt. Trevor Alders, had recently had PRK laser eye surgery. He said although he could see two sets of hands "straight up," his vision was "hazy." In the absence of "friendly identifying signals," he assumed Tillman and an allied Afghan who also was killed were enemy.

Another, Spc. Steve Elliott, said he was "excited" by the sight of rifles, muzzle flashes and "shapes." A third, Spc. Stephen Ashpole, said he saw two figures, and just aimed where everyone else was shooting.

Squad leader Sgt. Greg Baker had 20-20 eyesight, but claimed he had "tunnel vision." Amid the chaos and pumping adrenaline, Baker said he hammered what he thought was the enemy but was actually the allied Afghan fighter next to Tillman who was trying to give the Americans cover: "I zoned in on him because I could see the AK-47. I focused only on him."

All four failed to identify their targets before firing, a direct violation of the fire discipline techniques drilled into every soldier.

There's more...

See here.

If Tillman weren't famous, it would never have gotten so far. Be thankful he was, in the hopes that investigating and dealing with his case will prevent others from happeing.

Tillman was honored this weekend by his team, the Arizona Cardinals, during one of their games.

Before the game, the Cardinals dedicated an area outside the stadium known as "Pat Tillman Freedom Plaza." It includes a 500-pound, 8-foot tall bronze statue of Tillman.

Behind the sculpture is a 42-foot-long wall, symbolic of Tillman's number at Arizona State. There are 40 oak trees west of the memorial, symbolizing the No. 40 he wore with the Cardinals.

The crowd stood and cheered when his name was unfurled overlooking the 50-yard line in the Cardinals' new University of Phoenix Stadium during halftime.

Hope that the Tillman story, like the Casey Sheehan story, helps shut down this war. I won't say soon, because that's not likely to happen. Basically W could do it, but he won't. Whoever actually pulls the troops out is going to face some political heat, if not political death, because many of the conservative Rs who voted Dem this time actually believe there's a way to win this. Even though they want out, and don't believe we should have gone to Iraq in the first place, they will go back to the Rs if a Dem president "cuts and runs" by bringing the troops home.

Officials: 9 to be held to account on Tillman
Officers reportedly to be cited in friendly-fire death of Ranger, ex-NFL star
from MSNBC

WASHINGTON - A Pentagon investigation will recommend that nine officers, including up to four generals, be held accountable for missteps in the aftermath of the friendly fire death of Army Ranger Pat Tillman in Afghanistan, senior defense officials said Friday.

The Defense Department inspector general will cite a range of errors and inappropriate conduct as the military probed the former football star’s death on the battlefront in 2004, said one defense official.

The official, who like the others requested anonymity because the Army has not publicly released the information, said it appears senior military leaders may not have had all the facts or worked hard enough to get the facts of what happened on April 22, 2004, when Tillman, a corporal, was killed by members of his own platoon.

Dozens of soldiers — those immediately around Tillman at the scene of the shooting, his immediate superiors and high-ranking officers at a command post nearby — knew within minutes or hours that his death was fratricide.

Even so, the Army persisted in telling Tillman’s family he was killed in a conventional ambush, including at his nationally televised memorial service 11 days later. It was five weeks before his family was told the truth, a delay the Army has blamed on procedural mistakes.

See here.

SAN JOSE, Calif (Associated Press) -- Investigators looking into the friendly fire death of former NFL star Pat Tillman found no criminal negligence but are recommending that nine officers, including a three-star general, be held accountable for missteps in the aftermath of his shooting, government officials told The Associated Press.

The findings, due to be released later Monday, end twin inquiries into whether criminal acts were committed by the soldiers who opened fire on Tillman in Afghanistan, and whether the government covered up the circumstances of the Army Ranger's death...

A government official who was briefed on the findings of that investigation said Monday that acting Defense Department Inspector General Thomas Gimble found no instance of criminal negligence.

See here.

Read it and BARF. From ESPN

"But there [have] been numerous unfortunate cases of fratricide, and the parents have basically said, 'OK, it was an unfortunate accident.' And they let it go. So this is — I don't know, these people have a hard time letting it go. It may be because of their religious beliefs."

...

Kauzlarich, now a battalion commanding officer at Fort Riley in Kansas, further suggested the Tillman family's unhappiness with the findings of past investigations might be because of the absence of a Christian faith in their lives.

In an interview with ESPN.com, Kauzlarich 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. So for their son to die for nothing, and now he is no more — that is pretty hard to get your head around that. So I don't know how an atheist thinks. I can only imagine that that would be pretty tough."

Tillman's mom responds:

"Well, this guy makes disparaging remarks about the fact that we're not Christians, and the reason that we can't put Pat to rest is because we're not Christians," Mary Tillman, Pat's mother, said in an interview with ESPN.com. Mary Tillman casts the family as spiritual, though she said it does not believe in many of the fundamental aspects of organized religion.

"Oh, it has nothing to do with the fact that this whole thing is shady," she said sarcastically, "But it is because we are not Christians."

After a pause, her voice full with emotion, she added, "Pat may not have been what you call a Christian. He was about the best person I ever knew. I mean, he was just a good guy. He didn't lie. He was very honest. He was very generous. He was very humble. I mean, he had an ego, but it was a healthy ego. It is like, everything those [people] are, he wasn't."

This is the kind of crap you expect from the Fundie programs. The fact that the MSM has been putting it out is just one more sign of how far we've fallen from the ideals of freedom (of religion, amongst many other things). My favorite comment about folks being accidently killed by their own side is, "friendly fire isn't". (Just to be nitpicky, most folks whose kids are killed by "friendly fire" DON'T just accept it and go on.)