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http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c...MNGD7ETMNM1.DTL

 

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Throughout the controversy, the Tillman family has been reluctant to cause a media stir. Mary noted that Pat shunned publicity, refusing all public comment when he enlisted and asking the Army to reject all media requests for interviews while he was in service. Pat's widow, Marie, and his brother Kevin have not become publicly involved in the case, and they declined to comment for this article.

 

Yet other Tillman family members are less reluctant to show Tillman's unique character, which was more complex than the public image of a gung-ho patriotic warrior. He started keeping a journal at 16 and continued the practice on the battlefield, writing in it regularly. (His journal was lost immediately after his death.) Mary Tillman said a friend of Pat's even arranged a private meeting with Chomsky, the antiwar author, to take place after his return from Afghanistan ? a meeting prevented by his death. She said that although he supported the Afghan war, believing it justified by the Sept. 11 attacks, "Pat was very critical of the whole Iraq war."

 

Baer, who served with Tillman for more than a year in Iraq and Afghanistan, told one anecdote that took place during the March 2003 invasion as the Rangers moved up through southern Iraq.

 

"I can see it like a movie screen," Baer said. "We were outside of (a city in southern Iraq) watching as bombs were dropping on the town. We were at an old air base, me, Kevin and Pat, we weren't in the fight right then. We were talking. And Pat said, 'You know, this war is so f? illegal.' And we all said, 'Yeah.' That's who he was. He totally was against Bush."

 

Another soldier in the platoon, who asked not to be identified, said Pat urged him to vote for Bush's Democratic opponent in the 2004 election, Sen. John Kerry.

 

Senior Chief Petty Officer Stephen White ? a Navy SEAL who served with Pat and Kevin for four months in Iraq and was the only military member to speak at Tillman's memorial ? said Pat "wasn't very fired up about being in Iraq" and instead wanted to go fight al Qaeda in Afghanistan. He said both Pat and Kevin (who has a degree in philosophy) "were amazingly well-read individuals ? very firm in some of their beliefs, their political and religious or not so religious beliefs."

 

Baer recalled that Tillman encouraged him in his ambitions as an amateur poet. "I would read him my poems, and we would talk about them," Baer said. "He helped me grow as an individual."

 

Tillman subscribed to the Economist magazine, and a fellow soldier said Tillman created a makeshift base library of classic novels so his platoon mates would have literature to read in their down time. He even brought gourmet coffee to brew for his platoon in the field in Afghanistan.

 

Baer said Tillman was popular among his fellow soldiers and had no enemies. "The guys who killed Pat were his biggest fans," he said. "They were really wrecked afterward." He called Tillman "this amazing positive force who really brought our whole platoon together. He had this great energy. Everybody loved him." His former comrades and family recall Tillman as a born leader yet remarkably humble. White, the Navy SEAL, recalls one day when "some 19-year-old Ranger came and ordered him to cut an acre of grass.

 

 

 

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Not a surprise.

 

Anyone with a brain who doesnt follow whatever the Bush administration feeds them would know this war was wrong and bound for disaster from the beginning.

Not a surprise.

 

Anyone with a brain who doesnt follow whatever the Bush administration feeds them would know this war was wrong and bound for disaster from the beginning.

 

Agreed.

wow. It's very interesting to discover the individual under the facade fabricated by the Administration to pimp the war.

There are plenty of anti-war soldiers. Let's honor his wishes and not make him out to be any more significant than any other guy.

There are plenty of anti-war soldiers. Let's honor his wishes and not make him out to be any more significant than any other guy.

 

The Bush Administration already did that.

Tillman volunteered to fight in this war, didn't he? I admit I forget the whole story, but it's not like he was required by law to go fight, right?

 

If so, I find this baffling. Why would someone volunteer to fight in a war they didn't believe in? And how would that make said person a hero? I would suggest that grabbing a gun and killing others for a cause you don't support makes no sense whatsoever and is borderline reprehensible.

 

I personally don't believe in this war, but I have a hard time believing that Pat Tillman didn't believe in the war. I'm not sure what to think of this article--maybe they're getting the story right, or maybe this is the anti-war folks stirring up some sh*t and trying to do harm the administration's stance by unjustly destroying the memory of a man. Something ain't right here. Spin is so ugly.

 

And, please, someone correct me ASAP if I'm getting the context of the Tillman story wrong.

Tillman volunteered to fight in this war, didn't he? I admit I forget the whole story, but it's not like he was required by law to go fight, right?

 

If so, I find this baffling. Why would someone volunteer to fight in a war they didn't believe in? And how would that make said person a hero? I would suggest that grabbing a gun and killing others for a cause you don't support makes no sense whatsoever and is borderline reprehensible.

 

I personally don't believe in this war, but I have a hard time believing that Pat Tillman didn't believe in the war. I'm not sure what to think of this article--maybe they're getting the story right, or maybe this is the anti-war folks stirring up some sh*t and trying to do harm the administration's stance by unjustly destroying the memory of a man. Something ain't right here. Spin is so ugly.

 

And, please, someone correct me ASAP if I'm getting the context of the Tillman story wrong.

 

Yeah, actually you are completely wrong. Tillman did not want to go fight in Iraq and apparently believe the war there to be illegal. He saw the attacks on 9/11 as a serious act of war that required a serious response and so he left his lucrative football career to geet the Al-Qaeda bastards in Afghanistan that committed those heinous acts. There he was killed by friendly fire and his image was used by the BUSH ADIMINISTRATION to pimp for the IRAQ WAR. I hope you're all updated and understand which side was using Tillman.

Some more great thoughts on this situation from an independent conservative that I greatly respect.

 

http://cunningrealist.blogspot.com/

 

The political context of a deception:

Tillman?s death came at a sensitive time for the Bush administration ? just a week before the Army?s abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib in Iraq became public and sparked a huge scandal. The Pentagon immediately announced that Tillman had died heroically in combat with the enemy, and President Bush hailed him as ?an inspiration on and off the football field, as with all who made the ultimate sacrifice in the war on terror.?

 

His killing was widely reported by the media, including conservative commentators such as Ann Coulter, who called him ?an American original ? virtuous, pure and masculine like only an American male can be.? His May 3, 2004, memorial in San Jose drew 3,500 people and was nationally televised.

 

Not until five weeks later, as Tillman?s battalion was returning home, did officials inform the public and the Tillman family that he had been killed by his fellow soldiers.

 

The extent of the disgrace defies belief: the initial coverup of the way Tillman died, the harvesting of that death for political expedience as the Abu Ghraib story broke, the predictable promotions of those arguably responsible for what happened on the ground that day, the changing of crucial testimony, the destruction of physical evidence, and the willful, flat-out lies our political and military leadership told to Tillman's family and the American public.

 

In the context of Tillman's strong and openly-stated opinions about Bush and the war in Iraq, it's all more than a bit interesting.

Tillman volunteered to fight in this war, didn't he? I admit I forget the whole story, but it's not like he was required by law to go fight, right?

 

If so, I find this baffling. Why would someone volunteer to fight in a war they didn't believe in? And how would that make said person a hero? I would suggest that grabbing a gun and killing others for a cause you don't support makes no sense whatsoever and is borderline reprehensible.

 

I personally don't believe in this war, but I have a hard time believing that Pat Tillman didn't believe in the war. I'm not sure what to think of this article--maybe they're getting the story right, or maybe this is the anti-war folks stirring up some sh*t and trying to do harm the administration's stance by unjustly destroying the memory of a man. Something ain't right here. Spin is so ugly.

 

And, please, someone correct me ASAP if I'm getting the context of the Tillman story wrong.

 

Yeah, actually you are completely wrong. Tillman did not want to go fight in Iraq and apparently believe the war there to be illegal. He saw the attacks on 9/11 as a serious act of war that required a serious response and so he left his lucrative football career to geet the Al-Qaeda bastards in Afghanistan that committed those heinous acts. There he was killed by friendly fire and his image was used by the BUSH ADIMINISTRATION to pimp for the IRAQ WAR. I hope you're all updated and understand which side was using Tillman.

 

OK, I'm just an idiot. I guess they don't let you pick your war when you volunteer. I think both sides are using Tillman at this point, and we'll probably never know exactly how he felt, but it does sound like the anti-war folks are at least closer to the truth.

OMG this made me change my mind!

Tillman volunteered to fight in this war, didn't he? I admit I forget the whole story, but it's not like he was required by law to go fight, right?

 

If so, I find this baffling. Why would someone volunteer to fight in a war they didn't believe in? And how would that make said person a hero? I would suggest that grabbing a gun and killing others for a cause you don't support makes no sense whatsoever and is borderline reprehensible.

 

I personally don't believe in this war, but I have a hard time believing that Pat Tillman didn't believe in the war. I'm not sure what to think of this article--maybe they're getting the story right, or maybe this is the anti-war folks stirring up some sh*t and trying to do harm the administration's stance by unjustly destroying the memory of a man. Something ain't right here. Spin is so ugly.

 

And, please, someone correct me ASAP if I'm getting the context of the Tillman story wrong.

 

Yeah, actually you are completely wrong. Tillman did not want to go fight in Iraq and apparently believe the war there to be illegal. He saw the attacks on 9/11 as a serious act of war that required a serious response and so he left his lucrative football career to geet the Al-Qaeda bastards in Afghanistan that committed those heinous acts. There he was killed by friendly fire and his image was used by the BUSH ADIMINISTRATION to pimp for the IRAQ WAR. I hope you're all updated and understand which side was using Tillman.

 

OK, I'm just an idiot. I guess they don't let you pick your war when you volunteer. I think both sides are using Tillman at this point, and we'll probably never know exactly how he felt, but it does sound like the anti-war folks are at least closer to the truth.

Yeah, I certainly recognize that both sides will use people and politiciz EVERYTHING for their causes. Only stupid people think otherwise.

OMG this made me change my mind!

 

Me Too. :plain

  • Author

OMG this made me change my mind!

 

Me Too. :plain

Nobody cares about changing either of your minds. But now it becomes that much harder to label people who are critical of a war, even when it is happening, of being anti-American anti troop liberals(nor am I accusing anyone here specifically of doing that). But to deny that that is the attitude of many Americans during the rush to war is blind. The Iraq war showed what blind patriotism is all about. Tillman just throws a wrench into that.

why join the army if you dont belive in your Commander in Chief? Thats just stuipd...all these families who are blaming Bush deserve to g2 hell. If you didnt want you son/daughter going to fight, dont let them enlist, easy as that. ITs not like there was a draft.

 

:lol It's pretty obvious that you didn't read.

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