Pat Tillman Feared PR Blitz

(CBS)  Jon Krakauer's newest book reveals how the Bush administration turned the friendly fire death of Pat Tillman in Afghanistan into a propaganda victory. "Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman" follows the story of Tillman's life through his death at the hands of his platoon to the smoke and mirrors orchestrated by the Pentagon and White House, reports ABC News and the LA Times.

Krakauer includes passages from Tillman's diary that show a keen awareness of the propaganda that would follow his death. While on his first mission as an Army Ranger, Tillman was sent to rescue Pvt. Jessica Lynch, a soldier who had been captured by militants in Iraq. Lynch was falsely characterized by the Pentagon as a military hero who had gone down with guns blazing. She later testified that she had not fired a single bullet.

"This mission will be a P.O.W. rescue, a woman named Jessica Lynch," Tillman wrote. "As awful as I feel for the fear she must face, and admire the courage I'm sure she's showing, I do believe this to be a big Public Relations stunt. Do not mistake me, I wish everyone in trouble to be rescued, but sending this many folks for a single low ranking soldier screams of media blitz."

A year later, Tillman was the center of another public relations stunt when the Bush administration said he died fighting the Taliban, rewrote eyewitness testimony, awarded him a Silver Star, and broke its own law by announcing his death within 24 hours of his family learning of it.

Tillman seemed to predict that the government would turn him into a false hero. Spc. Jade Lane, a friend of Tillman's, told Krakauer that during their first night as Army Rangers in Iraq, Tillman had told him he was worried that if anything happened to him, the government would create a media blitz around him.

"One night he said that he was afraid that if something happened to him, they would parade him through the streets," Lane said. "And those were his exact words: 'I don't want them to parade me through the streets.' It just burned into my brain, him saying that."

Read more at ABC News and the Los Angeles Times.

[the9th]

Interesting. I didn't know that Cpl Tillman was in the unit that "rescued" Jessica Lynch a year before his execution by Gen. McChrystal?s black-ops team, or whoever it was that pumped three tightly-clustered M-16 rounds into Tillman's forehead--from about 10 yards or less, according to the Army medical team.

No wonder our government had to get rid of him.

It's a wonder that every last one of our troops don't just stage a sit-down strike until Tillman's murderer and those that aided and abetted the conspiracy to cover up the murder are "brought to justice," as Shrub, our "Unitary Liar-In-Chief," was so fond of pontificating.

I suppose the silver lining is that there is no statute of limitations on murder, so as soon (if ever) as we get some courageous people in the government, who actually put their oath of office in play (that "support and defend the US Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic" thingy), they can reopen the investigation. Henry Waxman, you listening? You guys didn't finish your job last time around.

Perhaps we should just waterboard the General and on up and down the chain of command to get them to "fess up," especially since we now know that waterboarding and other "enhanced interrogation" tortures aren't torture. Bush, Cheney & Rumsfeld certainly wouldn't protest if they were waterboarded to get this information, right.

Seems like it'd be a "no brainer," as Cheney puts it. I mean, isn't it a bad thing for presidents and vice presidents and war secretaries and generals, etc., to go around killing our own troops? I mean, they have such trouble recruiting fresh soldiers, you'd think they wouldn't want to knock them off once they manage to sign them up.

[Sloughfoot]

Dead is dead. You John Wayne it and wander into a free fire zone and get lit up, pretty dumb, pretty dead. Military then Hollywood's the report and America has a "Dead Hero". Family insist "NO" we don't want "Dead Hero", Military re-evaluates and responds, "OK, Dumb and Dead". Writing a book about "Dumb and Dead" ain't going to be a best seller. Should have left this one in the ground as a "Dead Hero".

[kansas1946]

The Bush administration had no ethics or morals, so Tilman was right to be worried.

[kristitina]

Yeah, I get what you all are saying about PR...It's sort of like how Obama used a trip past the Statue of Liberty as PR (scared the crud outta people and didn't even tell the Mayor) or how he brought in Kennedy's wife Wednesday night during his health care speech (talk about cheesy and in poor taste)...Or, how Hillary claimed she was shot at in her airplane one time even though it never happened....How Obama redid the Presidential Seal???? How it's okay for Pelosi to call anyone who disagrees with the health care plan, 'astroturf,' and claim they are carrying swastika's and then say that one Rep, who yelled, 'you lie' needs to be looked into...You mean like that kind of PR? Check into the hypocrisy that has gotten into this place.

[TNisgoodenoughforme]

"This mission will be a P.O.W. rescue, a woman named Jessica Lynch," Tillman wrote. "As awful as I feel for the fear she must face, and admire the courage I'm sure she's showing, I do believe this to be a big Public Relations stunt. Do not mistake me, I wish everyone in trouble to be rescued, but sending this many folks for a single low ranking soldier screams of media blitz."
I have no idea how to rescue a person. I would think, a good way to get a person rescued would be to go in hard & strong. Isn't more better?

[Hosheen]

Just another example of the perfidy of the Bush administration. But considering that they lied o start those wars, why should we be surprised that they had no shame about exploiting those who fought in it. I say that Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and the rest should be doing hard time in an prison in Turkey or Iran. The most rotten group ever to be in power in the USA.

[Hosheen]

Just another example of the perfidy of the Bush administration. But considering that they lied o start those wars, why should we be surprised that they had no shame about exploiting those who fought in it. I say that Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and the rest should be doing hard time in an prison in Turkey or Iran. The most rotten group ever to be in power in the USA.

[dahizzle]

>>>mmmmmmmm Let me guess, Bush and Cheney made Tillman quit the NFL, Join one of the most elite Light Infantry units in the world and then murdered him right?<<<

OK sh*t for brains, did you even read the article? And what does it have to do with voting for Obama?

[hagar39]

Cheney evil? Sure, but he's rich. And being rich in the USA is what's important.
Think of all the poor and middle class people who vote for Republicans. They are what you call..wannabees.
They love to kiss rich people *****.

[mjlewis6]

Did you see any Cheneys or Bushes volunteer for duty in Iraq or Afghanistan? THAT is more telling regarding patriotism than merely identifying Democratic candidates for office as being unpatriotic.

Don't tell me the battlefield is only for Democrats or the unaffiliated....many diverse people died on 9/11/2001.....and AMERICANS OF ALL COLORS, and CITIZENS of other countries died that day...so, it is less a political or patriotic role we aspire to for the defense of our country. POLITICIANS who used the war for their own purposes of profit...should be tried. If it is a war we have to go halfway around the world to fight....we should have had a draft!!
THAT WAY EVERYONE is involved, no deferrments, no college. And if Iraq was really about liberation and democracy building....hey, we could have properly done the job for CUBA....!!!

Thanks to many volunteers for fighting for our country...and NO THANKS to Bush/CHENEY for mismanaging the war effort to go invading IRAQ and drawing down our forces from Afghanistan for so many years,
the real reason we are still fighting the war!!!