What They Did to Pat Tillman

As we reach another grievous anniversary in the disastrous War that is America in Iraq, we relive yet another chapter in this sinister act.

June is the month when, 7 years ago, the truth began to surface about fratricide killing of Spc. Pat Tillman.

First, the facts:

Pat Tillman's story is well documented, but basically Pat Tillman was a 24 year old Safety for the Arizona Cardinals in 2002. He was offered a 3.6 million dollar contract that year which he turned down in order to volunteer with the Army. He became an Army Ranger and was deployed in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Pat Tillman was killed in Afghanistan on April 22, 2004. On May 7, 2004 the Army’s official casualty report stated that Tillman was killed by “enemy forces” and “died in a medical treatment facility.” This was later proved to be a lie which the military was aware of. Tillman's body armor, fatigues, weaponry, and all other traces of evidence were burned in the following days. And, another little known fact, although he fought and served out of a sense of duty and loyalty, Pat Tillman was seriously questioning the War. He was scheduled to meet with Anti-war activist Noam Chomsky after his deployment ended.

When Pat Tillman first entered the Army he was hailed by The War's main supporters as a hero. Sports telecasters around the country spoke of the bravery and courage of this man who was walking away from millions to serve his country.Conservative War Hawk mouthpieces like Ann Coulter described Tillman as "an American original--virtuous, pure and masculine like only an American male can be." Donald Rumsfeld sent him a letter calling him a hero and the President used the Tillman name often to garner support for the War. And, immediately following Tillman's death the military and the the Bush Government said that Tillman was killed by the enemy while heroically leading a charge against them. They initially tried to use the death of "Pat Tillman" as Propaganda. The only problem was that they lied.

In reality, Pat Tillman was killed by three bullets to the head which came from someone within his platoon who fired during an ambush by Afghan rebels. The Military knew of this the day after the killing but rather than tell the truth, they hid the facts, tried to cover up the story and have ever since reversed course and attacked Pat Tillman's family accusing them of being "disgruntled atheists" simply because they want to know tthe truth about how their son died.

The best proof that our Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are wrong is that our Government and Military have had to lie in order to "make" heroes for us. The stories of Pat Tillman and Jessica Lynch are a testament to that.

To be sure Pat Tillman is a hero. He is a hero because he stood for what he believed even when his beliefs changed. He not only courageously walked away from millions of dollars to serve his country but he also questioned the War he was fighting while being in the middle of it.

Supposedly, in the real "friendly fire" incident that resulted in Tillman's death, Tillman was mistakenly shot from 70 yards away amidst smoke and chaos.

How does someone who fires from 70 yards away amidst smoke, fighting and the chaos of battle manage to put 3 bullets into his buddy's forehead?

Just a lucky shot?