The brother of Army Ranger Pat Tillman told a House panel on Tuesday that the military tried to spin his brother's 2004 death to deflect attention from emerging failings in the Afghanistan war.
As the tide was turning in the U.S. battle against Afghan insurgents --and as media outlets prepared to release reports on detainee abuse at Abu Ghraib in Iraq -- the military saw Pat Tillman's death as an "opportunity," Kevin Tillman told the panel.
Though it was clearly a case of fratricide, the military released a "manufactured narrative" detailing how Pat Tillman died leading a courageous counterattack in an Afghan mountain pass, Kevin Tillman said.
Even after it became clear the report was bogus, the military clung to the "utter fiction" that Pat Tillman was killed by a member of his platoon who was following the rules of engagement, the brother said.
Kevin Tillman bristled at the military claim that the initial report was merely misleading.
Clearly resentful, he told the panel that writing a field report stating Pat Tillman had been "transferred to an intensive care unit for continued CPR after most of his head had been taken off by multiple .556 rounds is not misleading."
"These are deliberate and calculated lies," he said.
When I had read last week that an officer had detailed a noncom to burn all Tillman's gear I was left wondering if that was SOP or a rather unusual measure. Anyone know?
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