The brother of Army Ranger Pat Tillman accused the Pentagon and the Bush administration Tuesday of deliberately concealing the circumstances of the former football star’s friendly fire death in Afghanistan in an attempt to avoid embarrassment.Speaking publicly for the first time since his brother was killed in Afghanistan three years ago, Kevin Tillman at a congressional hearing accused Army and administration officials of exploiting his brother’s death to shift attention away from the detainee abuses at the U.S.-run Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, which at the time was about to become a public relations nightmare for the military.Investigations by the Army, including an inspector general’s report late last month, have not established any conspiracy to cover up the cause of Tillman’s April 2004 death. As was the case in Iraq, Venezuela’s oil reserves are not controlled by U.S. corporations or a pliant government. Unfortunately, the inertia over regime change in Venezuela bears a striking resemblance to what happened in the lead-up to the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003.As one of the soldiers who illegally invaded Iraq, this scares me. I don’t want anyone else to have to experience that. "You're diminishing their true heroism to write these glorious tales. The military says no such videotape exists.The drone, equipped with a video camera in its nose, had been flown by the CIA over Afghanistan in search of Osama bin Laden for several years. It's really a disservice to the nation. So please don’t allow our leaders to use the goodness inside of you as a weapon for your own manipulation. Kevin Tillman joined the Army with his brother Pat in 2002, and they served together in Iraq and Afghanistan. msnbc.com staff … There are humanitarian crises all over the globe. Steve Sack by Kevin Tillman / TruthDig A response at the time from military officials suggested that senior officers were aware that Tillman’s death probably was caused by fratricide.An officer, whose name was redacted, wrote to U.S. Central Command: “I felt it was essential that you receive this information as soon as we detected it in order to preclude any unknowing statements by our country’s leaders which might cause public embarrassment if the circumstances of Corporal Tillman’s death become public.”A speech by Bush days later that included a reference to Tillman but did not mention the circumstances of his death.Kevin Tillman has been largely silent since his brother’s death, although he posted an essay on the website www.truthdig.com in October in which he criticized what he called an “illegal” war in Iraq.Pfc. Somehow American leadership, whose only credit is lying to its people and illegally invading a nation, has been allowed to steal the courage, virtue and honor of its soldiers on the ground.Somehow faking character, virtue and strength is tolerated.Somehow profiting from tragedy and horror is tolerated.Somehow the death of tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of people is tolerated.Somehow subversion of the Bill of Rights and The Constitution is tolerated.Somehow suspension of Habeas Corpus is supposed to keep this country safe.Somehow reason is being discarded for faith, dogma, and nonsense.Somehow American leadership managed to create a more dangerous world.Somehow a narrative is more important than reality.Somehow America has become a country that projects everything that it is not and condemns everything that it is.Somehow the most reasonable, trusted and respected country in the world has become one of the most irrational, belligerent, feared, and distrusted countries in the world.Somehow being politically informed, diligent, and skeptical has been replaced by apathy through active ignorance.Somehow the same incompetent, narcissistic, virtueless, vacuous, malicious criminals are still in charge of this country.In a democracy, the policy of the leaders is the policy of the people. Pat was killed in Afghanistan in 2004. To the nation, it was a moment of disorientation. Martina Moneke / Truthdig The fabric of Venezuelan society could be destroyed for generations. That's really important. Chris Hedges / TruthDig Our archives of 15 years of award-winning independent journalism are available for free. Isaias heads toward Florida's coast amid coronavirus fightPelosi calls relief package discussions "productive" but no dealKey impeachment inquiry witness: Nation's values are threatenedDHS official reassigned after office compiled intel on journalistsAirbnb shuts down dozens of NJ properties after large partiesApple Fire in Southern California prompts home evacuationsParts of North Carolina under mandatory evacuation due to hurricaneNationwide salmonella outbreak linked to red onionsBattleground Tracker: Latest polls, state of the race and more5 things to know about CBS News' 2020 Battleground TrackerBattleground Tracker: COVID reshapes presidential race in Sun BeltDNC hopes to reach more voters with new voter file model
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