For all those people shouting down anyone who wasn't patriotically, nationalistically, groupthinkingly whipping out their little flags over the deal anyway.
Former NFL star Pat Tillman, the San Jose native whose death touched a nation because of his self-sacrifice in joining the elite Army Rangers and fighting in Afghanistan, was likely killed as a result of friendly fire, the Army announced Saturday.
The military said Tillman was probably shot after a fellow soldier fired at a friendly Afghan soldier in Tillman's unit on April 22. Other soldiers then opened fire in the same direction, the military said.
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The military said Tillman was probably shot after a fellow soldier fired at a friendly Afghan soldier in Tillman's unit on April 22. Other soldiers then opened fire in the same direction, the military said.
Good freaking God.
The San Francisco Chronicle report says American officials announced (at Fort Bragg) that Tillman's unit was charging in to rescue some trapped compatriots (so the hero glory can possibly overshadow the fucked-up story), while an Afghan officer says there were no enemy soldiers anywhere, they shot in response to an exploding landmine.
The Oakland Tribune doesn't mention the phony hero story, but just recounts an unclassified Army investigation report saying Tillman's group had split off from another, to take a vehicle that had broken down to be repaired, when a landmine exploded, and the other group reacted.
This puts me in mind of retired Special Forces Sgt. Stan Goff's accounts of how the military works, particularly in regards to telling its troops lies and propaganda that create a Hollywood version of American heroics and the enemy du jour as something foreign and evil.
