McClatchy: Officials recall little of what they knew of Tillman death

[babylonsister]

Officials recall little of what they knew of Tillman death
By Mark Seibel | McClatchy Newspapers


WASHINGTON — A congressional investigation has failed to determine whether the Bush administration attempted to build support for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan by deliberately misrepresenting the details of the friendly fire death of former NFL player Patrick Tillman and the capture of Jessica Lynch in the first days of the Iraq invasion.

In a report released Monday, the House Committee on Government Oversight and Reform said its efforts to determine whether Bush administration officials tried to hide the details of both cases was thwarted by what it called "a near universal lack of recall."

About Tillman's death, "The committee interviewed several senior White House officials, including Communications Director Dan Bartlett, Press Secretary Scott McClellan and chief speech writer Michael Gerson," the committe said. "Not a single person could recall when he heard about the fratricide or what he did in response." Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld also said he couldn't recall when he learned that Tillman had been killed mistakenly by fellow American soldiers and not by Taliban fighters, the committee said.

The committee said its investigation revealed that the first word of Tillman's April 22, 2004, death had been widely disseminated at the White House, which put out a press release before the usual 24 hours had passed. "One the day after Tillman's death, April 23, White House officials sent of received nearly 200 e-mails concerning Corporal Tillman," the report noted, including several from Bush's re-election office.

"In comparison to the extensive White House activity that followed Corporal Tillman's death, the complete absence of any communications about his fratricde is hard to understand," the committee said. They said of 1,500 pages of documents the White House surrendered in the Tillman probe, "there is not a single discussion of the fratricide."

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http://www.mcclatchydc.com/251/story/44191.html

[islandmkl]

1. this administration and their minions have got to have the worst collective memories...

in the history of every corrupt regime anywhere....

even the evil mf'ers at Nuremburg didn't claim 'memory loss'....

[Rex]

2. That is because he was assassinated. The fact that the WH would use

a lie about the details to force war on the American people, should raise eyebrows. Won't, but should. The Reagan golden ticket excuse should not be allowed. They should have NEVER allowed Saint Shithead to get away with it nor should anyone else that causes war for profit.

[gratuitous]

3. A GOP dodge that's worked for 25 years

Don't mess with success. Ever since St. Ronnie used "I don't recall" over and over again, Republicans have found it such an irresistible and convenient dodge. And it works again and again for some odd reason. Well, not with me, but with anybody who matters.