Tillman’s mother says general lying — again — about son’s death
http://rawstory.com/08/news/2009/06/03/tillmans-mother-general-lying/By John Byrne Published: June 3, 2009
The mother of football star Pat Tillman, who was killed by friendly fire in 2004 but whose fratricide was deliberately kept from the public and his family, says a general’s testimony to Congress is yet another lie by a military officer about her son’s death.
Testifying in his confirmation hearing as Obama’s new commander for Afghanistan, Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal said he “didn’t see any activity by anyone to deceive” the public about the circumstances of Tillman’s death. The death was first reported as a result of enemy fire; Tillman was held up as a hero and quickly received the Silver Star.
McChrystal personally helped expedite Tillman’s Silver Star award, even though he later acknowledged he had “suspicions” that the ex-NFL star had been killed by his own men.
CNN reports that Tillman’s mother says McChrystal knew at the memorial service that her son died from friendly fire.
“McChrystal was lying,” Mary Tillman was quoted as saying Tuesday. “He said he didn’t know for certain Pat was killed by fratricide. That isn’t true in and of itself, but the fact is, it doesn’t matter whether he knew it for certain.”
She asserted that Army protocol required that families be informed of any possible fratricide, regardless of whether it had been confirmed.
Mary Tillman also blasted Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) for “playing dumb.”
“If the Army chain of command didn’t know what happened to Pat, why did it present us with a false story” at the memorial service?” Tillman quipped. “That is not an error; that is not a misstep; that is deliberate deception. McCain was at Pat’s service. He was read a false narrative like the rest of us. Where is his outrage? Did he know all along?”
McChrystal, who was probed over his role in the Tillman coverup, was cleared of wrongdoing by the Army’s Inspector General. But the military said that the general should have informed superiors of his suspicions.
