About two months ago, at a securities conference I attended in Phoenix, I got into a late night drunken argument with a colleague from my law firm about the Iraq War. The argument concerned whether it was okay for the Pentagon to lie to the families of soldiers who are killed in combat about the way those soldiers died. To my utter disbelief, he felt it was fine; I did not. The argument flared up after we saw a television report at the hotel bar, which confirmed that the Pentagon had intentionally misled the family of Pat Tillman (and the American people) about the circumstances of Tillman's death in Afghanistan in April 2004. If you don't know, Pat Tillman was an standout NFL player who quit a multi-million dollar football career to join the Army after 9/11. It is now known that Tillman was mistakenly killed by fellow American soldiers in a firefight. For nearly two years, the Army said that he had been killed in an enemy ambush. The Army not only lied about the incident, it affirmatively hid and/or destroyed key evidence that would have shed light on the truth. It then told a fictional story that depicted Tillman as a hero. The cherry on the cake? It awarded Tillman a posthumous Silver Star. How nice.
Lies, all of it. Eventually the truth came out, as it is wont to do in this technological age of the Internets and Youtube.
In my verbal jousting with my colleague in Arizona, I said that the Army should have told the truth from the outset, not lied about it. He asserted that it was fine for the Army to create such stories in an effort to maintain morale on the home front, and he claimed that the reality of the situation was "none of our business." It would hurt the families, he argued, to know the truth. What's the harm in depicting these people as heroes, even if they are not?
My head almost popped off my shoulders. I can't even convey to you how dumbfounded I was by this tortured logic. I have never subscribed to the "we know better than you" form of government. My colleague's view is not a solitary one, however. This See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil blind trust in our military and our government is a big reason why the United States gets embroiled in senseless wars like Iraq and Vietnam. Apparently, too many American people have it so good that they are fast asleep when our leaders decide to start wars with other countries. I say we bring back the draft. That will light a fire under everyone's ass and wake people up real quick.
The following two videos contain the truth regarding (i) Pat Tillman's death and (ii) the purported heroism of Private Jessica Lynch, who, we were told by the U.S. Army and Pentagon, fought off Iraqi insurgents in Nasiriyah singlehandedly until she was taken prisoner, and later "rescued" from an Iraqi hospital, in 2003. Her testimony tells a different story, but gave me goosebumps nonetheless.
The video testimony of Kevin Tillman, Pat's brother, is a bit long, but even if you listen to part of it, you will get an understanding of the lies that were told and the truth of what happened to Pat Tillman.
Jessica Lynch:
The irony of all this is, the truth regarding Mr. Tillman and Ms. Lynch presents a heroism even more profound than the fiction we were sold by the Pentagon. Because it's real.
Tillman gave up millions of dollars and a glamorous, successful career in this country's biggest sport to risk his life, and ultimately die, fighting for the United States in Afghanistan. How many of us would have done the same? I can't refer to a single person in American history who has. In my view, his heroism came in his surrender of a rich, satisfying, comfortable life to fight for something he believed in. He is literally one in a million, and the attempt by the military and the Bush Administration to use his death for political purposes and to boost home front morale for a senseless, useless, and ultimately failing adventure in Iraq, was despicable and a disservice to the sacrifice he made.
To her credit, Lynch also came forward to tell her own truth, when she could have kept pretending. In her testimony, she made sure to tell us who the real heroes were in the attack in Nasiriyah that killed several of her fellow soldiers and almost took her life as well.
The U.S. military and American leaders should give the American people a little more credit. We are not so desperate for "heroes" that we need lies to create them for us. Most of us want the truth. Most of us prefer the truth. Including the families who have lost their own flesh and blood. So, show us the flag-lined caskets coming home and the funeral processions for our brave men and women. Let us hear the noise and see the chaos of the battlefield and hear the stories of their sacrifice. Let us see what war really is, just like in the old days. We don't need you to protect us from the truth.
But that's not really what you're doing, is it? You're not protecting us from anything. You're protecting yourselves from the truth. You're Jack Nicholson in A Few Good Men.
Just like Colonel Jessep, you don't think we can handle the truth. That we need you on that wall to do our dirty work for us. That we shouldn't ask questions, and instead, should appreciate you and the lies you tell on our behalf.
Oh, but you're wrong, and you know it. Your paternal concern for us is a fraud, a cynical sideshow. In reality, you're just protecting yourselves from summary dismissal. From dishonorable discharge. From a court martial. From jail. From impeachment. If we really knew the truth, which would likely be the case if every American family -- including those of the privileged Senators, Representatives, and Presidents who run this country -- were forced to send one of their sons or daughters to fight, and possibly die, in places Iraq or Afghanistan, I am certain that we'd be getting a lot more of the truth, and far fewer of the intentional lies that perpetuate your existence.
That's not the system we have right now though, is it? So the lies continue, not just for Jessica Lynch and Pat Tillman, but for countless other soldiers who have been wounded or died under suspicious circumstances. Fortunately, Kevin Tillman and Jessica Lynch speak for them, and they speak the truth.
