Comments on: Time For President To Come Clean On Tillman Cover-Up

By: Cindy Knight

Cindy Knight — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 20:32:34 +0000

My son was also an Army Ranger in Afghanistan who was discharged in 2003 and went to college. He has now re-enlisted in the Army to become a helicopter pilot. I am appalled by the layers of secrets that the Tillmans have had to uncover and still do not know the truth of Pat Tillman’s death. Those of us who are parents of soldiers must believe that the government will tell us the truth. It is terrifying even to watch the news when you have a son or daughter in harms way. I hoped at the time that I could count on Donald Rumsfeld and was dismayed to discover that I could not. I am from a family that has served in every war since WWI. We had had family members who were prisoners of war in WWII and my father, husband and son all earned combat infantrymans badges and my husband and son both received the bronze star for valor. We have given a lot. Please honor all of us with the truth about Pat Tillman

By: txfanz

txfanz — Sun, 29 Jul 2007 22:33:20 +0000

Or just that after being investigated and coming to a pretty conclusive finding that all the evidence suggested was the causeâ€¦. that they should do this again, for no apparent reason or benefit, as though they doâ€™t have better things to do.

Comment by Kilo â€” July 29, 2007 @ 9:59

I’m sure Pat’s family is happy others looked deeper into his death and didn’t accept the initial report of enemy fire as his cause of death. And I am also sure there are more questionable deaths that can be FURTHER investigated. Now, I’m done with you and your rose-colored glasses. Everything is not ‘peachy’ here, buddy. Wake up.

By: timeisart

timeisart — Sun, 29 Jul 2007 20:58:14 +0000

Would it surprise the 75% of Americans who agree that Bush’s presidency is a failure that a desire to shut up Pat Tillman came from the top? Why would anyone be amazed if it is proved that Bush/Cheney were behind the killing? They and their entire grisly gang are criminals first and public officials last. What truly amazes me is that anybody in the contemporary political environment would join the military because it is noble and patriotic. These are words best reserved for a time long past. When you don the uniform today, your butt belongs to Uncle Same and
if he wants you zapped for your political views…well, bye bye. What’s the old Vietnam war jingle? “Don’t take it personally, you are not a person.”

By: Kilo

Kilo — Sun, 29 Jul 2007 13:59:12 +0000

What you say is what had been reported – might even be true -although some of his family and friends do not believe he was a suicide (a month before his return home?).

Yes and also only a few days after he sent them emails indicating he was depressed and saying he didn’t think he would make it through the night.

At any rate, my point was that any suspicious death in Iraq should be further investigated. And I think most reasonable Americans would consider Col. Westhusingâ€™s death a bit suspect.

Comment by txfanz â€” July 29, 2007 @ 5:54 am

What do you mean “further” investigated ?
Do you mean forever ?
Or just that after being investigated and coming to a pretty conclusive finding that all the evidence suggested was the cause…. that they should do this again, for no apparent reason or benefit, as though they do’t have better things to do.

By: txfanz

txfanz — Sun, 29 Jul 2007 09:54:27 +0000

What you say is what had been reported – might even be true -although some of his family and friends do not believe he was a suicide (a month before his return home?). At any rate, my point was that any suspicious death in Iraq should be further investigated. And I think most reasonable Americans would consider Col. Westhusing’s death a bit suspect.

By: Kilo

Kilo — Sun, 29 Jul 2007 09:01:23 +0000

Next they need to investigate the deaths of Col. Ted Westhusing and Alyssa Peterson and any others with moral conscience.

Comment by txfanz â€” July 29, 2007 @ 4:46 am

Which Col. Ted Westhusing would that be ?

The same one who showed signs of depression in the weeks before writing a note questioning what good was he to anyone in a war zone before being found with a bullet in his head from his own gun that was already investigated and found to be a suicide ?

I’m guessing you must mean someone else, because that one really ain’t a big puzzle.

By: txfanz

txfanz — Sun, 29 Jul 2007 08:46:49 +0000

Next they need to investigate the deaths of Col. Ted Westhusing and Alyssa Peterson and any others with moral conscience.

By: Rev. Dane Eidson

Rev. Dane Eidson — Sun, 29 Jul 2007 05:46:05 +0000

I know that this has been said many times before, especially since the 2006 elections. GWB is the worse President in the history of the United States. Even Nixon himself knew that the overwhelming majority of the American people had lost confidence in him. Nixon also seen the hand writing on the wall and came to terms that his own party no longer looked to him as an effective leader. Having said this we now come to GWB. The polls taken by liberal and consertative groups both show that he too has now matched the lack of confidence of the American people had for Nixon in August of 1974. But at least Nixon came to terms with that reality. GWB however appears not to understand that the great majority of the citizens of our great country no longer trust him nor believe him. This to me at least speaks of a person who is delusional and has dreadful secrets to keep from the American people.
Three 2 inch bullet holes fired into the head of this noble fallen soldier from 30 feet speaks loudly with such clarity that even a 5th grade elementry student would know that this death was a homicide. Yet the President refuses to release the information to the family. What does he have to hide? It is obvious that there is damaging evidence of a crime that is being covered up. This is typical of this administration. From the files guarded in the vice President’s office, to the false and misleading statements of the Attroney General before the Senate, and now the refusal to let this family know how exactly what circumstances took place surrounding the death of their son.
I am a parent of two U.S. Soldiers. One is no longer in the Army due to injuries from an IED. My other son is currently on his fourth deployment. It scares me to no end when thinking they are serving under a commander and chief who seems to be a person who will not tell the truth and hide the same from the American people and specifically the families of our brave veterans of the U.S. military!

By: Pall Stanley

Pall Stanley — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 18:47:31 +0000

How about those new billboard Marine Corps. ads placed in various strategic locations around our cities, “We don’t accept applications, only commitments.” and with that message includes a picture of a hardcore squared away Marine?

For an affable young indecisive person, it might be enough to walk confidently into a local recruiters office. Wait a minute, Pat Tillman, was going to be that poster for the US Armed services one day, is it possible that Pat began to assert his personal unfavorable opinions about the war that influenced other Rangers or soldiers?

Pat walked away from a couple million dollar contract to join the Army, could others along the way in the military become covetous and accusations of arrogance and being a “hero” ? How much of an impact did Pat have while he was still alive in the Army? Is it possible that someone or group wanted to see Pat Tillman die?

These questions and others, I wonder. Now the straight answer recruiters and other military officials convey is a rather simple one, “War is ugly and tragic incidents happen. In war, friendly fire does occur and people die.” Appears to make sense logically, and we know things do unfortunately happen, but what really happened to Pat Tillman? How long will the code of silence continue? Or Is the story that Pat Tillman’s brother shared with a panel politicians months ago the whole truth or did the government disclose only part of the story or a fabricated story?

Pat Tillman’s story was told only because of his visibility as a former NFL player with a multi-million dollar contract, he left behind. What about the story of the hundreds of other “Unknown” soldiers killed in similar ways or related and there families were lied to also. The government got caught with there fingers in the cookie jar this time, which leads me into thinking about the hundreds, if not thousands of cases within the last hundred years of war history.

This issue is not about whether I support the soldiers representing the USA in whatever conflict there Commander in Chief demands, but it is about principles. It’s about what we the people can do to prevent these types of corrupt stories from happening and the consequences for those caught in the action of things. We know about this incident today, but where do we go from here? I am tired of hearing people complain about an existing problem within our government. Comment by Pall Stanley

By: Jay Randal

Jay Randal — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 16:05:15 +0000

The Congress is supposed to hold hearings on Tillman’s murder, this next week, so I hope they ask important questions and not act stupid about it.

By: BARTLEBEE

BARTLEBEE — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 15:55:58 +0000

Yea Big Papa, but we don’t want the executive with that kind of unchecked authority, whether republican or democrat. Our government exists with checks and balances and we need to maintain them. The right wing has for years wanted to pump the executive up to the status of a caesar, and have him rule over the courts and the senate with an iron fist, which is of course, another form of government than what America has been for the last 2 centuries.

By: Wayne A. Schneider

Wayne A. Schneider — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 15:23:04 +0000

Either youâ€™re in the Loyal Bushie fan club or youâ€™re against them.

Comment by ScrewBush â€” July 28, 2007 @ 10:35 am

Then I’m against them, and proud of it!

By: big papa

big papa — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 15:14:51 +0000

George W. Bush is my President. He is doing the best he can. History will be much kinder to him than the anti-American media has. Just like his father. What a wonderful man.

Comment by Enough Already #339

Anyone who knows inbred TRAITORS like this pathetic demon Enough Already…

…should do the country a favor…

…and make its existence…

…as miserable as…

…its gods- Bushiva and L’il Dick…

…has made ours, the Afghans, Palestinians and the Iraqis…

…excrement like Enough Already should be flushed…

By: Chocolat Jesus God Help Us into uranUs

Chocolat Jesus God Help Us into uranUs — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 15:14:45 +0000

>Does anyone besides me find it odd that
>the person who did the shooting was
> never identified.

sounds like it was probably this guy: Spc. Bryan O’Neal

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/07/26/ap3958728.html

(someone look him up see if you can find anything)

‘ It has been widely reported by the AP and others that Spc. Bryan O’Neal, who was at Tillman’s side as he was killed, told investigators that Tillman was waving his arms shouting “Cease fire, friendlies, I am Pat (expletive) Tillman, damn it!” again and again.

But the latest documents give a different account from a chaplain who debriefed the entire unit days after Tillman was killed.

The chaplain said that O’Neal told him he was hugging the ground at Tillman’s side, “crying out to God, help us. And Tillman says to him, `Would you shut your (expletive) mouth? God’s not going to help you; you need to do something for yourself, you sniveling …”
‘

By: big papa

big papa — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 15:07:40 +0000

Comment by BARTLEBEE #360

…in attempting to find a “silver lining” in this dark cloud…

…couldn’t “waste, fraud and abuse” by major U.S. corporations…

…of U.S. taxpayer sponsored…

…reconstruction and “private security contractor” funding…

…be considered as…

…”undermining efforts to promote economic reconstruction and political reform in Iraq and to provide humanitarian assistance to the Iraqi people,”…?

…and if so…

…won’t this give the new Democratic administration the tools they need…

…to confiscate the assets and properties of Halliburton/KBR, Blackwater, Bechtel and Bush and Cheney war profiteers club of DUHmerikkka?

By: BARTLEBEE

BARTLEBEE — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 14:40:19 +0000

Fixed!

And kudos to the other gentleman who suggested the people who run ThinkProgress could have their property seized because they somehow support terrorist attacks in Iraq.
I am sure they are happy to have you posting here.

Comment by Lying Trickster July 28, 2007 @ 8:30 am

As I am sure TP is happy to have morons like yourself posting here, who don’t know how to read.

The executive order does not say just that. The executive order is broad and generalized, and makes room for arrests of practically anyone.

Go back to school mook.

By: ScrewBush

ScrewBush — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 14:35:47 +0000

Why is Bush hiding behind executive privilege?

Because he can! Because he’s the Decider. Because Congress and the Court can go Cheney themselves that’s why.

I’m not being funny. I truly believe he’s at the stage where he believes he can do whatever he wants. Regardless of how you voted, what party you represent or prefer, it’s up to every American to recognize when the President is out of control, believes he’s a king, is unfit for the job, and to Impeach. Every day these clowns are in office we are all put at increased risk from natural disasters to infrastructure breakdown, to terrorists.

Tillman is a perfect example, as good as Katrina, that they simply don’t care about Americans. Either you’re in the Loyal Bushie fan club or you’re against them.

By: bilbobaggins

bilbobaggins — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 14:27:03 +0000

Well, I went to Wikipedia and looked up Executive Order. So I have the answer to my question.

“Congress may overturn an executive order by passing legislation in conflict with it or by refusing to approve funding to enforce it. In the former, the president retains the power to veto such a decision; however, the Congress may override a veto with a two-thirds majority to end an executive order.”

I expect that they would have a hard time getting the super-majority so they are leaving it alone. I do think, though, if he has the nerve to try to enforce this Executive Order, the courts will slap him down really quickly.

Here’s where the courts have already chimed in on this:

“Until the 1950s, there were no rules or guidelines outlining what the president could or could not do through an executive order. However, the Supreme Court ruled in Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer, 343 US 579 (1952) that Executive Order 10340 from President Harry S. Truman placing all steel mills in the country under federal control was invalid because it attempted to make law, rather than clarify or act to further a law put forth by the Congress or the Constitution. Presidents since this decision have generally been careful to cite which specific laws they are acting under when issuing new executive orders.”

Apparently an Executive Order is supposed to “clarify or act to further a law put forth by Congress or the Constitution”. I don’t see where this Executive Order does this. This Executive Order seems to be relying on prior Executive Orders for the “law”.

George Bush thinks he is a law unto himself. Here’s one of the criticisms that legal scholars have with the Executive Order. I think it fits perfectly with George Bush and what he has been doing for the last 6 1/2 years:

Critics fear that the president could make himself a de facto dictator by side-stepping the other branches of government and making autocratic laws.

By: bilbobaggins

bilbobaggins — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 14:15:09 +0000

“While Congress was passing minimum wage, Bush was inking this little beauty into law.”

#358 – BARTLEBEE – I read somewhere, maybe here, that Congress can nullify Executive Orders. If that’s so, then why is Congress silent on this?

By: O. Bigfoot

O. Bigfoot — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 12:59:35 +0000

“Actually strange that a Russian gun was not used to do the deed. The Taliban use old Russian weapons, so perhaps the hit-team goofed up.

Comment by Jay Randal â€” July 28, 2007 @ 2:14 am”

And there we have it. If this were some sort of ordered hit, it would have been easy to come up with a more convincing set of circumstances for the “cover up”.

It would be pretty elementary stuff to use a seized enemy weapon if one wanted to make it look like enemy fire. If I can go down to the local pawn shop and buy a Russian AK, don’t you think our government could come up with one?

It would have also been just as easy to simply have Tillman be “MIA” and still not be found.

All this crap about “cover up” is just that, crap. Perhaps George Bush simply feels this is a personal issue that should be between Tillman’s family and the military, not some public soap-opera to be played out on the world stage.

I was wondering how long it would take to put all blame squarely on “BushCo”…it only took 38 posts:

“Rove ordered the murder.

Rove directed the spin.

Rove ran the coverup.

Prove me wrong.

Comment by ace â€” July 27, 2007 @ 6:34 pm”

The only thing missing here was Cheney doing the shooting and Bush handing him the loaded gun.

I applaud those who tactfully confronted ace on this one.