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| Pat Tillman's brother blasts Iraq war |
| 2006-10-22 |
| The brother of an NFL player who was killed in Afghanistan after quitting the team to join the U.S. Army Rangers has spoken out. Kevin Tillman, a former Army Ranger who served in Iraq and Afghanistan with his older brother, Pat Tillman, has remained silent since his brother's death in 2004. But this week, he wrote a scathing indictment of the war in Iraq, the Bush administration and American apathy. "Somehow, the more soldiers that die, the more legitimate the illegal invasion becomes," Kevin wrote on Truthdig.com, which purchased his work. The brothers, both Arizona State University graduates, joined the Army in response to the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. They served together as Rangers with the 2nd Battalion of the 75th Ranger Regiment. Pat Tillman, who played defensive back for the Arizona Cardinals, was killed by friendly fire near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in April 2004. The Defense Department is investigating allegations of a cover-up, including failure by the U.S. Army to tell Tillman's family for several weeks that he had been killed by gunfire from his fellow Army Rangers, not by enemy fire as they initially were told. Kevin Tillman has not spoken publicly about the war or his brother's death since his discharge from the Army. But in Truthdig.com, Kevin wrote openly about the war and America's response to it. "Somehow, the same incompetent, narcissistic, virtueless, vacuous, malicious criminals are still in charge of this country. Somehow, this is tolerated. Somehow, nobody is accountable for this." After playing for the ASU Sun Devils, Pat Tillman was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in 1998. He played with the team for four years. On Sept. 12, 2001, he gave an interview in which he talked about how "stupid" football seemed relative to world events. "At times like this, you stop and think about not only how good we have it but what kind of system we live under," he said. "My great-grandfather was at Pearl Harbor. And a lot of my family has gone and fought in wars. And I really haven't done a ... thing as far as laying myself on the line like that." Pat was on the verge of signing another contract with the Cardinals in the spring of 2002 when he decided to join the Army instead. The Tillmans were initially sent to Iraq as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. In 2003, the brothers returned to the U.S. for training to become Army Rangers. After that, they were sent to Afghanistan. |
| Posted by:Captain America |
| #19 I stood in the blazing sun for over two hours and listened to Kevin Tillman speak at Pat's eulogy here in San Jose's municipal rose garden. He spoke well and lovingly of his departed brother. Nothing he mentioned hinted at such an unworthy appraisal of how and why his own brother sacrificed a life of promising wealth and comparative luxury to so honorably serve his country. It is pathetic in the extreme that Kevin now does such an injustice to Pat's memory, especially so for monetary gain. From all that was said by the fellow officers and friends who provided their own memorials, I am confident that Pat would not agree. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2006-10-22 23:46 |
| #18 I can understand that he doesn't want any more soldiers to die and is pissed his bro lost due to friendly fire. "Somehow, the more soldiers that die, the more legitimate the illegal invasion becomes." Is he saying the invasion was illegal but is now looking more legitimate or more illegal? I agree we should of gone to war and I'm proud of our troops, but damnit, I'm really PISS at Bush for not responding to all these outrageous accusations that have built up. His staff always say, we will not dignify this or that. US PR is way too outdated and slow. How can our troop moral be good when people (friends/family) everywhere begin to believe the enemy propoganda and conspiracies. I, for one, still believe WMD were in Iraq in 2003 but we've already said they never existed to the world. |
| Posted by: Jesing Ebbease3087 2006-10-22 19:19 |
| #17 Pat believed in what he was doing. He realized he was part of something greater. Pat was not killed in Iraq and his brother is tieing his death in Afghanistan to Iraq? He is either confused or a whore. He gets his opinion, every soldier's - pro or con, is respected. But this is timed at elections and for sale. He should have more honor than to sell his opinion and I bet he is coldly recieved at the Reg reunion. I guess if the dems search long enoough they will find someone to hang out front. I wonder who they will find next. |
| Posted by: 49 Pan 2006-10-22 18:58 |
| #16 The President solicited new war strategies in at least 4 interviews last week. Hopefully he takes good counsel, and winning conditions can at long last be created. Clinton's Kosovo/Bosnia dogma against "ethnic cleansing" appears to attach to the GWOT. It is one thing to toss minorities off family land, and another to establish controlled protection zones. Green Zone clones would secure Iraq from marauders. Snipers and mortar lobbers would be another matter. I won't respond to Tillman's comments because they are the product of futility. Once Clintonism is out of the Iraq picture, optimism might be possible once more. |
| Posted by: Snease Shaiting3550 2006-10-22 18:27 |
| #15 he's venting his grief for money. Whore |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-10-22 18:24 |
| #14 Kevin Tillman is flat wrong. I'm not sure if he ever believed in the Iraq war in the first place and I really don't care. I don't think he's arguing that our ROE's are too restrictive. I think he plainly just doesn't believe in the war at all. They have a third brother who is also a total loon. Their family still believes the Army bungled the investigation into Pat's death, etc. That may or may not be true. However, any idiot knows Hussein needed to go. We can argue on the 'burg if our post-invasion tactics have been as effective as they could be, but, we all agree this conflict had to happen now. And, after you remove the dictator you have to leave the place somewhat coherent. That's a messy job but quite imperative. Seems to be a bigger picture concept then Kevin can grasp. BTW - I studied pretty hard how Pat got killed in Afghanistan and it was sad and prolly preventable. However, I think his brother is just venting his grief the wrong way. Sadly typical. |
| Posted by: Broadhead6 2006-10-22 18:19 |
| #13 I'm down with that, anon. Ditto. |
| Posted by: .com 2006-10-22 17:56 |
| #12 Kevin wrote on Truthdig.com, which PURCHASED his work. PURCHASED HIS WORK. Take note of that. He has the right to EARN the money but should not earn your respect. If he had said it for free, it would be a sign of his conviction. But that he took cash from truthdig just shows this guy is a whore profiting off of his brother's fame and valor. I have no respect for him at all. None. |
| Posted by: anon 2006-10-22 17:21 |
| #11 No one denies Kevin the right to speak out, pro or con. But there are two issues here: (1) The historical rate of reenlistment runs counter to Kevin's accusations, (2) The timing, although Nov 6 is Pat's day, at a minimum Kevin knows that such statements would be political fodder for the slime. Finally, I was taken aback at the causal dismissal Kevin makes at childrens' drawings and such for the troops. While they may be dismissed by Kevin, childrens' renderings come from the heart. |
| Posted by: Captain America 2006-10-22 16:43 |
| #10 I'll bet that most of the lower enlisted personnel- the grunts - of every war had some scathing commnents on the leadership and conduct of the wars they fought. As a former soldier myself, I know that soldiers bitch - alot! So this is just the latest in a long history of soldiers returned from the fight - disillusioned and looking to blame someone higher up the chain of command for every thing not turnnig out like the movies. What's interesting is, here again right before an election, that this guy can get national exposure while bad mouthing the command structure and the President in particular. |
| Posted by: Robjack 2006-10-22 16:27 |
| #9 I should add that "I can appreciate criticism coming from those who believe we've waged a PC-war that has allowed an insurgency to grind away at our military," I strongly disagree with the charge that the war in Iraq is illegal. However, I agree with Cyber Sarge, Kevin Tillman has earned the right to his POV. |
| Posted by: Lancasters Over Dresden 2006-10-22 15:51 |
| #8 Kevin has earned the right to say whatever he wants and I have the right to think that he is wrong in his statement. |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge 2006-10-22 15:49 |
| #7 I can appreciate criticism coming from those who believe we've waged a PC-war that has allowed an insurgency to grind away at our military. For example, NBC Nightly News last week had a disturbing story about a US ARMY patrol inside Baghdad. During the patrol, some hidden Iraqis used a long stick with a black flag attached to it to signal nearby snipers and mortar teams that the Americans were closing in on their neighborhood. Under normal warfare conditions, an airstrike should have been immediately called in; to hell with the so-called collateral loss of "innocent" lives. Instead, the patrol had to put up with the bullshit and sure enough, came under mortar fire a few minutes later. What a BS way to fight and lose a guerrilla war, something our ingenious military and political leaders have grown accustomed to these last four or five decades. |
| Posted by: Lancasters Over Dresden 2006-10-22 15:49 |
| #6 casey who? so sad. I do take a bit of comfort in the fact that despite what was certainly a monumental effort on their part, they could only find two souls willing to sell. |
| Posted by: anon 2006-10-22 15:13 |
| #5 Or go back to Texas and huddle on the ground where she buried her "parts" and seek comfort from those rotting organs. Boy is it going to be a shock to discover that the left starts funding Kevin a lot and her a little, at best. |
| Posted by: lotp 2006-10-22 15:09 |
| #4 She's had a good run, though, and loved every minute of it. Casey who? Poor Casey. Poor Pat. |
| Posted by: .com 2006-10-22 15:08 |
| #3 poor Cindy. This guy is a lock for her gig. Maybe she can still draw a crowd of three or four at the local indy bookstores in Portland. |
| Posted by: anon 2006-10-22 15:03 |
| #2 Cindy Sheehan has competition. |
| Posted by: .com 2006-10-22 15:00 |
| #1 Kevin wrote on Truthdig.com, which purchased his work. whore. I wonder how much his brother's honor was worth to him? |
| Posted by: anon 2006-10-22 14:58 |