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2007-08-01 Home Front: Politix
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Rumsfeld Defends Himself in Tillman Case
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WASHINGTON (AP) - Former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld defended himself and took no personal responsibility Wednesday for the military's bungled response to Army Ranger Pat Tillman's friendly-fire death in Afghanistan.
Rumsfeld, in his first public appearance on Capitol Hill since President Bush replaced him with Robert Gates late last year, reiterated previous testimony to investigators that he didn't have early knowledge that Tillman was cut down by fellow Rangers, not by enemy militia, as was initially claimed.
He told a House committee hearing that he'd always impressed upon Pentagon underlings the importance of telling the truth.
"Early in my tenure as secretary of defense, I wrote a memo for the men and women of the Department of Defense," Rumsfeld told the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. "You will note that principle number one - the very first - was: 'Do nothing that could raise questions about the credibility of DOD.'"
Rumsfeld gave the committee a copy of that memo.
Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., charged that unanswered questions surrounding Tillman's death reach into the highest ranks of the Pentagon and beyond.
"The concealment of Corp. Tillman's fratricide caused millions of Americans to question the integrity of our government, yet no one will tell us when and how the White House learned the truth," said Waxman.
Tillman's mother, Mary Tillman, and other family members watched from the back row.
Before the hearing started, Rumsfeld entered smiling and shook hands with retired Gen. Richard Myers, former head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and retired Gen. John P. Abizaid, former commander of the U.S. Central Command.
Both joined him at the witness table.
Two activists held signs reading "war criminal."
"Are you not ashamed?" one said. Rumsfeld didn't react.
"This is not a rally or demonstration, let's keep that in mind," Waxman chided, before delivering his opening statement.
The congressional inquiry comes a day after the Army laid most of the blame for the response to Tillman's death on Philip Kensinger, a retired three-star general who led Army special operations forces after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
The Army censured Kensinger for "a failure of leadership" and accused him of lying to investigators probing the aftermath of Tillman's death. For five weeks the Army knew Tillman was cut down by his fellow Army Rangers, but told the public and Tillman's own family that he died in a fire fight with enemy militia.
I couldn't read anymore 
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Posted by Sherry 2007-08-01 11:36||
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