EDITORIAL: Lying About Tillman

Mar 30, 04:41 PM

Current Headlines: By The Charlotte Observer, N.C.

Mar. 30--The Pentagon's report on the death of Pat Tillman more accurately describes what happened but leaves unanswered the larger question: Why did the Army lie about it? Apparently Congress must get involved to put this disturbing spectacle of military irresponsibility to rest.

Mr. Tillman drew worldwide attention when he walked away from a multimillion-dollar pro football contract to join the Army Rangers after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. He was assigned first to Iraq and then to Afghanistan, where, on April 22, 2004, he was killed by friendly fire while on patrol.

Dozens of soldiers -- those at the scene, his immediate superiors and high-ranking officers at a nearby command post -- knew immediately or within hours how he died. Yet the Army claimed he was killed in battle by enemy forces. The Army stuck to that story even at his nationally televised memorial service 11 days later. Based on that dishonest report, he was awarded a Silver Star -- the nation's third highest award for valor in the face of the enemy. The citation said he died from enemy fire.

Army officials lied to the Tillman family about his death. Not until five weeks later was his family told the truth -- a delay the Army blamed on procedural mistakes.

Now a report by the Defense Department inspector general concludes that nine officers, including four generals, should be held accountable but doesn't say how. "There was a failure to follow regulations," acting Pentagon Inspector General Thomas F. Gimble said in a report released Monday, but "there was never an attempt to cover up what we saw."

Why did officers who knew the truth fail to tell it? The report says they did not explain their silence. Did high Defense Department officials know nothing of this non-coverup? The report doesn't say.

That won't do.

It's tragic when brave soldiers die from friendly fire, but in the confusion of war, tragic things happen. What Army officials did next was inexcusable. They chose to lie, perhaps believing that preventing propaganda damage from the circumstances of Pat Tillman's death was more important than telling the truth -- even to the Tillman family.

His mother, Mary Tillman, aptly summarized the situation for the Washington Post: "The fact that ... he watched his own men kill him is absolutely heartbreaking and tragic. The fact that they lied about it afterward is disgusting."

His father, Patrick Tillman Sr., was equally outraged and blunt. He blamed high-ranking officers for telling "outright lies" to the family and the public. He saw it as a conscious decision to protect the Army's image.

To treat this as a procedural mistake, like some clerical error, is disrespectful of Pat Tillman's patriotism, insulting to the Tillman family and damaging to the Army's integrity. The full story must be told, and those responsible for the lying must be held accountable.

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