Late last week and over the weekend, the nation learned yet another version of the events leading up to, and after, the death of Pat Tillman. The first version had him killed on April 22, 2004 in Afghanistan in a firefight with Taliban guerrillas. There was great national grieving because of his fame as a professional football player, and he was laid to rest on May 3rd, 2004 in a nationally televised funeral and internment service, with a large contingent of Army troops attending. The Defense Department bent all its efforts at media management and control to turn the Tillman funeral into a recruiting tool. This official story was maintained throughout most of the month of May. A friend of Tillman’s was given a funeral oration prepared by the Army to read that stated that CPL Tillman was killed by in combat with Taliban fighters.

On May 28th the Army revealed that CPL Tillman had in fact been killed in a friendly fire incident. This fact was known at the highest levels of the Army and DoD in the immediate aftermath of his death, yet there was no public announcement until the end of the month, because the opportunity for a good, flag-waving moment of nationalistic fervor was just too good to pass up for these corrupt, cynical men.

In the aftermath of his evacuation his uniform and many personal effects, including his diary, were burned in Afghanistan. When asked about his uniform, the Army stated that the burning of his blood-soaked uniform was a standard act designed to protect the health of others. There was no mention of his diary and other personal effects at that time.

The following is excerpted from the current version of the Wikipedia article:

A report described in The Washington Post on May 4, 2005 (prepared upon the request of Tillman's family) by Brig. Gen. Gary M. Jones revealed that in the days immediately following Tillman's death, U.S. Army investigators were aware that Tillman was killed by friendly fire, shot three times to the head.[1] Jones reported that senior Army commanders, including Gen. John Abizaid, knew of this fact within days of the shooting but nevertheless approved the awarding of the Silver Star, Purple Heart, and a posthumous promotion. The citation report accompanying these awards said that Tillman was killed by enemy forces and contained a detailed account of the supposed battle--which Army leadership knew had never taken place.

Jones reported that members of Tillman's unit burned his body armor and uniform in an apparent attempt to hide the fact that he was killed by friendly fire. Several soldiers were subsequently punished for their actions by being removed from the United States Army Rangers. [2] Jones believed that Tillman should retain his medals and promotion, since, according to Jones, he intended to engage the enemy and, in Jones's opinion, behaved heroically.[

In 2005 the Army ordered an investigation into the Tillman killing by its Criminal Investigation Division. On Monday BG Rodney Johnson held a briefing at the Pentagon during which he reviewed the details surrounding CPL Tillman’s death, disclosing that a lack of fire discipline, among other things, caused the death, and the wounding of several other American troops, including Tillman’s platoon leader.

"Under extreme circumstances and in a very compressed time frame, the (shooters) had a reasonable belief that death or harm was about to be inflicted on them and believed it was necessary to defend themselves," the Criminal Investigation Command concluded. … Nine Army officers, including four generals, made errors in reporting the friendly fire death to their superiors and to the Tillman family, the Pentagon said. Defense officials said one or more of the officers who provided misleading information as the military investigated could be charged with a crime.

The subject of the new report's sharpest criticism was Lt. Gen. Philip Kensinger, a now-retired three-star general who was in charge of Army special operations. A central issue is why the Army waited about five weeks after it suspected Tillman's death was friendly fire before telling his family.

Kensinger knew it was probably friendly fire well before telling the Tillmans, and he "provided misleading testimony" to investigators, the Defense Department acting inspector general's report said Monday.

Another general blamed in the report is Brig. Gen. Gary Jones, also now retired, who conducted the third Tillman investigation ending in 2005. The new probe found numerous shortcomings with his report.

In a telephone interview with Keith Olberman and ESPN’s Dan Patrick, Mary Tillman, CPL Tillman’s mother, expressed anguish and outrage at the level of deception and duplicity shown by the highest levels of the Army and Defense Department. She excoriated these same officials for the cynical and abusive way they created a national spectacle of her son’s funeral for publicity purposes.

During a telephone interview with Randi Rhodes on Wednesday, Mrs Tillman repeated her outrage and indicated that because of the length and complexity of the coverup, and the Army’s refusal to admit the facts and punish those who have failed their responsibilities to the nation, today she can’t even escape a suspicion that her son was killed deliberately because of his public views of the illegality of the war in Iraq. Her belief of this frightening accusation is supported by the destruction of her son’s diary after his death. She believes this diary contained many indications of his disenchantment over the war in Iraq, and his conviction that his country had lost its way.

While this entire tawdry story is a tragic indictment of the Army and Defense Department leadership, it would be a hard step to believe CPL Tillman was killed in revenge for his political beliefs. A mother’s grief and rage is understandable after the many times she has been lied to by this country’s leaders.

An Army that coldly and calculatedly uses its dead soldiers in such bizarre publicity circuses, and then lies about the truth, is incapable of exercising the moral and ethical leadership necessary to defeat nationalistic resistance in a conquered country. It is incapable of mustering the nobility and righteousness to function as a peacekeeper in a sectarian civil war. It has lost it moral authority as the representative of a functioning democracy. It is actually a perfect mirror of the society and government it represents, and will never be recognized by the Iraqis as an honorable force dedicated to bringing a stop to the killings.

It can never “win“ in Iraq as long as one Iraqi lives.

A tip of the too-small Kevlar helmet to Joe Bourgeouis of CorrenteWire for the lead about the Olberman/Patrick/Tillman clip.