Getting at the Truth about the Tillman and Lynch Incidents

Jesse Lee at The Gavel reports on the hearings by the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, which is investigating “Misleading Information from the Battlefield,” in particular the circumstances surrounding the death of Army Ranger Specialist Patrick Tillman in Afghanistan and the capture and rescue of Army Private Jessica Lynch in Iraq. Chairman Henry Waxman: “The bare minimum we owe our soldiers and their families is the truth. That didn’t happen for the two most famous soldiers in the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars. For Jessica Lynch and Pat Tillman, the government violated its most basic responsibility. Sensational details and stories were invented in both cases. Sometimes, because of the fog of war, the first reports from the battlefield are inaccurate. But that doesn’t seem to explain what happened here.” Specialist Patrick Tillman’s brother, Kevin Tillman: “My name is Kevin Tillman. Two days ago marked the third anniversary of the death of my older brother Patrick Tillman in Afghanistan. To our family and friends it was a devastating loss. To the nation t was a moment of disorientation. To the military, it was a nightmare. But to others within the government, it appears to have been an opportunity.” Army Private Jessica Lynch: “I had the good fortune and the opportunity to come home and tell the truth. Many soldiers like Pat Tillman did not have that opportunity. The truth of war is not always easy. The truth is always more heroic than the hype.”