The betrayal of an American hero

[Xylak]

This is the sad tale of a professional American Football player who quit the game - walking away from a $3.6m dollar deal - to join the army in time of trouble (the first since WW2).
The story tells of his death by friendly fire, the ensuing cover up by the Army and his parents fight to get the real truth.

I'm not often sympathetic to these kinds of stories but, damn, I couldn't stop reading this one.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/8046658/Betrayal-of-an-all-American-hero.html

 

[Panda with issues...]

Without reading, I can tell you this it Pat Tillman. Overhyped. Shot by his own side. Old news. Like 5 years ago. Now going to be some lame film about it.

 

[Xylak]

Yeah, is kind of old news but the full story had taken a while to come out. Cynical panda is cynical

 

[Kasatka]

For me, if news isn't shocking i just don't care, and America covering up their own incompetence once again is far from surprising.

 

[Angelic]

Without reading, I can tell you this it Pat Tillman. Overhyped. Shot by his own side. Old news. Like 5 years ago. Now going to be some lame film about it.

I'm at loss how you can be so emotionless when confronted with honest bravery, grave misfortune and betrayal of the very people someone risked his life for. No doubt you think it's cool or something, but in fact, it isn't. The fact that these things (and worse) happen doesn't diminish their sadness.

 

[Xylak]

For me, if news isn't shocking i just don't care, and America covering up their own incompetence once again is far from surprising.

No, it's not shocking nor is it surprising. Two elements that make this story even sadder.

I can be a heartless, cynical bastard at times but this kind of story makes me both sad and angry and that is reason enough to share it - and more reasons to actually care about it.
I'm sorry if it's not "shocking" enough for you... perhaps you should just stick to "Heat" and the latest "outrageous" behaviour by Lady Gaga. Or is the Daily Mail knee-jerk-reactionary stuff more your kind of "shocking"?
Gah... getting angry about this now so I'll shut up before I say something offensive.

 

[Gombol]

In America. Hero is everyone. (seriously though, they give medals put like candy.

 

[Nanor]

In America. Hero is everyone. (seriously though, they give medals put like candy.

Fuck sake Gombol.

 

[Dragon]

Maybe this belongs better in the soap box, but seriously, shit like this happens everyday and not only in America. Instead of focussing on this sad and unbelievable story effort should be put in preventing events like this happening in the future.

 

[Kasatka]

I never intended to anger anyone, i was merely commenting on how we get the occasional controversy over situations like this when in fact they happen all the time.
Like on the news right they are saying how US hired private security in Afganistan are channeling funds back into Al-Quaeda... which is just utterly idiotic. Yet will any heads roll for it? No, someone will get slap on the wrist and make some public apology and the system will carry on as is.
People are awesome, and capable of many amazing and courageous acts, and yeah the guy was a "real American hero" but i find myself asking why? Why do people still care enough about their countries enough to lay their lives on the line. All governments are utter shite, run by money-grabbing, power-hungry, old-money types.
So yeah, wasn't taking a dig at anyone in particular, just at the news and "the system".

 

[PsiSoldier]

Fuck sake Gombol.

i'd be lying if i said i wasn't expecting something like that

 

[Gombol]

Fucks sake nanor, leave my view ( and a view of loads of other people) alone, or I'll say "fucks sake nanor" like you said somthing I don't like.... oh wait....

 

[Ronin Storm]

[mod]Moving this to the Soap Box. And preparing to slap anyone who doesn't discuss respectfully. Like, not like, fair enough. Just productive, discursive, please.[/mod]

 

[Nanor]

A load of other peoples view? Gombol, you'd be hard pushed to find anyone that would agree with the statement "In America. Hero is everyone". Where did that even come out of? Do they really give medals "put" like candy? I doubt that considerably.

The man is the definition of a hero. The perfect poster boy for the War on Terror. The articles mentions of what he gave up for his country, the US governments attempt to use him as a PR resource and the general incompetence of the US Army. All heartbreaking. Your semi-coherent attempt at incrementing your post count suggesting that this man is just like everyone is, quite frankly, sickening.

 

[Tetsuo_Shima]

Maybe someone should do some burying and covering up of this thread, because it's a disgrace.

 

[Kasatka]

Why, i think freedom of speech is one thing that the internet was founding on. No users have been directly attacked in this thread so i don't think censorship of opinion is necessary.

 

[Ronin Storm]

[mod]It's around here that threads go bad. I'm going to give it one last lease of life for constructive, on topic discussion.[/mod]

 

[Double]

Thats bills hat of L4D.... and i would actually love to join the army , it shows that you care for the people in your country and to protect them.

 

[Panda with issues...]

It's a real shame that this tragedy has been turned by the US right wing and right wing media into a recruitment bonanza rather than stimulate a discussion about whether the US wages war with the correct care.

Having lived in the US briefly. I was disgusted by the state of journalism.

The point to this story, in my opinion, is that Tillman was no different to any other person killed by friendly fire in this war. Yet his death received an enormous level of additional coverage.

The US attempted to suppress the fact that he was killed by friendly fire. It got out anyway, and yet people in the US turned him into a martyr, DESPITE THE FACT THAT HE WAS KILLED BY THE OWN INCOMPETENCE OF THEIR MILITARY.

All the while, in the US, their use of shake and bake munitions (white phosphorus, essentially banned by both the geneva convention, and the chemical weapons convention and collateral damage done to civilians and children in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the intense civilian casualties from US drone attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan remain underreported and of which the average US civilian remains woefully ignorant.

 

[Tempscire]

All the while, in the US, their use of shake and bake munitions (white phosphorus, essentially banned by both the geneva convention, and the chemical weapons convention and collateral damage done to civilians and children in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the intense civilian casualties from US drone attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan remain underreported and of which the average US civilian remains woefully ignorant.

I agree with this statement, but in the interests of fairness (and exercising my degree) I should point out that while white phosphorus is most definitely illegal to use against civilians or in civilian areas, such as when Israel used it in their assault on Gaza, it's argubaly not prevented from use in a purely military context. Protocol III article 1 of the [United Nations Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, arguably the main legal source for the use of this weapon, only states that 'incendiary' weapons may not be used against civilians but nothing about military targets. Unfortunately I've found over my years of study that while the US uses questionable tactics and weapons, they're normally careful to stay within the letter of the law but not necessarily its spirit.

Not necessarily on the subject of the discussion, cos I'm not touching it with a 10 foot barge pole, but just thought I'd comment on the issue Panda raised about White Phosphorus for anyone interested.