by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright December 7, 2004
All Rights Reserved.

ooming tall tales of battlefield heroics, the Pentagon was caught in another mythical yarn about the death of former National Football League player 27-year-old Cpl. Pat Tillman. Tillman's story offers a glimpse into Pentagon-style journalism. No one questions Tillman's heroics, forgoing a $3.6-million NFL contract with the Arizona Cardinals to join his brother as an army Ranger in Afghanistan. Tillman survived a tour in Iraq before redeployed to Afghanistan to find “high value” targets in the rugged countryside near the Afghan border. According to the Pentagon's initial report, Tillman died April 22 engaging the enemy in a vicious firefight. “Leading his Rangers without regard to his own safety, Tillman was shot and killed while focusing his efforts on the elimination of the enemy forces and the protection of his team members,” read the Army's official statement.

      When Tillman was eulogized May 3 in San Jose, Calif., invited guests—including Tillman's family—heard the Army's version. Nearly a month after the funeral May 29, the Army revised its story saying Tillman “died as a probable result of friendly fire while his unit was engaged in combat with enemy forces.” Tillman's family found it odd that the military claims to have burned his uniform, a crucial piece of direct evidence needed to pinpoint his cause of death. On Nov. 3, then-acting Army Secretary Les Brownlee ordered a new investigation to determine once-and-for-all the “real” circumstances surrounding Tillman's death. A recent Los Angeles Times' report raised serious doubts about the Army's latest revision, claiming Tillman was killed engaging enemy forces. According to eyewitnesses, Army Rangers opened fire on each other after hearing an unidentified explosion.

      Known as the “fog of war,” miscues and miscommunication often result in fratricide or friendly fire, where stressed and trigger-happy soldiers deviate from combat protocols, accidentally attacking comrades. Multiple sources at the scene now confirm that Tillman was mowed down by his own troops, wedged between two boulders in a rugged canyon. There's no evidence that Tillman was engaging the enemy or, for that matter, that he was leading anyone other than himself. “The investigation is a lie,” said Tillman's father Patrick, unwilling to accept the Pentagon's latest story. Tillman's mother Mary couldn't contain her frustration after months of Pentagon stonewalling. “I'm disgusted by things that have happened with the Pentagon since my son's death. I don't trust them one bit,” said Mary, puzzled by the Pentagon's distortions and fabrications.

      Blaming faulty reports on incomplete information, the Pentagon seeks to distance itself from calculated disinformation. Recent reports about psychological warfare—known as “Psy-Ops”—involving the deliberate manipulation of battlefield facts for strategic advantage, cast doubt on the Pentagon's recent mistakes about Tillman's death. “The information available to this command (from the theater investigation last May) indicates that enemy forces were part of the events that led to the death of Cpl. Tillman,” said Lt. Col. Hans E. Bush, spokesman for Army Special Operations Command, denying that the Army knew the real circumstances that felled Tillman. Catching the Pentagon with its pants down raises questions about the Pentagon's credibility. It's difficult reconciling rosy forecasts about upcoming elections and a bright future against undeniable evidence.

      Whether it's talking about Tillman's death or current realities in Iraq, the Pentagon puts its best face forward. Friendly fire incidents, especially with elite special forces, don't send the best signal over the airwaves. “It's a mess in Iraq. The international community, hopefully with the Americans, must help the Iraqis to clean up the mess. The way things are now it clearly isn't working. Let's look for a way that does work,” said U.N. special Iraq envoy Algerian Lakhdar Brahimi, commenting about the feasibility of upcoming elections. Before going critical, Brahimi had considerable clout with the White House, helping to craft Iraq's new government. Brahimi's comments run counter to recent statements by President George W. Bush and Defense Secretary Donald M. Rumsfeld talking about Iraq's great progress, raising more doubts about U.S. credibility.

      Tillman's story opens a can of worms by exposing the Pentagon's unique brand of journalism: Concocting news stories to advance its agenda. “The military thinks we'll just accept their story,” said Mary Tillman, determined to get the truth about her son's death. “They obviously don't know this family,” which, like the press, seeks to get the unvarnished story. Whether the Pentagon's next “investigation” uncovers new facts about Pat Tillman is anyone's guess. It's clear that public relations and face-saving still play a big part in getting out the truth. Even embedded reporters get their wires crossed when fear of repercussions interfere with the mission of exposing the facts. Judging by Tillman's story, journalists must be on the alert and read between the lines before they accept official reports. No one begrudges the Pentagon its strategic advantage—but the press must still do its job.

About the Author

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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