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Ear to the Ground

Rumsfeld Denies Responsibility at Tillman Hearing

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Posted on Aug 1, 2007

In a hearing before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Wednesday, former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld testified he had not known the real circumstances of Pat Tillman’s death in April 2004 and that he would not characterize the Army’s handling of the friendly-fire case as a “cover-up.”


AP via Breitbart.com:

Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., charged that unanswered questions surrounding Tillman’s death reach into the highest ranks of the Pentagon and beyond.

“The concealment of Cpl. Tillman’s fratricide caused millions of Americans to question the integrity of our government, yet no one will tell us when and how the White House learned the truth,” said Waxman.

But Rumsfeld said he’d always impressed upon Pentagon underlings the importance of telling the truth.

“Early in my tenure as secretary of defense, I wrote a memo for the men and women of the Department of Defense,” Rumsfeld said. “You will note that principle number one—the very first—was: ‘Do nothing that could raise questions about the credibility of DOD.’ ”

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By Verne Arnold, August 2, 2007 at 9:05 am #

Rumsfeld: Te heh; heh, heh; ha ha; har har har; owoooooooooooo…...what a bunch of maroons!

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By Miguel Nieto, August 2, 2007 at 8:32 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

Not only can you not trust the Bush Administration in telling the truth, but our military can not be trusted as well. What kind of country has the USA become?
Worst yet, it seems to me that most Americans can care less.
To bad Americans are not true to what was once called “American Values”, otherwise the American people would have risen up and gotten rid of those that rule this country, and I’m not only talking about those so-called “elected” officials, either!

Never mind. I’ll just hide under my rock in my adopted home in Europe, away from that craziness in that land that was once called “the land of the free and brave”. Brave? Fuck no! More like Fat and Lazy! And definitely not “free”.

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By cyrena, August 2, 2007 at 6:34 am #

#91516 by vet240 on 8/01 at 3:48 pm)

•  You go to give testimony with the lies you have, not the lies you wish you had.

Dear vet240:
This says it. We know the rest.

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By halhiker, August 2, 2007 at 5:41 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

Gee, I was expecting Rumsfeld to come out and say he ordered the assassination of Pat Tillman.  I mean, that’s how these things end up in the movies.

All of the answers given during these hearings will only lead to more questions.

But here’s what should happen next:  do ballistics tests on the bullets that killed Pat Tillman.  Find out who shot him and bring that person before Congress to ask him why he shot one of our own soldiers in the head from 30 feet away?  Ask him about his training.  Ask him why he was able to put three bullets into a small area on a man’s forehead but was not able to tell it was one of our own soldiers.  Find out how long he’d been with that convoy of soldiers and who ordered him to be there.  Don’t start by asking the guys at the top.  Start by bringing in the shooter. 

That’s the person I want to hear from, not these guys who lie for a living.

I’d also like to hear Pat Tillman’s voice in this.  Any letters, e-mails and personal communications should be compiled and made public.  Let’s find out why this man was really killed and why they are trying so hard to cover it up.

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By Ron Ranft, August 2, 2007 at 2:32 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

As another General asked to retire after doing the Abu Grahib investigation, “imagine, a man that was a known micro-manager, who had to know everything, suddenly had no knowledge of what happened!”

Kensinger was not the person responsible for releasing the report on Tillman, that was General Abuzaid. Abuzaid was also the General who ordered Taguba to do the Abu Grahib investigation but limited it to just the enlisted men. All officers involved were off limits. Taguba meets with Rumsfield who seems to know everything about the case but then hours later claims no knowledge of Abu Grahib.

When will these so called patriot Generals stand up and say no to all these illegal acts and cover-ups?

As for Rummy, he never met a lie he didn’t like, especially one that saves his ass or makes him look good.

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By Terrence Sullivan, August 2, 2007 at 1:59 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

How is it conceivable that anyone on the face of this earth can find any credibility in anything anyone from this crimininal administration has to say.

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By Frank Cajon, August 2, 2007 at 12:46 am #

Boy, after all this speculation about the mysterious circumstances surrounding the death in action/friendly fire casualty/murder/assassination of Pat Tillman, the government is finally bringing in a top expert to clear it all up. A respected, honest, knowledgeable authority to tell the truth about any lingering feelings of a coverup:
Donald Rumsfeld.
Fuck.

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By vet240, August 1, 2007 at 7:48 pm #

You go to give testimony with the lies you have, not the lies you wish you had.

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farmertx's avatar

By farmertx, August 1, 2007 at 4:33 pm #

Ho Hum…did any of us really expect anything else from a man who lied weekly to the public?

The amazing part was the demotion of a retired 3 star. He must of had some Democrat ways about him.

Otherwise, yup, it’s the odd Lt. and NCO’s who take the fall for the senior officer’s when things get exposed.

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By THOMAS BILLIS, August 1, 2007 at 4:13 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

Rummy was hardly in the office.Sure he stopped in occasionly.Abu Garib or Pat Tillman must have been at lunch when that was discussed.It is really amazing how much responsibility Jr Officers take on in our military.Why do we need Generals and a Secretary of Defense if all the decisions that make us look like a bannana republic are handled at the bottom of the food chain.I guess we have a new concept, sunshine civilian leadership in the military.If the news is good hold a press conference if the news is bad send a private to jail.Wasn’t this defense tried at Nuremburg?

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By mia, August 1, 2007 at 4:08 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

I don’t understand why no one on the Oversight Committee asked why, if there was no coverup, Tillman’s journal and uniform were burned?!

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