Hearing on Tillman Fratricide: Cummings’ Questions
The Oversight Committee holds a hearing, “The Tillman Fratricide: What the Leadership of the Defense Department Knew.” The hearing is part of an ongoing investigation and follows a previous hearing held in April. Witnesses will include former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Former Commander of U.S. Central Command Gen. John P. Abizaid (Retired), Former Chair of Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Richard B. Myers (Retired), Former Commander of U.S. Special Operations Command Gen. Bryan Douglas Brown (Retired). Gen. Kensinger has been served with a subpoena, but has not been able to be located over the past several days and will not appear. Rep. Elijah Cummings questions witnesses.
Video Transcript
coming thank you very much as secretary
roger altman to ushow is it possible you didn't know
before may twenty and thirty of corptillman diedby familyand our last year and we develop a chart
which i'll put up nowon the wallin his trying to show that the committee
had learned up to that pointwhich was that at least nine pentagon
officialsincluding three generals even knew or
were informedof the suspected fratricide in the first
seventy two hours after the currentwe have continued to investigate in and
now i would like to put up another charthere we identify pentagon officials who
love the frat assignbefore the american publicand the tillman family at the enda may two thousand fourthis judge shows that at least thirty
people knew including some of thehighest ranking military officialsin our governmentbut even this is not comprehensivecommittee interviewed lieutenant general
john crack on july twenty seventhinto two thousand four he was uh... your
seniormilitary assistanceis now the head of natal he told us that
he didn't learned of the fratricidein any official capacity but rather from
his neighbor lieutenant general jimlovell a school was director of the army
staffthis is how do you know craddock
described itand we'll put that on the word he said
general jim lovelace is my mail id foradmire because he was when they were in
a social setting we have a say frequentbut a couple of times a mock we'd talked
to see each other outside or somethingon the weekendthe best that i can recollect was over
the fence at my quarters one weekendjump jim lovell he said something to me
that tillman may have been killed byfriendly firei would call being surprised taken abackquite franklyif this was common knowledge among top
military rights secular runs wellsomething that was talked about of
course the backyard fenceshow's it possible that you didn't knowyou have a date congressman manuel this
backyard fence discussion took place wedon't have a no we didn't give us a
specific dateconsideredear talking about an institution of
something like three million people moreactive-duty reservecivilians contractorsthere are so many things going on in
thatdepartment in any given yearthere's something like seven thousand
courts marshalswith probably that many investigations
going on indian aiding the in yearuh... it isn't possible was like a city
of three million people it's notpossible for someone to know all the
things that are going on understand thecenter believe me i would not be a cd
these questionsit or not for the fact that we had a
chat he well hereuh... wonder you well aware ofand so i thought maybe you might have
not somebody let me let me i don't wantto talk about because i want you tobetter more pointed question that i want
to get toboundary maple pats on his mothermeri children and this is one of the
most wrenching hearings have beenattended since i've been hearing eleven
yearswas asked about the possibility that you
didn't knowand this was a responsible to listen to
this from a motherwho sign had been killed in warshe said i've been doing a lot of
reading about former secretarydefense run spelland i believe just from what i would
worry about him as a personand his expectations for his deaththat he would have had this informationi think what mary tom and said it's
absolutes what many americans feelit does not seem credible that she
didn't know disinformation but let me gobackto what you said in your opening
statement i was so impressedwith the statement that you said that
you put out you said this in eroded itsays when you talk about what to expect
of the military said the opi officialsmust tell the truthand must be believed to be telling the
truthare important work is undermined and
then he said something that was veryinteresting you went on to say in the
closing remarksany errors in such a situation most
unfortunatethe children's were all the truthdelivered in a full flight in a timely
manneri ask you again general during the going
yesterday saidthat he did not believe that there was a
cover-uphighest user most respectfullydo you thinkthat determines receive the proof and i
ask for what you do you think there wasa cover-upideologyrunning respond this way firstthat the words i read the testimony of
your previous hearingi agree with you this dayit was a heart-wrenchingand the words that you've cited from his
motherobviously with the words of a grieving
mother andaras i recall the testimony she did go on
to say that she hasno fax or no paper no informationto confirm persian perbeliefwhich i thought was gracious over
because i i i i know of no facts toconfirm purple hazeand i know of no one else if there's any
fax or paper to confirm her beliefthe uh...this wasn't so you claimed there was an
air you mentioned erais a difference between ally in an era
mississippi tourwilson there's a difference between the
two men andi don't know how many investigation some
people of said five some six some sevenbut every single one of them has
suggested that theit was badly handled and errors were
made but in no instance has any evidenceof a cover up to use the phrase you used
didn't print presented or put forward iknow of nothing it suggests thati don't knowthat i would not engage in a cover upi know that no one in the white house
suggested such a thing to mei know that the gentleman sitting next
to me i a man of enormous integrity andwould not participate in something like
thatsouh...of course is a difference between a rut
and cover upmister cummings your time is up for you
could ask a question if you want all thewitnesses dancerand i guess the question would besincethe informationwas distortedandon dealssocialism newspapers was rewrittento give a different statement than what
he put forwardand the family wasn't informedfor the longest timeand all these otherproblemsdo any of you think there was a cover up
ofbut there are a resultor actionsmr chairman i can only say thatthe places that i worki would agreetotally with sector oneselfthat uh...weather was a white house for the
secretary's office or when the jointchiefs of staff met or when i talk you
know i was athere was nonever any attempt to cover up in effect
this was not an issuethat we discussedwewe just in the specificity it wasn'tread a lot of issueswe mourn every deathwe really do we cry with with the
parents and the friends and familyon their hand this precious different
listing you whether you were part of acover-up you think there was a cover-upso i don't know what i have all the
information that i was a decision onthis question given theconnell so i don't think there was cover
up i think people tried to do the rightthing in the right thing didn't happencontract manager or was that i don't
think there was a cover-upto think about
The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform holds a hearing entitled "Misleading Information from the Battlefield." The hearing focuses on the death of Army Ranger Specialist Patrick Tillman in Afghanistan and the capture and rescue of Army Private Jessica Lynch in Iraq. The Committee examines why inaccurate accounts of these two incidents were disseminated, the sources and motivations for the accounts, and whether the appropriate Administration officials have been held accountable. Rep. Danny Davis questions Specialist Patrick Tillman's mother Mary Tillman about what senior military officials knew and when they knew it.
The mother of former NFL player Pat Tillman said the military let him down when it misreported his death. Katie Couric says the military let us all down. (CBSNews.com)
The Bridge at Hoover Dam is an extended photographic essay resulting from a two-year personal project by Jamey Stillings. For more information, see: www.bridgeathooverdam.com
Alternate version of the Pat Tillman tribute I made shortly after his death. Visit Pat's Page on my website for more videos and info about Pat. CHRISVALENTINES.COM
I Wrote this song for our fighting men and their families.
I do NOT support the wars.
I DO support our Brothers and Sons who fight them!
On this night I dedicated this song to Pat Tillman. At the time I had no idea of the lies that had been told.
We are just starting to learn the truth about what really happened to Pat.
The Oversight Committee holds a hearing, "The Tillman Fratricide: What the Leadership of the Defense Department Knew." The hearing is part of an ongoing investigation and follows a previous hearing held in April. Witnesses will include former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Former Commander of U.S. Central Command Gen. John P. Abizaid (Retired), Former Chair of Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Richard B. Myers (Retired), Former Commander of U.S. Special Operations Command Gen. Bryan Douglas Brown (Retired). Gen. Kensinger has been served with a subpoena, but has not been able to be located over the past several days and will not appear. Chairman Waxman gives opening remarks.
"... I don't think they are very honorable people. I know they were lying. I mean, and I think that -- you know, like, you know, Pat and I are talking about, you know, we feel that there could have been something else that happened to Pat but -- I mean, we can't prove it. Every bit of evidence has been destroyed. ... Rumsfeld, Abizaid, Myers and Brown collectively said, 'I don't know, I don't recall, I don't remember' about 82 times and no one on that panel pressed them. No one did their research. Neither faction of that committee." -- Pat Tillman's mother Mary on Larry King Live
Check it out: http://www.tillmanstory.com/
Not the only ones hungry for justice at http://www.michaelmoore.com
Pat Tillman was a professional football player with the Arizona Cardinals.
In response to the September 11, 2001 incident, he passed up a $3.6 million contract and joined the Army. His sacrifice became made him a symbol of patriotism and a poster child for Army recruiters.
Pat Tillman came to his senses and turned against the wars. Through friends and family, he made contact with anti-war icon Noam Chomsky.
Perhaps Tillman was ready to make a public statement of opposition to the wars, which would have been a public relations catastrophe for the Army. We will never know. Perhaps the Army knew he was going to go public with a statement of opposition. We will never know.
Pat Tillman took three bullets through the head on April 22, 2004. He was shot at close range by his own men while on paatrol in Afghanistan.
A massive coverup followed, in which the public was told that Tillman had been killed by hostile fire. He was awarded the Silver star. The conspiracy to deceive Tillman's grieving family and the public went to the highest levels of the Army, and centered on one Lt. General Stanley McChrystal.
Eventually, the fraud was exposed, and a half-hearted congressional investigation followed.
Pat Tillman is still dead. His mother, Mary Tillman, still grieves. Lt. General Stanley McChrystal was promoted to supreme commander of the Afghan theater.
Tillman Military Scholars Richard Garcia and Melissa Stroh. Highlights from the 6th annual Pat's Run held Saturday, April 17, 2010 at ASU's Sun Devil Stadium.
Feature and coverage courtesy of Fox Sports Arizona.
The Oversight Committee holds a hearing, "The Tillman Fratricide: What the Leadership of the Defense Department Knew." The hearing is part of an ongoing investigation and follows a previous hearing held in April. Witnesses will include former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Former Commander of U.S. Central Command Gen. John P. Abizaid (Retired), Former Chair of Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Richard B. Myers (Retired), Former Commander of U.S. Special Operations Command Gen. Bryan Douglas Brown (Retired). Gen. Kensinger has been served with a subpoena, but has not been able to be located over the past several days and will not appear. Chairman Waxman questions witnesses on a memo he received early on indicating that it was likely a case of fratricide.
Arizona Cardinal football player turned Army Ranger, killed in action during operation Iraqi Freedom. Tyler Griffin Reporting (2004) - www.Mindshift-Media.com
CSTV's Going West road crew stops by Arizona State and checks out Tillman Tunnel, named for ASU alum and hero Pat Tillman. For more exclusive college football news, log on to www.goingwestfootball.com
Jim Axelrod previews at tonight's "Evening News" stories. At center stage are hearings on the death of Pat Tillman, the former NFL star who was killed in Afghanistan. (CBSNews.com)
