Hearing on Tillman, Lynch Incidents: Waxman’s Opening
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. Chairman Henry Waxman gives opening remarks.
Video Transcript
ranking member then we'll go right to
our witnessesuh... i also want to start off this
hearing by saying something that i thinkhis very clear andalready obviousmy colleagues whether they're democrats
or republicans support our troopswe are all deeply grateful for their
sacrificeswe know that so manymen and women have voluntarilyput their lives on the line to defend
this country and our freedombut is probably just as obvious that the
actions of our governmentare not needing our aspirationswe saw that vividly unforgettable ewhen wehad the hearing and we watcheddisgraceful condition to walter reedwe saw it againwhen our governmentofficials made an intolerable breachby making public the secret and
classified c_i_a_ kennedyof valerieplane wilsonand we're going to see it again this
morningthe bare minimum we'll our soldiers and
their familiesis the truththat didn't happenfor two of the most famous soldiers in
the iraq and this guy and i can't standwarsfor jessica lynch and pat tillmanthe government violated its most basic
responsibilitysensationaldetails and stories were inventedin both casessometimes because of the fog of war the
first reports from the battlefield areinaccuratebut that doesn't seem to explain what
happened herein jessica lynch's case the first
reports were rightit was a follow up stories published ten
days after her capturethat discarded the facts and misled the
countrythe washington post publisher front page
story on april second two thousand threeit was written by vernon loeb and dana
priestand it got the story rightpoint to read the lead paragraphsjessica lance a nineteen-year-old
private first class missing since theambush of an armymaintenance company ten days ago in
southern iraqhas been rescued buysspecial operations forcesdefense officials said yesterdayc_i_a_ operatives in iraq located lynch
in ahospital near not ceriumwhere she was being held because of
multiple woundsofficial said in a helicopter born team
of navy sealsan armyscared herabout midnight local timei was an accurate statement but the next
dayapril three the washington post rananother front page story this one was
written by susan schmidt and vernon loeband the contrast with the april two
story is remarkablehere's what the post reportedp_r_c_ jessica lynch rescued tuesday
from an iraqi hospital five fiercelyand shot several enemy soldiers after
iraqi forces ambush the army's fivehundred seventy ordnance maintenance
company firing her weapon until she ranout of ammunitionu_s_ officials said yesterdayblanchard nineteen-year-old supply kurt
clark continued firingat the iraqis even after she sustained
multiple gunshot wounds and watchedseveral other soldiers in her unit diedaround herand fightingmarch twenty three one official saidpart of this false information come fromjessica lynch was captured on march
twenty threethe washington post published a
completely factual article on a rescueon april secondbut then they went onten days after captureu_s_ officials have become the sourceof our report that riveted the nationbut twisted the troops beyond
recognitionit's four years later and we still don't
know who's responsible or why they diditall we really know as if they did a
great disserviceto jessica lynchand so i want to say the private lynch
in her family who are here todaythis committee is going to do its bestto find out the source of the
fabrications that you had to endurewe want to know whether they were the
result of incompetenceor deliberate strategy to spina compelling story at a critical timeand we'll do our best to find outboot should be held accountableeveryone on this committee is also
familiar with pat thomas caseand we all share our sympathies with his
wifemarine mother maryfather patrick his brother kevin and his
entire familybut his family once more than our
sympathies and apologiesthey want answers they deserve thempat tillman was killed by members of his
own platoon on april twenty two twothousand fourthree years ago this past sundaybut since thenthe family has been unable to learn why
the military told the worldthe corporal tillman had been killed by
the enemy when in fact they knewhe had died from friendly firenews of the factors i flew up the chain
of command within days but the tell myfamilywas kept in the dark for more than a
monthmany military officials said in silenceduring a nationally televisedmemorial ceremonyhighlighting packed elements fight
against the terroristsevidence was destroyedwrist witness statements were drpatel meant family wants to know how all
of this could have happenedand they want to know whether these
actions were alljust accidentsor whether they were deliberatelyand working on this hearingthe committee has learned of many other
cases in which the military fail toothtell thefamilies the truthsergeant eddie ryan was a victim of
friendly fire during his second tour iniraqhe sustained to gunshot wounds to the
headed thankfully still alivebut he didn't find out the truth about
his injuries until five months latereven though this fellow marines knew
immediatelythat his injuries were due to friendly
fireother families like those areperson tennis eric a smallprivate first classlavina johnson and lieutenant allardhave been forced to file freedom of
informationact requestin order to obtain information about the
deaths of their loved onesthese families have to ask the military
repeatedlyfor basic informationbut they have been ignoredor dismiss twistsslow n incomplete answersand this is simply unacceptableone of the things that makes the
afganistan iraq war so different fromprevious warsis the glaring disparity in sacrificefor the overwhelming number of americansthis war has brought no sacrifice and no
inconveniencebut for a small number of americans the
war has demandedincredible and constant sacrificethose soldiers and their families pay
that probably price proudly and withoutcomplaint complaintthat's why jessica mentioned pat tillmanthat's what they did inwhat their families have donebut our government has failed themour government has done notour government has done right by themand i hope in some small but important
waythis hearing can bringto beginthe uh...the thorough bring can begin to write
those wrongsleast we ought to artcourageous men and women who are
fighting for our freedom is the truthand that's what we're going to insist onthis hearing and in our subsequentexaminationand investigationwhen i read
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. Elijah Cummings questions Specialist Patrick Tillman's brother Kevin Tillman about communications inside the White House related to his brother.
A tribute video to the late Pat Tillman, former defensive player for Arizona State and the Arizona Cardinals, who gave his life in service to our country in the fight on terror in Afghanistan.
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. Specialist Patrick Tillman's brother Kevin Tillman gives opening remarks.
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
Construction of the Colorado River Bridge is advancing on the 1,060 foot twin-rib concrete arch. The Colorado River Bridge is the central portion of the Hoover Dam Bypass Project. Construction on the nearly 2,000 foot long bridge began in late January 2005 and the completion of the entire Hoover Dam Bypass Project is expected in Late 2010.
"Only On The Web": Pat Tillman's death by friendly fire cast a shadow on the U.S. military. Katie Couric says Tillman's death is a tragedy made all the more tragic by the military's handling of it. (CBSNews.com)
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.
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Arizona Cardinal football player turned Army Ranger, killed in action during operation Iraqi Freedom. Tyler Griffin Reporting (2004) - www.Mindshift-Media.com
This video chronicles the remarkable history of the Hoover Dam Bypass through a timeline and interviews with the talented professionals who made it a reality.
