Former Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, opening statements at August 1, 2007 congressional hearing on the death of Army Ranger, Pat Tillman.
Video Transcript
we would hear what you have to saythank you mister chairman members of the
committee you've requested that uh... weappear today to discuss our knowledge of
the circumstances surrounding the deathof u_s_ army corporal after tomfirst i want to again extend my deepest
sympathies to the tillman familypurple tillman staff and the deaths of
thousands of men and women who havegiven their lives in our nation's
service have brought great sorrowto the lives of their families and their
loved onesbears' agree felt by all who have had
the privilege of serving alongside thosein uniformhandling of the circumstances
surrounding purple tones deathcould only have added to the pain of
losing a loved onei personally and i'm sure all connected
with the department extenderdeep regretone of the department of defense is
foremost responsibilities is to tell thetruth to someof the three million military civilian
contractors employees who dedicate theircareers to defending our nationto the military families who endure the
extended absence of their fathersmothers husbands wivessons and daughtersand to the american people for whom all
of those connected to the department ofdefense strive each day to protectin march two thousand two early in my
tenure as secretary of defense i wrote amemo for the men and women of the
department of defense title principlesfor the department of defensei've attached a copynow that memo to my testimonyyou'll note that principle number one
the very firstaddresses the points that both you and
mister davis of many it says do nothingthat can raise questions about the
credibility of d_o_d_department officials must tell the truth
and must be believed to be telling thetruth or are important work is
underminedmr chairman your invitation to today's
hearing u_s_ that we'd be prepared todiscuss how we learned of the
circumstances surrounding purple tillmanstaffwhen we learned of itand whom we discussed iti'm prepared to respond to the questions
which pertain to these matters to thebest of my abilityin december two thousand six i sent a
letter to the actinginspector general of the department of
defense mister thomas kimballdescribing my best recollection of those
eventswhich by that point had occurred some
two and a half years previouslythe committee has been given a copy of
that letter and i'd like to quote aportion of itquote i'm told that i received word of
this development sometime after maytwenty two thousand four but my
recollection reflects the fact that itoccurred well over two years agoas a result i do not recall when i first
learned about the possibility thatcorporal tillman staff might have
resulted from fratricidei went on to say i'm confident that i
did not discuss this matter with anyoneoutside of the department of defenseobviously during that early period i
have subsequently tube for that perioduh...when i wrote in december two thousand
six remains my best recollection todayand when i was informed and with whom i
talked before may twentyunderstand that the may twenty two
thousanddate which shortly before their children
family was informed of the circumstanceson may twenty six two thousand fouryour invitation to appear before the
committee also asked about my knowledgeof a personal four or p four message
dated april twenty ninth two thousandfourthat message was not addressed to mei don't recall seeing it until recent
days when copies have been madeavailablethere are a great many indeed many
thousands of communications throughoutthe department of defense that the
secretary of defense does not seeand stand at the acting inspector
general's report concluded that therewere errors among some of those
responsiblefor the initial reportsany reason such as situation are most
unfortunate the two months were owed thetruth delivered in a forthright and
timely mannerand certainly the truth was owed to the
memory of the man who's valor dedicationand sacrifice to his country remains an
example for all thank you misterchairman
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The Colorado River Bridge is the central portion of the Hoover Dam Bypass Project. When completed in 2010, the Hoover dam bypass bridge will span Black Canyon (about 1,600 feet south of the Hoover Dam), connecting the Arizona and Nevada Approach highways nearly 900-feet above the Colorado River.
At his confirmation hearing Tuesday, Lt. Gen Stanley McChrystal told the Senate Armed Services Committee that mistakes were made in the military's handling of the accidental shooting death of Army Ranger Pat Tillman. (June 2)
This ESPN Sports Century biography on Pat Tillman is divided into six parts. I think this aired in 2005. For updated information, read "Boots on the Ground by Dusk: My Tribute to Pat Tillman" by Mary Tillman http://www.amazon.com/Boots-Ground-Dusk-Tribute-Tillman/dp/1594868808 and "Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman" by Jon Krakauer http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0385522266/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=1594868808&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1R1ZC333SDPTXNBP09RW
"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 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)
"... 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
This ESPN Sports Century biography on Pat Tillman is divided into six parts. I think this aired in 2005. For updated information, read "Boots on the Ground by Dusk: My Tribute to Pat Tillman" by Mary Tillman http://www.amazon.com/Boots-Ground-Dusk-Tribute-Tillman/dp/1594868808 and "Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman" by Jon Krakauer http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0385522266/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=1594868808&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1R1ZC333SDPTXNBP09RW
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)
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.
This ESPN Sports Century biography on Pat Tillman is divided into six parts. I think this aired in 2005. For updated information, read "Boots on the Ground by Dusk: My Tribute to Pat Tillman" by Mary Tillman http://www.amazon.com/Boots-Ground-Dusk-Tribute-Tillman/dp/1594868808 and "Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman" by Jon Krakauer http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0385522266/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=1594868808&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1R1ZC333SDPTXNBP09RW
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
