Military account of Tillman death 'utter fiction', says Pat's brother

Re: "Military account of Tillman death 'utter fiction', says Pat's brother

There were no good targets in Afghanistan, Zeke.

 

Re: "Military account of Tillman death 'utter fiction', says Pat's brother

Here was one.

 

Re: "Military account of Tillman death 'utter fiction', says Pat's brother

Afghanistan=Hamsterdam, with Musharrf as Bunny Colvin.

Set us a pitch meeting, DD.

 

Re: "Military account of Tillman death 'utter fiction', says Pat's brother

Isn't that the CFO of Haliburton?

 

Re: "Military account of Tillman death 'utter fiction', says Pat's brother

Nah, he cashed out his stock options and bought a yacht.

 

Re: "Military account of Tillman death 'utter fiction', says Pat's brother

Reporters who work this story and use the term friendly fire, which is military doublespeak at its finest, are in a way complicit in helping the military soften the story. Step back for a minute and say that phrase: friendly fire.

It's incredible how much the media lets the government, military and other officialdom control stories by controlling the language, which is quite often a language of deception. If ever a time called for the language of truth in this country, it's now.

 

Re: "Military account of Tillman death 'utter fiction', says Pat's brother

Has the pro-war crowd done much in the way of trying to smear or discredit the Tillman family?

 

Re: "Military account of Tillman death 'utter fiction', says Pat's brother

I know what you're saying, but the term friendly fire has been around for a long time. Troops have been killed by their own troops since the dawn of time. I don't think the term friendly fire makes it any less tragic.

 

Re: "Military account of Tillman death 'utter fiction', says Pat's brother

Have you ever been confused when politicians refer to a tax increase as "revenue enhancement," or when your boss says you're not fired, you're "transitioned" or "uninstalled"? Then you've been a victim of doublespeak. Doublespeak is language that is evasive, deceptive, self-contradictory, or misleading. Doublespeak turns lies told by politicians into "strategic misrepresentations," "reality augmentation," or "terminological inexactitudes." Killing enemy soldiers is a simple matter of "servicing the target," after which the bodies of the dead are called "decommissioned aggressor quantum." After being treated with doublespeak, ordinary sewage sludge becomes "regulated organic nutrients" that do not sink but merely "exceed the odor threshold."

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"Friendly fire" is a term meant to soften the blow, just like downsizing and all the other corporate B.S. If those words didn't work their magic on some level with the masses, people in charge wouldn't insist upon using them. It's all part of a desensitizing to the harsh reality. That "friendly fire" has been considered an acceptable term in journalism circles as long as you suggest means that tiny battle of words was won a long time ago by the military.

And no, it's not any less tragic, but we should be brutally honest with our words when it comes to something as important as this. It's also telling that the government would go to great lengths to lie about something so "friendly."

 

Re: "Military account of Tillman death 'utter fiction', says Pat's brother

Effing 'unitary executive.' See: Wolfowitz, Gonzales. 'Apologies' without responsibility

Thank goodness

 

Re: "Military account of Tillman death 'utter fiction', says Pat's brother

Are you serious? The ONLY reason there is government inquiry about Tillman's death is because Mary Tillman, Pat's mother, and Kevin Tillman, Pat's brother, have pushed ... and pushed ... and pushed, until the government was forced into action. And good for them; they have far more courage than people who take pot shots at Cindy Sheehan for asking why her son was killed in Iraq. Imagine if the Tillmans set up protest outside Bush's ranch. Imagine if Kevin Tillman, an army Ranger like Pat, was forced to confront one of Rush Limbaugh's bullies.

 

Re: "Military account of Tillman death 'utter fiction', says Pat's brother

The popular opinion about Cindy Sheehan seems to be that she's a crackpot who is dishonoring her son's memory. How did it get to be that way and what are the chances that most people might think the same thing of the Tillmans?