First posted at My Left Wing
At first, Rummy backed off, claiming that he had a prior commitment.
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Now, he’s on. And not only him.
Wanna bet they’ve been strong-armed?
Generals Abizaid, Brown and Myers are going to be testifying before Rep. Henry Waxman’s House Oversight and Government Reform Committee about the circumstances–as they understand them–regarding the murder by ‘friendly fire’ of Corporal Pat Tillman in Afghanistan.
They’ve had to issue a subpoena for fall guy Lt. Gen. Philip Kensinger to appear, but it’s unconfirmed as to whether he will show up.
You know, all Rummy has to do is talk nice–and tell the truth. But it’s going to be impossible for him to do two things like that at the same time. I have no doubt that the brass are going to buck pass with a vengeance, if what Lt. Col. Peters says above is true. It won’t be a cakewalk.
Said the Army Times tersely:
The [Waxman] committee’s announcement came hours after Army officials released findings from an investigation by a four-star general into officers in Tillman’s chain of command and the role they played in the mistakes and errors made in reporting Tillman’s April 22, 2004, friendly fire death in Afghanistan.
During a briefing at the Pentagon by Army Secretary Pete Geren and Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Richard Cody, Kensinger was singled out as the officer who was to blame for why the Tillman family and many Americans believe the Army tried to cover up the circumstances of the former professional football player’s death.
One of the local screeds near Tillman’s hometown of San Jose, the San Francisco Chronicle, put it in civilian’s terms:
Waxman’s Oversight and Government Reform Committee launched the probe earlier this year, sifting through evidence gathered by Tillman’s family and Army investigators that found that senior Army officers destroyed key evidence, including burning Tillman’s uniform and armor-plated vest; warned Tillman’s fellow soldiers not to discuss the incident; and later devised a public relations strategy for how to handle the football star’s tragic death.
Several Army officers are expected to be disciplined for their handling of the shooting as part of a new Army inquiry. But Tillman’s family and House lawmakers believe that top Pentagon commanders — including Abizaid and possibly Rumsfeld — were also aware of or approved the cover-up.
Too bad Bush/Cheney/Rove couldn’t be there at the table, either:
The committee also wants testimony from Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, who sent a high-priority cable five days after Tillman’s death to Abizaid and other top Army commanders, warning that the former NFL safety probably had been killed by friendly fire — not by Taliban insurgents as the Army claimed publicly.
The memo, viewed as a “smoking gun” by congressional investigators, urged Abizaid to immediately contact “POTUS” — the president of the United States — “to preclude any unknowing statements by our country’s leaders which might cause public embarrassment.”
Here’s the C-Span link. It’s really the top story, so links to this circus will be hard to miss.
It’s going to start 10 a.m. Eastern, which means 9 a.m. Central, and 7 a.m. Pacific. I’m going to watch as much as I can stomach.
