Photo Courtesy the Tillman Family
Pat Tillman (left) and his brother Kevin stand in front of a Chinook helicopter in Saudi Arabia before their tour of duty as Army Rangers in Iraq in 2003.
By Kevin Tillman
Oct 19, 2006EditorGÇÖs note: Kevin Tillman joined the Army with his brother Pat in 2002, and they served together in Iraq and Afghanistan. Pat was killed in Afghanistan on April 22, 2004. Kevin, who was discharged in 2005, has written a powerful, must-read document.
It is PatGÇÖs birthday on November 6, and elections are the day after. It gets me thinking about a conversation I had with Pat before we joined the military. He spoke about the risks with signing the papers. How once we committed, we were at the mercy of the American leadership and the American people. How we could be thrown in a direction not of our volition. How fighting as a soldier would leave us without a voiceGǪ until we get out.
Much has happened since we handed over our voice:
Somehow we were sent to invade a nation because it was a direct threat to the American people, or to the world, or harbored terrorists, or was involved in the September 11 attacks, or received weapons-grade uranium from Niger, or had mobile weapons labs, or WMD, or had a need to be liberated, or we needed to establish a democracy, or stop an insurgency, or stop a civil war we created that canGÇÖt be called a civil war even though it is. Something like that.Somehow America has become a country that projects everything that it is not and condemns everything that it is.
Somehow our elected leaders were subverting international law and humanity by setting up secret prisons around the world, secretly kidnapping people, secretly holding them indefinitely, secretly not charging them with anything, secretly torturing them. Somehow that overt policy of torture became the fault of a few GÇ£bad applesGÇ¥ in the military.
Somehow back at home, support for the soldiers meant having a five-year-old kindergartener scribble a picture with crayons and send it overseas, or slapping stickers on cars, or lobbying Congress for an extra pad in a helmet. ItGÇÖs interesting that a soldier on his third or fourth tour should care about a drawing from a five-year-old; or a faded sticker on a car as his friends die around him; or an extra pad in a helmet, as if it will protect him when an IED throws his vehicle 50 feet into the air as his body comes apart and his skin melts to the seat.
Somehow the more soldiers that die, the more legitimate the illegal invasion becomes.
Somehow American leadership, whose only credit is lying to its people and illegally invading a nation, has been allowed to steal the courage, virtue and honor of its soldiers on the ground.
Somehow those afraid to fight an illegal invasion decades ago are allowed to send soldiers to die for an illegal invasion they started.
Somehow faking character, virtue and strength is tolerated.
Somehow profiting from tragedy and horror is tolerated.
Somehow the death of tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of people is tolerated.
Somehow subversion of the Bill of Rights and The Constitution is tolerated.
Somehow suspension of Habeas Corpus is supposed to keep this country safe.
Somehow torture is tolerated.
Somehow lying is tolerated.
Somehow reason is being discarded for faith, dogma, and nonsense.
Somehow American leadership managed to create a more dangerous world.
Somehow a narrative is more important than reality.
Somehow America has become a country that projects everything that it is not and condemns everything that it is.
Somehow the most reasonable, trusted and respected country in the world has become one of the most irrational, belligerent, feared, and distrusted countries in the world.
Somehow being politically informed, diligent, and skeptical has been replaced by apathy through active ignorance.
Somehow the same incompetent, narcissistic, virtueless, vacuous, malicious criminals are still in charge of this country.
Somehow this is tolerated.
Somehow nobody is accountable for this.
In a democracy, the policy of the leaders is the policy of the people. So donGÇÖt be shocked when our grandkids bury much of this generation as traitors to the nation, to the world and to humanity. Most likely, they will come to know that GÇ£somehowGÇ¥ was nurtured by fear, insecurity and indifference, leaving the country vulnerable to unchecked, unchallenged parasites.
Luckily this country is still a democracy. People still have a voice. People still can take action. It can start after PatGÇÖs birthday.
Brother and Friend of Pat Tillman,
Kevin Tillman
I'm glad to see soldiers like Kevin Tillman standing up against the travesty that is our current government. And I wonder how long it will take the chickshits who run and support this adminstration to swiftboat Kevin for his thoughts.
Pat Tillman was a patriot, and a hero.
And a Democrat.
Our party has warriors too.
We are not afraid to fight, war shouldn't be partisan, patriotism should never be questioned.
Read what Jim VandeHei of the Post just said on his morning chat, to this question:
Philadelphia, Pa.: Yesterday, President Bush was in Pennsylvania claiming that Democrats who want to withdraw troops from Iraq are essentially unpatriotic. Today, it appears possible that the White House may be considered withdrawing troops just before the elections? Is the President and his speechwriters the last to know of possible changes in policy?Jim VandeHei: Several GOP strategists have told me in recent days that they are very concerned that Bush appears disconnected from what is happening on the ground in Iraq.
"They would have our country quit in Iraq before the job is done. That's why they are the party of cut and run. We will fight. We will stay. We will win in Iraq."
We'll STAY??! He actually said we'll stay? This guy's in another universe.
I loved this statement by Kevin Tillman, especially his very strongly worded condemnation of Bush's abrogation of the Constitution and his flagrant disregard of all the principles that have made this country great.
Kevin Tillman's a hero in my book.
I guess you can find anything on the web...
You're right about Pandora's box, Bush has set the 'precedent' for:
Preemptive War
Warrantless wiretapping
Torture
Use of mercenary forces by the US
Elimination of Habeas Corpus
We need the accountability that Jim Webb (and Judy Feder, Andy Hurst, Al Weed, Phil Kellum, and other Dems) will bring BACK to Congress.