Jon Stoltz kicks some ass

[unhappycamper]

Iraq vet: 'Absolutely disgusting' for administration not to come clean on Pat Tillman's death
David Edwards and Muriel Kane
Published: Friday August 3, 2007


MSNBC's Hardball reported Wednesday on former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's denial of any coverup in the death of Pat Tillman by friendly fire in Afghanistan. Jon Soltz of the anti-war VoteVets.org and Eric Egland of Vets for Freedom were asked whether they thought there had been a "conspiracy at the top or just a tactical screwup on the ground."

Egland started off by saying, "It's more than just a screw-up on the ground. There was clearly some malfeasance in terms of sharing incorrect information ... but once that information went forward, you can't blame the Defense Department for sharing that because they thought it was truthful. ... Trying to pin it on Secretary Rumsfeld doesn't make any sense."

"I think it's absolutely disgusting," said Soltz. "If this administration can't come clean and tell Mary Tillman and the Tillman family what happened to their son, they've hurt the morale of our troops. ... When the new report comes out that the coroner felt that he was killed from within ten meters, it's a big problem."

"The people in the Pentagon ... did the right thing," Egland insisted. "We can't just do a political kneejerk reaction and say, 'Blame Rumsfeld.'"

"It's totally not acceptable," retorted Soltz. "Where are the facts here? The president needs to not invoke executive privilege and be honest with the American public."

"Let's put this in a larger context," Soltz continued. "April 2004 was the Tet of Iraq ... when the Shia militias rose up. ... It's when George Bush retreated from Fallujah. ... It's at the height of the Abu Ghraib scandal. And the politicians and the president, they needed a hero, and they chose Pat Tillman. And it's unfortunate, because they misled our country. ... It's terribly unfortunate to use the death of an American soldier for your own partisan political gain."


video at bottom of article