After Pat's Birthday

[bd]

From a soldier about a soldier.

After Pat’s Birthday
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/...pats_birthday/
Posted on Oct 19, 2006
By Kevin Tillman

Editor’s 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 Pat’s 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 voice… 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 can’t 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 “bad apples” 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. It’s 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 don’t 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 “somehow” 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 Pat’s birthday.





Brother and Friend of Pat Tillman,

Kevin Tillman

[Dustoff '68]

A salute to Kevin...good post bd.

[beardman2]

What would he preffer the five year old do instead draw him something? Honestly that is sickening to read. Isn't that exactly what his brother tried to prepare him for?

[VAXDGUY]

Originally Posted by beardman2

What would he preffer the five year old do instead draw him something? Honestly that is sickening to read. Isn't that exactly what his brother tried to prepare him for?

Jeez, that wasn't condemning the soldiers or the 5 year olds, but rather the people who think having 5 year olds draw for them is the support the soldiers need.

[jdavionic]

Somehow brother Kevin used his brother's death to further his own political cause

[beardman2]

I decided not to be that harsh although that was my first impression as well.

He is allowed to be jaded as he has been there. I haven't. But he seems to call into question just about every aspect of America. Makes you wonder why he joined in the first place.

[bd]

Originally Posted by jdavionic

Somehow brother Kevin used his brother's death to further his own political cause

Somehow he has earned the the right.

bd

[jdavionic]

Originally Posted by bd

Somehow he has earned the the right.

bd

Yeah, and I have earned the right to call it as I see it.

[Delija]

Originally Posted by beardman2

I decided not to be that harsh although that was my first impression as well.

He is allowed to be jaded as he has been there. I haven't. But he seems to call into question just about every aspect of America. Makes you wonder why he joined in the first place.

Really? Doesn't make me wonder at all.

Back in late 2001, in 2002 and even in early 2003, they did what I would have done had I been in my 20s. They went to fight those we believed (because we were told) were our enemies. On 9/11, MY home was attacked. MY city. MY country. Two buildings I even worked in at one time were destroyed. People I knew, some of them friends, were murdered. I was angered, and would have gone to fight that enemy if I were permitted at my age.

The effort in Afganistan was a just effort IMO. That is why Pat Tillman and his brother went. Why Pat chose to forego a multi-million dollar a year football contract.

Time passed, and we found out we were lied to. We were manipulated by fear.

We had one mission diverted into another, then another, and still another and then again, another.....endlessly.

As of today, we are fighting a civil war in a country we had no reason to invade in the first place. Our efforts to "free" the Iraqi people has resulted in over 100,000 of their deaths. We went in to "give them" an American style democracy, and now we have given our blessing to their new constitution....one that establishes another Arab Islamic theocracy. This is what we are now fighting to preserve. This is what over 2000 American troops have died to secure. And still, we have no plan in place to end our involvement. Train an Iraqi army? We train an American army in far less time than we have been in control in Iraq. We do it every 10 weeks or so.

We have spent our childrens and our grandchildrens tax money to fight this needless war. Our federal deficit is today greater than all previous deficits added together.

Our civil liberties have been curtailed like never before in our history. I can only hope we will someday regain what was taken from us in our time of fear.

Our stature in the world community has shrunk to an all time low. I know I will hear "who cares what anyone thinks of us?", but I will hear that only from those who don't know what it is like to travel outside the USA these days and what it had always been like until three years ago or so.

I know what it is like to fight in another country's war. I know what it is like to be injured in another country's war.

I know what it is like to have a son in the military today and see his pay and his benefits cut by this administration and our "War President" who did not serve in his (and my) generation's war. Along with virtually all of his cabinet including his Vice President. The one qualified military person in this administration (Powell) is long gone and now a critic of the Bush administration. Along with men such as Richard Clarke.

I know what it is to be lied to. We all should. We all listened to the campaigning for the presidency in 2004. We all lived through the "orange alerts" and the chest thumping. We all heard about how UBL was "wanted dead or alive" until he was someone the president told us he "doesn't think about".

We know who is fighting this war. The same people who always do. But never before has the hypocrisy been so blatant. Never before have we rejected a man who did serve in favor of a man who couldn't even fulfil his National Guard obligation while the Vietnam War was going on. Never before would America stand by and stand for a campaign to smear a war hero initiated by those who backed an opponent who went AWOL.

If Iraq has more "freedom" today than it did under Saddam (I don't know if that is true), is it worth giving up our own freedoms to achieve that?

Does it bother no one that we armed and financed the Taliban and then lost Pat Tillman to "friendly fire" in our war with them only to see them creeping back into power in Afghanistan?

Does it bother no one that we armed and financed Saddam as well when it convenience us while he was fighting Iran? Does it bother no one that Iran became our enemy because we forced the Shah down the throats of the Iranian people and back into power from his exile when they didn't want him? Did we learn nothing from that?

Beardman, I know you are a good guy. I also know you are a much younger guy than I am. It is good you "wonder" about things. It would be better if you studied more history and didn't need to "wonder" so much. People do things and believe things because of history. As the saying goes, learn from history or be doomed to repeat it.

I only hope what is going on now is never forgotten so it will never need to happen again. I hope the future is spared another administration that lies and takes no responsibility for its failures as this one seems to.

Everything that goes wrong is anyone's fault but those in charge. Seems like the die-hard supporters of this administration have the same "blame game" mentality. Something's wrong? Anything at all? Blame Clinton!

Peace,
D.

[VAXDGUY]

+1, D. Very cogent message.


However, the only reference I've been able to find to the letter is on that above-linked web site whose objectivity is, ahh, quite suspect. I've submitted it to Snopes for perusal.