Oversight Committee Tillman Report “frustrated by a near universal lack of recall”
July 14th, 2008 by Jesse LeeA proposed Committee report on the investigations into the death of Corporal Patrick Tillman and the capture of Private Jessica Lynch discloses important new details about the incidents, but could not resolve “the key issue of what senior officials knew” because “the investigation was frustrated by a near universal lack of recall.” The full Committee will meet on Thursday to approve the report.
Read the full proposed report (pdf) >>
From the Executive summary, on lack of recall from witness:
The Committee’s investigation adds many new details to the Tillman story. But on the key issue of what senior officials knew, the investigation was frustrated by a near universal lack of recall. The Committee interviewed several senior officials at the White House, including Communications Director Dan Bartlett, Press Secretary Scott McClellan, and chief speechwriter Michael Gerson. Not a single one could recall when he learned about the fratricide or what he did in response.
Similarly, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld told the Committee: “I don’t recall when I was told and I don’t recall who told me.”
The highest-ranking official who could recall being informed about Corporal Tillman’s fratricide was former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Richard Myers, who said, “I knew right at the end of April, that there was a possibility of fratricide in the Corporal Tillman death.” General Myers testified that it would have been “logical” for him to pass this information to Secretary Rumsfeld, but said “I just don’t recall whether I did it or not.” He also said he could not recall “ever having a discussion with anybody in the White House about the Tillman case, one way or another.”
The Committee’s investigation into the inaccurate accounts of Private Lynch’s capture and rescue also encountered a consistent lack of recollection. Witnesses who should have possessed relevant information were interviewed by the Committee. They said they had no knowledge of how the report that Private Lynch fired her weapon and was wounded during her capture was spread to the media and the public. Nor could they explain why it took so long for the military to correct the inaccurate story of the “little girl Rambo from the hills of West Virginia” that was widely reported during the opening days of the Iraq war.
From the section on “The Response of Other Senior Military Leaders to Corporal Tillman’s Death,” on General Philip Kensinger:
General Kensinger declined to testify before the Committee in August 2007, but later agreed to be interviewed by Committee staff. He acknowledged that he did not inform the Tillman family as soon as he found out about the potential fratricide, but claimed that he only learned about the fratricide after attending the May 3, 2004, memorial for Corporal Tillman. This version of events was contradicted by General Kensinger’s deputy, Brigadier General Howard Yellen, who told Committee staff that he spoke with General Kensinger about the fratricide within two or three days after it occurred. It was also contradicted by Lieutenant Colonel David Duffy, who testified that he personally delivered the P4 message to General Kensinger three days before the memorial service, and by Colonel Clarence Chinn, deputy commander of the 75th Ranger Regiment, who testified that General Kensinger informed him that Corporal Tillman’s death was a possible fratricide.
Rep. Danny Davis (IL-07) discussed General Kensinger’s role during the Committee’s April 24th, 2007 hearing:
Rep. Danny Davis: “But he didn’t tell you anything about this, he didn’t correct what was said at the ceremony. We had wanted to ask the General about his actions at our hearing today, but he has refused to testify. Last week his attorney sent a letter to the committee invoking his 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination.” |
From the section “Early Reports of Friendly Fire” on informing the family:
Admiral Eric T. Olson, the deputy commander of SOCOM in April 2004, told the Committee that the point at which General McChrystal sent the P4 would have been the appropriate time to tell the Tillman family about the possibility of fratricide. According to Admiral Olson, “as soon as there is solid indication of the cause of death, that should be communicated to the family.”62 Admiral Olson said he did not see the P4 when it was sent in April 2004, but he told the Committee that the information in the P4 was sufficiently certain to share with the family before the memorial service. His “after-the-fact” reflection was: But now having seen the contents of that P4, during which General McChrystal said it’s highly probably there was fratricide, and that P4 was released before the memorial service, it would have been reasonable to expect that the family was informed of the possibility of fratricide.
Full section, “The Silver Star Award and Corporal Tillman’s Memorial Service”:
On April 29, 2004, the same day General McChrystal sent his P4 message, the Army posthumously awarded Corporal Tillman the Silver Star, an honor reserved for Army soldiers who have demonstrated “gallantry in action against an enemy of the United States.” Prior to the award’s approval by the acting Army Secretary on April 29, 2004, several officers in Corporal Tillman’s regiment who were aware of the possibility of friendly fire, including the regimental commander, Colonel Nixon, reviewed and edited the Silver Star award. Yet the final Silver Star citation asserted that Corporal Tillman “put himself in the line of devastating enemy fire.” Both of the eyewitness statements submitted with the Silver Star paperwork were altered by somebody within the 75th Regiment’s chain of command.
On April 30, 2004, the same day General McChrystal’s P4 message reached USASOC headquarters, USASOC issued a press release announcing the Silver Star award. The release stated that Corporal Tillman was being awarded the Silver Star “for his selfless actions after his Ranger element was ambushed by anti-coalition insurgents during a ground assault convoy through southeastern Afghanistan.” The release also referred to “hostile fires directed at the Rangers” and stated that Corporal Tillman “was shot and killed while focusing his efforts on the elimination of the enemy forces and the protection of his team members.”
According to Brigadier General Howard Yellen, USASOC’s deputy commander in April 2004, the release did not explicitly say how Corporal Tillman was killed, but “for the civilian on the street, the interpretation would be that he was killed by enemy fire.” When interviewed by the Committee, General Kensinger said he did not recall reviewing the release, but “possibly could have.” He agreed that “a member of the public reading this probably would have concluded or assumed that Corporal Tillman had been killed by the enemy.”
Three days after this Army press release, on May 3, 2004, a memorial service was held for Corporal Tillman in San Jose, California. During the ceremony, Senior Chief Petty Officer Steven White, a personal friend of Corporal Tillman and a Navy SEAL, gave a eulogy in which he described the circumstances of Corporal Tillman’s death using language that suggested he was killed by enemy forces. According to Senior Chief White, a member of the 75th Regiment had read him portions of the Silver Star citation that morning, and he based his speech on this information. Testifying before the Committee in April 2007, Senior Chief White said he felt “let down” by the military because he was given inaccurate information to present publicly. He told the Committee: “I’m the guy that told America how he died, basically, at that memorial, and it was incorrect. That does not sit well with me.”
From the section on “The Announcement of the Fratricide” on why the true cause of death was ultimately released:
Evidence reviewed by the Committee suggests that one reason the Department of Defense publicly released this information on May 29, 2004, was because the Tillman family had already begun learning about the friendly fire and because the media was about to report it. In the days before this announcement, the Department of Defense scrambled to release the information in a way that would cause the least amount of public relations damage to the Department.