The Nation's Shameful Treatment Of Tillman

Tuesday, May 31, 2005 The Nation's Shameful Treatment Of Tillman The Nation takes the Bush administration to task for 'exploiting' Army Ranger Pat Tillman's death. The Nation seems to forget that it was actually big news when Pat Tillman decided to forego a 3 million dollar contract to play with the Arizona Cardinals to instead join the elite Army Rangers. Tillman himself hoisted himself into the spotlight by doing this - even though he declined all interviews and other publicity regarding his amazing decision, it still became news. When Tillman was killed in Afghanistan, of course that became even bigger news. The Bush administration naturally had to address this situation - was this 'exploiting' Tillman? Hardly. It would have been oddly remiss for the Bush not to speak about the loss of a remarkable young man and his sacrifices. To read the Nation article, you would almost think the Bush administration held a Nuremburg rally in his honor. The Nation then charges that there was a 'coverup' over the fratricidal killing of Tillman, that the Bush administration 'lied' about it, and that no one has been held accountable. First, it is impossible for there to be a 'coverup' when the White House comes out and states that Tillman was killed by friendly fire. This was not 'uncovered' by some intrepid Nation reporter - this information was released by the Pentagon. And what, exactly, did the Bush White House 'lie' about? It seems the Nation's style manual insists upon labelling Bush as a 'liar' in every article that mentions him, regardless of context. The opinion piece is loaded with plenty of accusations of lies, but little explanation of exactly what those lies are. Tillman was killed by friendly fire. There was simply no way to put a good face on that, but the Nation accuses the White House of trying. And for that someone needs to lose their job? Of course, the Nation also gratuitously mentions Abu Ghraib in the editorial. The fact that this prison in Iraq has nothing whatsoever to do with a friendly fire death in Afghanistan is unimportant to the Nation, because this article is not about Tillman's death, government integrity or the dire events in Afghanistan. It is all about building yet another case against George Bush. Lies, torture, Gulag, coverup, let's just regurgitate our litany of grievances against Bush. The Leftists at the Nation could well be rooting for more soldiers to die, knowing that the Left defeated public opinion over Vietnam by harping on casualties, and no doubt consider this the way to win again. Remember how the Leftist press waited with baited breath for the 1000th soldier to die in Iraq prior to last November's election? That is what American soldiers are to the Left: contemptible dupes that are only useful when they offer a chance to smear Bush. 2:37 PM | | |