Posted on 08/23/2007 5:08:24 AM PDT by radar101
LITTLE ROCK - The widow of Pat Tillman said Wednesday in her first public comments since her husband's death that the country needs "authentic leaders."
Saying that talking about her "best friend" was difficult, Marie Tillman told an audience at the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service about the many good qualities of the NFL athlete and Army Ranger.
"Pat was a man with enormous talent. His athletic ability was matched by a deep and complex moral and intellectual side," she said. "He always tried to do the right thing and he was the first to admit when he didn't."
Tillman was cut down April 22, 2004, by bullets fired by his fellow soldiers in Afghanistan, not by enemy fire as the military initially claimed. The military said officers knew within hours that Tillman's death was from friendly fire, and violated regulations by not telling his family or the public for five weeks.
Tillman's death attracted worldwide attention because he had walked away from a huge contract with the Arizona Cardinals to enlist in the Army after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
Tillman's mother, Mary Tillman, his brother Kevin and other family members maintain that former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and others must have known more about Tillman's death sooner than they've acknowledged. The family has alleged a cover-up leading to the White House.
But Wednesday, Marie Tillman and brother-in-law Alex Garwood, who together head the Tillman Foundation inspired by his memory, steered clear of discussion about the controversy surrounding his death. They said they were invited by the Clinton School to speak and Marie Tillman said she believed it would be a good forum to discuss the foundation.
She said her husband was dynamic and action-oriented, something needed in private and public life. After the terrorist attacks on the country, he felt compelled to respond despite a lucrative contract with the Cardinals, she said.
"Many things have changed since Pat decided to join the Army. And unfortunately leadership on many levels has come into question," she said. "We are in need of authentic leadership on many levels, social, economic and political."
Marie Tillman offered brief remarks before her brother-in-law took the lectern.
She and Garwood said the foundation was committed to developing leaders among young people. Through its programs at Arizona State and in Tillman's home town of San Jose, Calif., young people work with mentors and focus on solving real-life problems, they said. The college has an undergraduate program on leadership similar to the Clinton School graduate program, Garwood said.
During a congressional hearing Aug. 1, Rumsfeld and three former generals expressed regret with the Pentagon's delay in telling the truth. They took no blame for the violation.
The inquiry came a day after the Army, in the seventh investigation of the Tillman affair, laid most of the blame for the response to Tillman's death on Philip Kensinger, a retired three-star general who led Army special operations forces after the Sept. 11 attacks.
The Army censured Kensinger for "a failure of leadership" and accused him of lying to investigators and failing to notify the Tillman family properly. A review panel of four-star generals will decide whether Kensinger should have his rank reduced.
Tillman was and is a true patriot. In a war, there are going to be accidents from friendly fire, aircraft accidents, and other related accidents not related to the enemies. That is a fact of life. To think that our “leadership” should know all the facts behind all these cases is rediculous.
Ben is ill-served by those who survive him.
Good God. Now the Tillman family is joining the Jersey Girls in slamming our leaders. It is obvious they are attacking our beloved President. They should be ashamed of themselves. He volunteered. He should have known he could be killed. It really doesn’t matter how he got killed, or who killed him. His widow is just ungrateful.
I disagree. Pat Tillman was a true hero, because he voluntarily gave up a lucrative way of life to serve, and ended up paying the ultimate price. He wasn’t a hero for dying ignominiously, but rather for answering the call at considerable personal cost.
Army leadership did screw the pooch after his death. “They” attempted to parlay Tillman’s death into a false story of heroism in death for the wrong reasons, and to cover up for erroneous Blue-on-Blue fire. Their cynical behavior harmed the reputation and image of the Special Forces and the US Army.
I don’t believe widow Tillman is pulling a Cindy Sheehan here—she’s rightly attacking leaders that failed in their duty in the wake of her husband’s death.
TC
Modus Operandi of the MSM: if someone believes it and alleges it, regardless of the evidence, and if it makes a conservative or a Republican look bad, we must report it.
I don’t believe widow Tillman is pulling a Cindy Sheehan here—she's rightly attacking leaders that failed in their duty in the wake of her husband's death.
*** DING DING DING *** No more calls; we have a winner!
bttt
They are constantly referring to Rumsfeld and the President, not just the army leadership. The mother has adopted a lot of the same terminology of Sheehan and other anti-war verbiage.
His wife’s speech seems very reasonable and even handed, especially considering the pain she had. From these quotes she does not appear to be flame throwing.
No comparison.
It is obvious they are attacking our beloved President.
Beloved?
They should be ashamed of themselves.
Wrong. They're entitled to the truth.
He volunteered. He should have known he could be killed.
He was well aware of that. That's not even the point.
It really doesn’t matter how he got killed, or who killed him.
Yes it does.
And yes it does.
His widow is just ungrateful.
Sounds eerily “Jersey Girls” to me...
IMO, she should just stay quiet and respect her husband’s memory. He died a hero.......the military was right the first time around. She needs to let it go and move on with her life.
bump
BTTT!
Personally, I think you are here to stir up trouble.
“beloved” president? ungrateful widow?
I agree with his wife that the country does need new leadership but I am not sure how Pat Tillman’s actions have given the rest of his family moral superiority over the rest of the country.
While Pat Tillman was a hero and a man of principal, most of his political principals are the polar opposite of mine own. I am not sure if a family of atheists, Norm Chomsky readers and promoters of the homosexual lifestyle (as per Peter King SI article) are the type of people who should be lecturing the rest of the country about leadership.
I feel conflicted because Pat Tillman embodied many things that I admire but his “reported” politics repulse me.
She is so correct. We now live in a society where no one in positions of authority in any field or institution take responsibility for their decisions.
A leader does, and we have darn few of them.
I don't see this as anti-Bush but as a commentary on the sad state of our society regarding morals, ethics, and keeping the public trust.
I disagree with you 100 percent. This is a different situation and hardly Jersey Girls. In fact they are talking about “authentic leaders”. I don’t see where they are talking about President Bush at all. Of course if you have inside information that we don’t know then perhaps you may be on to something. The Jersey Girls were not lied too. The Tillman family was at least not told the full truth. That is just a fact whether you like it or not.
It is easy for anyone who hasn’t been there to be critical of casualties from friendly fire. Get over it, it happens. The officers were only trying to ease the blow to his family but it was a mistake and only a mistake on the part of the officers.
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