Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, who has been largely absent from the public eye for months, returned to the spotlight yesterday to face a grilling by Democrats over the handling of the death of former NFL player and Army Ranger Pat Tillman.
Tillman, who gave up a lucrative football career in order to join the Army after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, was killed by “friendly fire” in Afghanistan in April 2004. For more than a month, the Army maintained that Tillman was killed fighting the Taliban before announcing that U.S forces were responsible for his death.
“We’re focused on Corporal Tillman’s case because the misinformation was so profound and because it persisted so long,” said Rep. Henry A. Waxman, D-Calif., chairman of the Government Oversight and Reform Committee, which conducted the hearing. “And if that can happen to the most famous soldier serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, it leaves many families — and many of us — questioning the accuracy of information for many other casualties.”
Rumsfeld told the committee he thought the military did a poor job explaining Tillman’s death but said there was no effort to deliberately conceal the fact that he was killed accidentally by other U.S. soldiers.
“The fact of the matter is you are always dealing with human beings,” Rumsfeld said. “Human beings make mistakes. It is tragic and it is unfortunate, but it’s reality.”
The Army announced on Tuesday that it would discipline six officers for the way they handled information about the Tillman case.
In addition to Rumsfeld, former Army General John P. Abizaid and RichardMyers, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the panel there was no intentional coverup.
“People tried to do the right thing and the right thing didn’t happen,” Abizaid said.
But some Democrats insisted the Army should have done more to keep Tillman’s family better informed about the questionable circumstances surrounding his death.
“They should have been told there was the possibility that he was killed by friendly fire,” Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., said.
Another Democrat, William Lacy Clay of Missouri, said the Army’s move to award Tillman a silver star posthumously was part of “a half-baked story” aimed at making it appear that he died fighting the enemy.
Since becoming chairman of the Oversight panel, Waxman has angered Republicans by initiating several investigations into the Bush administration and issuing subpoenas to his present and former staff. Waxman acknowledged that his hearing followed seven other official investigations into Tillman’s death.
Republican Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn., said the hearing was motivated by partisanship.
“What you did, Secretary Rumsfeld, is you called their bluff,” Shays said. “What they wanted was for you not to show up so they could subpoena you.”
