1115.org

This may come as a very rude shock to your system. You should probably not read any further unless you have loved ones on hand (or available for sure at the other end of a phone line) to help you cope afterwards.

We now learn — in the context of the death of Pat Tillman, and the Army’s multiple fictitious accounts of the incident — that in the time of Bush, conduct unbecoming an officer does not actually lead to unbecoming an officer. Probably not even unbecoming a general.

Apparently the line of those saying “Shocked! Shocked, I tell you!” is forming on the right. And not a very long one too. If you move quickly, you can still get a very good spot in line.

But first the facts:

Nine high-ranking Army officers, including four generals, made critical errors in reporting the friendly fire death of Army Ranger Pat Tillman in Afghanistan, but there was no criminal wrongdoing in the shooting of the former NFL player, the military concluded Monday.
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Army and Defense Department investigators said officers looking into Tillman’s death passed along misleading and inaccurate information and delayed reporting their belief that Tillman was killed by fellow Rangers.

Ah yes, “critical errors”. Not to put too fine a point on it, the officers and generals lied. They lied to the Tillman family about how Pat Tillman died. They lied to the American public about how Pat Tillman died. They lied in official recommendations that Pat Tillman be awarded a Silver Star. They lied in order to cynically and shamelessly exploit his death for propaganda purposes.

That used to be called conduct unbecoming an officer. That used to be a serious source of shame before your peers. Now it’s an error. And — for propaganda purposes, no doubt — they have gone ahead and labelled it a critical error. But does anyone who is not on the buyer’s side of the market for bridges and steel towers seriously expect the punishment to fit this PR label?

(Three of the nine, by the way, seem to be officers who conducted one of the several official Army investigations of the incident.)

Technically all sorts of punishments are still on the table:

The investigators recommended the Army take action against the officers, but suggested no specific punishments and left that decision to the Army. Possible steps could include demotions, dishonorable discharges, jail or letters of reprimand.

Acting Army Secretary Peter Geren has asked Gen. William Wallace, who oversees training for the Army, to review the actions of the officers and to provide a progress report in 30 days.

But I’ll eat my turban if any of the generals suffers anything more than a letter of reprimand. If they think someone lied especially shamelessly, they might go so far as to hit him with two letters of reprimand. But jail? Dishonorable discharges? Demotions? They may as well have added “death by firing squad” to that list.

One general may have behaved badly enough that somone may actually march up to him and spit in his face. Or at least look him in the eye and go: “You…you… you swine!”

Coming under the heaviest criticism was Lt. Gen. Philip Kensinger, the now-retired three-star general who was in charge of Army special operations.

“We found compelling evidence that (Lt. Gen.) Kensinger learned of suspected fratricide well before the memorial service and provided misleading testimony” on that issue, the report said. That misrepresentation, the report said, could be a violation of the Military Code of Justice.
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The report also noted that Kensinger later misled investigators when asked when he first learned Tillman’s death was from friendly fire.

But right now the PR machinery is in fine fettle and full flow:

The Army will take corrective action and hold people accountable, said Geren, who also issued an apology.

“We as an Army failed in our duty to the Tillman family, the duty we owe to all the families of our fallen soldiers: Give them the truth, the best we know it, as fast as we can,” Geren told reporters at the Pentagon. “Our failure in fulfilling this duty brought discredit to the Army and compounded the grief suffered by the Tillman family. For that, on behalf of the Army, I apologize to the Tillman family.”

Enough to bring tears to your eyes, innit? Didn’t have that effect on the Tillman family, though:

Tillman’s family said it was not satisfied by what it called an “attempt to impose closure by slapping the wrists of a few officers and enlisted men.” The family called for congressional hearings on his death.

“Once again, we are being used as props in a Pentagon public relations exercise,” Tillman’s mother, Mary, said in a prepared statement Monday evening.

You will, no doubt, be pleased to hear how deeply offended the Commander-in-Chief is by the whole damn thing:

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said President Bush, like Defense Secretary Robert Gates, has “very serious concerns” about the events surrounding Tillman’s death, his family’s notification and the performance of military personnel.

Maybe Bush will be the one going “You…you… you swine!”

Finally, if your cup of pleasure hasn’t filled over yet, the extremely honorable presidential aspirant John McCain is here to help:

Republican presidential hopeful John McCain, campaigning in Texas on Monday, called it a “travesty” that the events surrounding Tillman’s death were “covered up, if not distorted.” McCain emphasized that he hadn’t actually seen the report but said he was familiar with it.

Why should the shameless and cynical exploitation of Tillman’s death stop now?

Hasn’t actually seen the report, but is familiar with it. Why does that sound so eerily familiar now? Ah yes, he stole that from the good General Gonzales. Buttercheeks, remember, has been earnestly assuring the American public for the last few days that he has no idea what the reasons actually were for the firings of those eight U.S. Attorneys, but he knows they were honorable and good. He just knows that. And you can trust him when he tells you. Because he’s so honorable and good. Never mind that he’s been caught in a flat out deliberate lie. Think of all the times he’s opened his speech orifice and we haven’t caught him in a lie. An honorable man. An officer and a gentleman, really. However that’s defined in the time of Bush.