Here is a news article I found in our local county news this morning, written by a good friend of mine. I thought someone might find it interesting. Jessica Lynch lives in the next county over. A good, honorable country girl. Go Jess! http://www.hurherald.com/cgi-bin/db_scripts/articles?Action=user_view&db=articles_hurherald&id=23125 LIES, DECEPTION AND COVER-UPS - Jessica Lynch Goes To Washington (04/24/2007) By Bob Weaver The Iraq war continues to roost on George Bush's shoulder. Wirt County's Jessica Lynch is in Washington to help clear the air about government misinformation fed to the American people about her capture in Iraq. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is conducting a hearing that will feature testimony from Lynch and relatives of NFL star Patrick Tillman turned soldier, who was killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan in 2004. Top military officers are already making amends to the Tillman family for their supporting government lies in an effort to promote the Iraq war. The House committee "will examine why inaccurate accounts of these two incidents were disseminated, the sources and motivations for the accounts, and whether the appropriate administration officials have been held accountable." Beyond the false intelligence used by the Bush administration to go to war, there has been a continuing spin described by a military official as "cards with lies," fed to the American people. Lynch was a private first class with a maintenance company that came under fire in the early days of the invasion of Iraq in 2003. The Pentagon reported that she was shot and stabbed during a fierce firefight with Iraqi troops in which 11 of her comrades were killed. Lynch became a celebrity after U.S. troops stormed the hospital where she was being held and rescued her in what American commanders said at the time was a dangerous and daring raid. Hospital staff said no Iraqi troops were in the hospital at the time of her "rescue." They said they had unsuccessfully tried to turn Lynch over to American forces. Lynch later turned out to have suffered broken bones when her vehicle crashed during the battle. Her weapon was jammed with sand and she never fired a shot. She later told ABC News that she was bothered by the way the military publicized her rescue, which was filmed by the government. Defense officials blamed news outlets, not the military, for any inaccuracies in her story. Lynch said she hopes to set the record straight about events surrounding her rescue. "I didn't want to be portrayed as this Rambo fighting machine when, you know, I knew it wasn't the truth and it was important to me to always come out and tell the truth," Lynch told ABC News. Lynch's book "I Am A Soldier, Too," minimized her heroics. Then, there is the Pat Tillman case. Today, Tillman's brother was outraged that the government would lie to the American public during Tillman's nationally televised memorial service. The Defense Department announced in March that nine military officers, including four generals, face "corrective action" in connection with lies related to Tillman's death. The Army posthumously awarded Tillman the Silver Star, the third-highest U.S. combat decoration, announcing that he had been killed leading a counterattack. Within hours of Pat Tillman's death, the Army went into information-lock-down mode, cutting off phone and Internet connections at a base in Afghanistan where his body was housed. A sergeant was ordered to burn Tillman's uniform. The battle, until now, has been between a grieving family and the U.S. military justice system. Tillman's outraged mother has displayed thousands of pages of documents on her dining room table, saying much of the material represents lies, deception, and cover-ups.
Jessica Lynch actually came forward a few years ago on a TV interview (I believe on 60 Minutes) saying the whole thing was staged. The Pentagon actually consulted with Jerry Bruckheimer, asking his advice of how to best stage the "rescue." In the case of Pat Tillman's death, it's likely he was intentionally murdered in order to exploit his death and use it for propaganda purposes.
Shoshawna Johnson was actually the one who got shot, not Lynch. Both of her ankles were shot. She was still having some trouble walking the last time I saw her. The media made up all kinds of stories about Lynch that weren't true, such as firing her gun to save other troops, being shot multiple times, being raped by Saddam's people, etc. Johnson was hardly mentioned in the U.S. media and didn't get a million-dollar book deal offer and her face on Time magazine like Lynch did. She did get some honors on New Years 2005 when she and Bloomberg pushed the switch to lower the ball on Times Square. The general public didn't get to see that either because the media used that time for a few more commercials about Pepsi and SUVs. It was on the satellite feeds (for those lucky enough to have equipment to get feeds). http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/05/23/cnn25.tan.johnson/ .
Watch some of today's hearings if you have a chance. Tillman's brother testified how the military concocted a fictional John Wayne story instead of acknowledging the embarassing friendly fire incident. .
I got to see a good part of it, and even I was shocked that they'd gone so far as to forge parts of witness statements. I think they've now issued a subpoena for more documents, but of course the Bush people have no respect for lawful society whatsoever.
Lyndee England is my personal female war hero from West Virginia. All those kinky late night goings on in Abu Gareb Prison, yummy. Sex with Charlie Garner right in front of the inmates That beret, cigarette and cattle prod; Hot Put me in that pile darlin! :drool: disclaimer: This is sarcasim and a goof
Having been killed by friendly fire Tillman is not even eligible for a purple heart. Wouldn't have made good press.
She was a scapegoat. Her orders came from private civilian contractors that will never be held liable for the actions they mandated. I sense your sarcasm, but her family has had to deal with the shame, and she spends time in prison.
One of the higher ups in the army made a really sleazy remark accusing the family of Tillman of being atheists and saying that was the reason that they will never get over the loss, because their son is nothing but worm meat. Some of these divisions in the army are very elite and can't admit to screwing up an operation. They'll do anything to cover it up. .
"Onward Christian Soldiers"....got to love what Bush and Co. have done to society. They get rewarded for covering for the administration. Why should they stop? We now consider that only christians can feel the loss of family. How egotistical is that? Tillman's family will never get over their loss, mainly because they were lied to by those that they felt held their best interests under protection. He sacrificed a career, his future and his life to fight for an administration that only viewed him as canon fodder. His loss is not even covered under current military law by the receipt of a purple heart. He was killed by comrades so he should be considered expendable.
