Tillman's death mishandled, Pentagon says

Army Ranger Pat Tillman

["A new Pentagon report found that nine officers, including a three-star general, mishandled the investigation into the "friendly fire" death in Afghanistan of Pat Tillman, the pro-football player turned Army Ranger, a senior defense official said Friday night.

The report will not mete out specific punishments to the officers, who include four generals in all. But the Army will begin its own review of what action should be taken."]

["The report found that officials made misleading public statements about Tillman's death, the official said.

When announcing it, Army spokesmen said he was killed by enemy fire. A month later, they said he was killed by friendly fire, triggered by an enemy ambush.

But Afghan fighters in the area have cast doubt on that story as well, and no bodies of enemy combatants were found."]

["Tillman also set off a smoke grenade in an effort to stop the firing, but the barrage of bullets killed him.

Questions have lingered around the Army's handling and disclosure of what happened that day. Previous investigations have found that the Army knew Tillman was killed by friendly fire far sooner than it was revealed.

The investigations also found that officers told soldiers to remain quiet about the circumstances surrounding Tillman's death. And the military has acknowledged that soldiers destroyed evidence — Tillman's body armor and uniform — after the shooting."]

Reprint of complete article from "The Los Angeles Time" available at Tillman's death mishandled, Pentagon says

PAX! Erin Go Braugh!