Presidential Propaganda Victimizes Veterans' Families

On the heels of the twisted story of why embedded reporter Zoriah Miller became "unembeded" from Iraq comes this story. You can read his story in the prior post. Perhaps you will agree that these two stories together create a bigger picture and an important glimpse into BushCo's deadly media manipulation game.
Committee says fuzzy memories hurt Tillman probe
By SCOTT LINDLAW, Associated Press Writer 7/15/08
SAN FRANCISCO - A "striking lack of recollection" by White House and military officials prevented congressional investigators from determining who was responsible for misinformation spread after the friendly fire death of Army Ranger Pat Tillman, a House committee said Monday.
Although military investigators determined within days that the onetime NFL player was killed by his own troops in Afghanistan following an enemy ambush, five weeks passed before the circumstances of his death were made public. During that time, the Army claimed Tillman was killed by enemy fire.
Rep. Henry Waxman, chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, said in April 2007 that his goal was to discern the genesis of the misinformation. "Was it the result of incompetence, miscommunication or a deliberate strategy?" [my bold] he said.
[...] The committee reported a similar lack of information relating to misinformation surrounding Pvt. Jessica Lynch, who was rescued from an Iraqi hospital after she was badly injured and captured in a 2003 ambush. The committee examined how the story of the ambush of her convoy was changed into a tale of heroism on her part.
"As the committee investigated the Tillman and Lynch cases, it encountered a striking lack of recollection," the report said.
The panel concluded that the lack of information "makes it impossible for the committee to assign responsibility [my bold] for the misinformation in Corporal Tillman's and Private Lynch's cases."
[...] The White House also failed to determine whether information about Tillman's death was classified, [my bold] the committee found. Tillman's Ranger unit was routinely involved in sensitive operations along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.
Then-White House communications director Dan Bartlett told the committee he had approved release of the president's statement because of intense news media interest.
[...] Speechwriters and fact-checkers expended hundreds of words in e-mail memos trying to confirm that Tillman and his brother Kevin had joined the Army because of the attacks of Sept. 11, but could not do so, because the brothers had rarely or never spoken publicly about it.
Nevertheless, Bush's remarks to the correspondents' association contained what one White House official admitted was a "speculative" statement by Bush: [my bold] "Friends say that this young man saw the images of September the 11th, and seeing that evil, he felt called to defend America."
[...] The committee also looked into the case of Army Spc. Jesse Buryj of Canton, Ohio. It took nine months for his family to learn that his death in Iraq in May 2004 was not the result of an accidental vehicle crash as they were first told. He was killed by fire from U.S. or Polish soldiers in Karbala after a dump truck hurtled through a checkpoint and crashed into the armored vehicle in which he was riding.
Buryj's parents accepted an invitation to meet Bush at a July 2004 campaign rally. They told investigators they had pressed Bush to help them find answers about their son's death, and said Bush agreed to help.
"A few months later, a Bush-Cheney campaign official contacted the family," the congressional investigators found. "Rather than offer assistance, the official asked Specialist Buryj's mother to appear in a campaign commercial for the president. Mrs. Buryj refused."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080715/ap_on_re_us/tillman_friendly_fire

Emergency Action in DC, 1/23

Sorry for the late posting, but Lukery is working very hard today:
From the Government’s official PR site, http://nationalsecurity.oversight.house.gov/story.asp?ID=1690:
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Fortress America Abroad:
Effective Diplomacy and the Future of U.S. Embassies
On Wednesday, Jaunary 23, the Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs will hold a hearing entitled, “Fortress America Abroad: Effective Diplomacy and the Future of U.S. Embassies.”
The hearing will start at 10:00 a.m. in room 2154 of the Rayburn House Office Building. The hearing will also be webcast on this page. [my bold]
Witness List:
[...] Ambassador Marc A. Grossman, former Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs (2001-2005), Director General of the Foreign Service, and Ambassador to Turkey. He is currently the Vice Chairman of the Cohen Group and was Co-Chair of the “Embassy of the Future” commission for the Center for Strategic and International Studies, which released its final report late last year.
And here is the appeal for truth:

This is an action alert for those in the DC area.
Please try to recruit friends to attend.

Marc Grossman is a traitor.
We want volunteers to go to the hearing and give Grossman hell.
We want you to hand out flyers and two recent articles to the various Congressmen, their staff, and attendant media.
From The American Conservative:
Found in Translation
FBI whistleblower Sibel Edmonds spills her secrets.
http://www.amconmag.com/2008/2008_01_28/article1.html
From Times OnLine:
For sale: West’s deadly nuclear secrets
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article3137695.ece?Submitted=true
We want you to take video cameras and capture the whole thing.

DEMAND OPEN PUBLIC HEARINGS

Marc Grossman was recorded by FBI
--Tipping off criminal suspects regarding CIA's WMD cover company Brewster Jennings in 2001
--Planting criminals in US Nuclear labs to steal secrets
--Picking up $15,000 cash bribe
--Setting free four 9/11 suspects without interrogation
Please also contact:
Committee Chairman, Henry Waxman.
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
U.S. House of Representatives
2157 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
(202) 225-5051
For more see BradBlog:
BLOGGED BY Brad Friedman, 1/22/2008 7:06PM
ATTN DC Bloggers/Media: Marc Grossman to Testify in House on Wednesday
Opportunity for Indy Media to Ask Questions, Since U.S. MSM Won't!
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=5594

Let FBI Whistleblower Sibel Speak and Be Heard

Go, Sibel!
Sibel Edmonds Case: the untellable story of AIPAC By Lukery, Democratic Underground
One Last Chance
Sibel has evidence of the underlying crimes. She knows who the criminals are. She wants to testify under oath in Congress but the spineless Democrats, particularly Henry Waxman, want her to keep quiet about these issues.
In an act of desperation, Sibel has bravely offered to tell all, at great personal (both legal and physical) risk, if one of the major networks will air her story. Given the history, Sibel's offer is the only chance we'll have to hear any of these remarkable allegations.
Waxman can be contacted in DC: (202)225-3976 and LA:323 651-1040. The toll free Capitol switchboard number is 800-828-0498. See if you can shame him into doing something.
The blog We Can Change The World has put together a list (with contact details) of journalists and media outlets that have (partially) covered Sibel's story in the past. If you contact those journalists, perhaps they'll be willing to at least write about Sibel's offer - which might put pressure on either Waxman or one of the networks to actually take up the offer.
http://letsibeledmondsspeak.blogspot.com/