Yesterday, we told you that Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the man just nominated to be our new top commander in Afghanistan, played a key role in the cover-up of the death of fallen NFL star Pat Tillman.
And now Tillman’s parents don’t seem too pleased about McChrystal’s impending promotion.
Pat Tillman Sr., the soldier’s father, told the Associated Press: “I do believe that guy participated in a falsified homicide investigation.” And Mary Tillman declared in an email: “It is imperative that Lt. General McChrystal be scrutinized carefully during the Senate hearing.”
In 2004, McChrystal approved a Silver Star award for Tillman even though, according to his later testimony, he correctly suspected that he had been killed by friendly fire, which would not have qualified him for the award. Indeed, the next day, McChrystal sent a memo to top generals urging them to warn the president not to say that Tillman had died from “devastating enemy fire.” An investigation found that McChrystal should be held accountable for his role in the cover-up, but that finding was later overruled by the Army.