Boxer: Soldier's 'family was not told the truth'

[Newsjock]

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/06/21/MNGJMJI2PB4.DTL

Jim Doyle, Chronicle Staff Writer

(06-21) 15:35 PDT WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer released documents today that appear to show that the Army completed its investigation in September 2005 into the deaths two years ago of two California National Guard soldiers in Iraq, but waited nearly nine months to inform the family of its conclusion that the two Americans had been killed by Iraqi forces during a joint patrol.

"The family was not told the truth," Boxer, D-Calif., told reporters during a conference call. "It's troubling that the Pentagon would withhold this information from the family. It's troubling that Specialist McCaffrey told his family that he had been attacked twice before by Iraqi soldiers. It's troubling that it took the involvement of a Senate office to get the autopsy and a written report about his death."

A Pentagon document that the senator obtained today indicates that the Army's Criminal Investigation Command had completed by Sept. 30, 2005, its investigation into the June 22, 2004, deaths near the town of Balad, Iraq, of Spc. Patrick Ryan McCaffrey, 34, of Tracy, and 2nd Lt. Andre Demetrius Tyson, 33, of Riverside.

But the unclassified document indicates that the Army did not provide any clarification to the McCaffrey and Tyson families, who had been told by the Army in a preliminary casualty report that the soldiers' patrol had been ambushed by small arms fire from enemy insurgents.

[robinlynne]

1. go Boxer go!

She's speaking on cspan2 about it right now.

[saigon68]

17. Sounds Like PAT TILLMANN ----Redux

WASHINGTON - The first Army investigator who looked into the death of former NFL player Pat Tillman in Afghanistan last year found within days that he was killed by his fellow Rangers in an act of “gross negligence,” but Army officials decided not to inform Tillman’s family or the public until weeks after a nationally televised memorial service.

A new Army report on the death shows that top Army officials, including the theater commander, Gen. John Abizaid, were told days before the service that Tillman’s death was caused by “friendly fire.”

Soldiers on the scene said they were immediately sure Tillman, a San Jose native, was killed by a barrage of American bullets as he took shelter behind a large boulder during a twilight firefight along a narrow canyon road near the Pakistani border, according to nearly 2,000 pages of interview transcripts and investigative reports obtained by the Washington Post.

The documents also show that officers made erroneous initial reports that Tillman was killed by enemy fire, destroyed critical evidence and initially concealed the truth from Tillman’s brother, also an Army Ranger, who was near the attack on April 22, 2004, but did not witness it.

[uppityperson]

2. CSpan2 now

http://www.c-span.org/watch/cspan2_rm.asp?Cat=TV&Code=CS2

[Terran1212]

3. In the ring stands a Boxer

[peacebird]

4. So Pentagon didn't want families to know that Iraqi soldiers had killed

our guys who worked with them?

I'm SHOCKED. SHOCKED I tell ya.... Not.

[TomInTib]

5. 'attacked twice before"? This is turnng into a 'Tiger' thing.

Same exact s**t used to happen in VietNam.

When they tried to attach some of those bastards to our SF Team, we told them we would shoot them the first chance we got. They ran away the first night.

[teknomanzer]

10. But, but, but...

They keep telling us this isn't like Vietnam. I guess thats because the of the climate and all.

I say if it isn't like Vietnam then it must be like Algeria.

[mike_c]

6. everything that is coming out of the military and the gov't...

...is suspect. They apparently regard lying as an institutional responsiblity. If the gov't or the military say the sun rises in the east, check your compass in the morning. We cannot trust them. Americans are more often the targets of disinformation than are our "enemies," which makes you wonder just who the real "enemies" are.

[Monkeyman]

7. DOD and lies

DOD has lied about the amount of wounded so why would they not lie to a familiy.DOD has said we have to see how troops act on meds.They are sending kids with PTSD back to Iraq on meds like Prozac.So don't ever think DOD will ever tell the truth.Remember Tony Snow 2500 dead troops is only a number hmmm Think about that one

[Tigress DEM]

12. Welcome to DU!

[rodeodance]

8. the world is watching our Senate debate and Boxer talked of this.

[rodeodance]

9. Rec.

[Tigress DEM]

11. Iraqi forces?? === * friendly fire?

Is this report saying that the Iraqi forces that we are training to take over the job are firing on US soldiers that are in place at this time and that one of the soldiers had been attacked twice before by Iraqi soldiers?

Are insurgents slipping into the Iraqi forces or are Iraqis just so sick of US that they don't care anymore and minor disputes are getting out of control?

[Dhalgren]

14. According to a report I heard on NPR this morning, Iraqi

soldiers receive a bounty from the insurgents for every US soldier they kill. One ex-Marine said, "we're training Iraqi troops to kill us..." This cannot get more fucked up. All of this is coming out right after Maliki offered amnesty to any insurgent who had fought against the US occupation. Is there a connection between the amnesty and these stories and events subsequent? I don't know, but this all stinks beyond belief. Every minute that even one US soldier stays in Iraq is not just criminal, not just insane, it is willfully evil...

[Up2Late]

13. This crap is just getting ridiculous.

Unbelievable.:mad:

[annabanana]

15. the only iraqis who aren't "insurgents"

are the ones behind desks with visions of riches dancing in their eyes....

[lonestarnot]

16. And we expected what? Truth? hmmmmf.

[w8liftinglady]

18. my son's dislike of the iraqis grew with each new deployment

It doesn't surprise me that these kids are snapping after their third deployment.My son brought some cute pictures of Iraqis kidslike this during his first deployment


After his third deployment,I asked him if he had any pictures...his reply.."F#ck them".
Get them out of there.

[young_at_heart]

19. Today is the two-year anniversary of the deaths

These poor families have been treated very badly!