NFL player killed in Afganistan

[AreaStarr]

All I can say is respect to him.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former U.S. professional football star Pat Tillman (news), who gave up a $3.6 million sports contract to join the military's elite special forces, has been killed in a firefight in Afghanistan (news - web sites), a U.S. official said on Friday.

The official, who asked not to be identified, said Tillman was killed on Thursday. The 27-year-old soldier abruptly quit his National Football League career following the 2002 season and joined the Army a year after the attacks on America.

Enlisting with his brother Kevin in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks on the Pentagon (news - web sites) and World Trade Center, Tillman turned down a $3.6 million contract from the Arizona Cardinals (news) to become an Army Ranger for an annual salary of $18,000.

The 5-foot-11, 200-pound Tillman played for five seasons with the Cardinals from 1998 to 2002.
He was selected by Arizona with the 226th pick of the 1998 draft -- the league only selects 241 players -- but the Arizona State University star emerged from training camp as the Cardinals' starting strong safety on defense.

I bow to this guy.

RESPECT

[legend]

Aniks, puhleeeze spare me the damnation with faint praise.

Don’t even try to preach about “insensitivity” to me, as you know this would surely raise questions about your own very selective sensitivity. The fact this guy is dead is surely a sad situation, the reasons why he died are open to debate. And I am not prepared to let your faux sensitivities prevent me from stating his death was a frigging waste made worse by an unworthy cause. And the fact that he apparently believed the propaganda of the oil junta and made the move that led to his untimely death, raises questions about his intelligence and his state of mind.

Don’t make me laugh with all that empty talk about “patriotism” and “self sacrifice”. The “my country is always right” vibe is the exclusive preserve of the brainwashed. People with a brain in working order are expected to question the vacuous appeals to “patriotism” and “self sacrifice” by leaders who never had to make those sacrifices when they had the chance to do so.

This guy would have served his country better if he tried to figure out why 9/11 happened. If he tried to use his profile to expose the evil agenda of the oil junta in the White House, and this would have put his career, etc at risk and possibly saved thousands of others from unnecessary death. You serve your country by standing up to people dragging it down a path of ruin for selfish purposes. That, my friend, is patriotism. Patriotism isn’t about buying into the lies and propaganda of evil leaders. That is stupidity.

You don’t even know half the story of what made America great. It wasn’t the fake appeals to patriotism by scoundrels like the Bushmen. America’s greatness came from the people who challenged the status quo, the folks that questioned conventional wisdom, the folks that refused to accept things the way they were, folks that refused to tow the line. This type of spirit challenged the British colonialists, it challenged the slave owners, it fought against segregation, it questioned Vietnam, and it is now raising questions about this bogus “war against terror”. It is the spirit of Paul Robeson, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, etc.

My comments have nothing to do with whether I agree with what Tillman did or not. It is a cold fact about the reason why a man in his circumstances acted the way he did. I’m almost 100% sure he was either very stupid or a bit of a loony. I never confuse foolhardiness with bravery.

Great piece CICOB.
Like a good writer once said- FOOLS DIE!

[anikulapo]

It is a cold fact about the reason why a man in his circumstances acted the way he did. I’m almost 100% sure he was either very stupid or a bit of a loony. I never confuse foolhardiness with bravery.

On that alone, I rest my case.....More power to you............

[theDunamis]

It is a cold fact about the reason why a man in his circumstances acted the way he did. I’m almost 100% sure he was either very stupid or a bit of a loony. I never confuse foolhardiness with bravery.

On that alone, I rest my case.....More power to you............

Aniks, even better, he has at least implied the fact that he does confuse some other X for some other Y, just never "foolhardiness with bravery". The instructive conclusion I draw is that the young man is obviously confused.

[cic old boy]

The Dunamis: Your puerile attempt to patronise and insult is a sure sign that you are incapable of serious debate. I suggest you don't refer to someone you've never met as "young man", especially when, in all probability, the person could be old enough to be your father.

[theDunamis]

The Dunamis: Your puerile attempt to patronise and insult is a sure sign that you are incapable of serious debate. I suggest you don't refer to someone you've never met as "young man", especially when, in all probability, the person could be old enough to be your father.

Forgive the mistake, I have revised the error below:

"Aniks, even better, he has at least implied the fact that he does confuse some other X for some other Y, just never "foolhardiness with bravery". The instructive conclusion I draw is that the old man is obviously confused."

And dude, IF YOU HAVE EVER BEEN IN A DEBATE, you would know that what I have said is neither insulting, puerile nor patronising, and very fair game in a, what was it you called it, 'debate'. Maybe you need to watch C-SPAN a bit more. And your assertion is pretty rich for someone who used the words "very stupid or a bit of a loony" to describe a dead man not here to defend himself. Quit the hypocrisy man.

[cic old boy]

The Dunamis: So you think you've got jokes? So you think stating I'm confused is not an insult? You think referring to me as "young man" is not patronising? To top this, you then try to equate my comments on the behaviour of a public figure with your baseless assessions about me being "confused". Why don't you read why I concluded that Tillman's act were either motivated by stupidity or mental inbalance, and then tell us how this has led you to draw the "instructive conclusion" that I'm "confused".

If you are incapable of doing this, we may have to draw our own "instructive conclusions" about you.

Save us the sob story about the man not being here to defend himself. I wish he were here because you are doing such a poor job of defending him.

PS: It helps in a debate to stick to what the other side said and leave out personal stuff that you know nothing about.

[theDunamis]

The Dunamis: So you think you've got jokes? So you think stating I'm confused is not an insult? You think referring to me as "young man" is not patronising? To top this, you then try to equate my comments on the behaviour of a public figure with your baseless assessions about me being "confused". Why don't you read why I concluded that Tillman's act were either motivated by stupidity or mental inbalance, and then tell us how this has led you to draw the "instructive conclusion" that I'm "confused".

If you are incapable of doing this, we may have to draw our own "instructive conclusions" about you.

Save us the sob story about the man not being here to defend himself. I wish he were here because you are doing such a poor job of defending him.

PS: It helps in a debate to stick to what the other side said and leave out personal stuff that you know nothing about.

[legend]

theDunamis,

I guess you must be new here. You want to tangle with CICOB, but you are smart enough to backout before the real 'heavy punches' takes you out.

I was hoping that you would have pushed this your 'debate' with CICOB.

[theDunamis]

theDunamis,

I guess you must be new here. You want to tangle with CICOB, but you are smart enough to backout before the real 'heavy punches' takes you out.

I was hoping that you would have pushed this your 'debate' with CICOB.

Legend, when someone throws punches at himself I have learnt to stand back and watch hence my last post. Shame though is I haven't quite learnt how to stand back and watch cheerleaders except of cos in a basketball or football game

And oh, I am not exactly new here, "guested" on the sideline for long - kinna saner from that distance. And now there's no getting off the treadmill!

[furiously frank]

[furiously frank]

WASHINGTON -- Former Arizona Cardinals safety Pat Tillman was posthumously awarded the Silver Star for leading his Army Rangers unit to the rescue of comrades caught in an ambush.

Tillman was shot and killed in Afghanistan while fighting "without regard for his personal safety," the Army said Friday in announcing the award.

The Silver Star, awarded for gallantry on the battlefield, is one of the most distinguished military honors. On Thursday the Army promoted Tillman from specialist to corporal. He was assigned to A Company, 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, based in Fort Lewis, Wash.

In announcing the Silver Star award, the Army Special Operations Command provided the most specific description of what happened to Tillman on April 22.

His platoon was split into two sections for what officials called a ground assault convoy. Tillman was leader of the lead group. The trailing group received mortar and small arms fire, and because of the cavernous terrain the group had no room to maneuver out of the "kill zone."

Tillman's group was already safely out of the area, but when the trailing group came under fire he ordered his men to get out of their vehicles and move up a hill toward the enemy.

As Tillman crested the hill he returned fire with his M249 Squad Automatic Weapon, a lightweight machine gun.

"Through the firing Tillman's voice was heard issuing fire commands to take the fight to the enemy on the dominating high ground," the award announcement said. "Only after his team engaged the well-armed enemy did it appear their fires diminished.

"As a result of his leadership and his team's efforts, the platoon trail section was able to maneuver through the ambush to positions of safety without a single casualty," the announcement said.

The announcement gave no other details of how Tillman was killed.

At least one other soldier in Tillman's unit apparently was wounded. Gen. John Abizaid, the commander of all forces in Afghanistan and Iraq, told reporters that he spoke Thursday in Afghanistan with the lieutenant who was Tillman's platoon leader.

"He was still nursing a large number of wounds that he sustained in that firefight where Pat Tillman lost his life," Abizaid said Friday.

Abizaid said he asked the lieutenant about Tillman.

"He said, 'Pat Tillman was a great Ranger and a great soldier. And what more can I say about him?'"

Tillman, 27, walked away from a three-year, $3.6 million contract offer from the Arizona Cardinals to join the Army in 2002.

A public memorial service was scheduled for Monday in California. The afternoon service will be held in Tillman's hometown of San Jose, Calif., at the San Jose Municipal Rose Garden

[Jinn]

well...expect hollywood 2 cash-in within the next year..."The Life of Pat Tillman"...money rolls in.