Pat Tillman

Pat Tillman (November 6, 1976 – April 22, 2004) was an American football player who, in response to the September 11, 2001 attacks, abruptly left his professional sports career and enlisted in the United States Army. He was killed in Afghanistan by friendly fire.

Anti-war Revelations

In the September 25, 2005, San Francisco Chronicle newspaper, a front page story revealed Tillman's views were more complex than the hard-charging warrior portrayed by the mainstream media. Reporter Robert Collier wrote Tillman was:

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: ...a fiercely independent thinker who enlisted, fought and died in service to his country yet was critical of President Bush and opposed the war in Iraq, where he served a tour of duty. He was an avid reader whose interests ranged from history books on World War II and Winston Churchill to works of leftist Noam Chomsky, a favorite author.http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/09/25/MNGD7ETMNM1.DTL

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In the article, fellow soldier, Spc. Russell Baer, related conversations with Tillman about the war.

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: ?We were outside of (a city in southern Iraq) watching as bombs were dropping on the town. We were at an old air base, me, Kevin and Pat, we weren?t in the fight right then. We were talking. And Pat said, ?You know, this war is so f? illegal.? And we all said, ?Yeah.? That?s who he was. He totally was against Bush.?

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Also according to the San Francisco Chronicle:

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Tillman joined the Army specifically to fight Al Qaeda in Afghanistan, but was sent to participate in the invasion of Iraq against his wishes. According to a colleague, at one point he called the invasion, "so fucking illegal."

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Tillman had arranged to meet Noam Chomsky, to take place after his return from Afghanistan. The Chronicle reported that Chomsky was one of Tillman's favorite authors.

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Tillman planned to vote for John Kerry in the 2004 US Presidential election, and encouraged others in his unit to do so as well.

Related Topics:
John Kerry - 2004 US Presidential election

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/max-blumenthal/a-coverup-at-the-highest_b_7878.html

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