On Fri, 20 Aug 2010 17:30:26 -0700, Michael Smith wrote: >>When information about a war comes from a government eager to promote and >>justify it, how can we know which parts to believe >and which to reject as >>propaganda?...An avowed atheist...opposed the war in Iraq after serving a >>tour >>of duty there. > >How does one know whether it is the first Tillman story or the second >one that is correct?
I'm sorry, Prof. Smith, but I can't determine what you're talking about here. What do you mean by the first and second story? By the first story do you mean that Tillman charged the enemy and was killed while doing so, and by the second story do you mean that he was killed by friendly fire? If so, there are facts that support one or the other story. The U.S. Department of the Army's Criminal Investigation Command makes it pretty clear in its report that Tillman was killed by friendly fire; see page 3 on the following PDF of their report: http://www.militarytimes.com/static/projects/pages/CIDTillman.pdf >Indeed, it's the second story that was made up by dissidents within >the government and armed forces who want to embarass the government >and the armed forces (but still want to be payed of course) and want >to pretend that atheists are somehow peace loving people. I'm not sure what you're relying on as evidence for these statements but it was the Tillman family that was instrumental in finding out what happened to Pat Tillman. Perhaps you should examine the Wikipedia entry on Pat Tillman (standard disclaimers apply) for some background: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Tillman There is also Jon Krakauer's book "Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman" (Krakauer was a recent guest on Jon Stewart's Daily Show); quoting from the Wikipedia entry for Krakauer's book |To write the book, Krakauer drew heavily upon Tillman's journals, |interviews with the Tillman family, "Boots On the Ground by Dusk: |My Tribute to Pat Tillman" by Mary Tillman, and extensive research |on the ground in Afghanistan. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Where_Men_Win_Glory:_The_Odyssey_of_Pat_Tillman You can buy your own copy on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Where-Men-Win-Glory-Odyssey/dp/0385522266 >The NY Times "review" is obviously bogus and highly biased...oh >wait...It's the NY Times. It must be the truth. Please, Prof. Smith. There are things called facts and evidence. You need to rely upon your skills in scholarship in locating them and then using them in your arguments. If you are too lazy to do so, don't think that the mere statement of your opinion will be sufficient to substantiate what you say. It would also help if you could be more specific about what you're complaining about. -Mike Palij New York University [email protected] P.S. I can't believe I'm having this argument with a Canadian. --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=4330 or send a blank email to leave-4330-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
