Sunday, December 5, 2004

What it wasn't

The Washington Post unspins many tales told about Pat Tillman's death:

Millions of stunned Americans mourned his death last April 22 and embraced his sacrifice as a rare example of courage and national service. But the full story of how Tillman ended up on that Afghan ridge and why he died at the hands of his own comrades has never been told.

Dozens of witness statements, e-mails, investigation findings, logbooks, maps and photographs obtained by The Washington Post show that Tillman died unnecessarily after botched communications, a mistaken decision to split his platoon over the objections of its leader, and negligent shooting by pumped-up young Rangers -- some in their first firefight -- who failed to identify their targets as they blasted their way out of a frightening ambush.

The records show Tillman fought bravely and honorably until his last breath. They also show that his superiors exaggerated his actions and invented details as they burnished his legend in public, at the same time suppressing details that might tarnish Tillman's commanders.

There's much more. RTWT.

Vocab answers

Check out this year's redefinitions, from the Washington Post.

Becoming less of a kid, mostly

What Your College Kid is Really Up To is Steven Levy's latest in Newsweek. The prime Kid in Question is none other than Aaron Swartz. On his blog, Aaron reports on meeting with the reporter. Nice subject-side view of the reporting process. Also a nice introduction of the Entire World to Aaron's less-than-private life as a college student.