Newsmaker

Tillman-Lynch hearing set to open

(AP)
Updated: 2007-04-24 18:25

Moments after hearing that attack on his fellow Army Rangers, the airman radioed a command center and requested air cover. No attack aircraft arrived to help.

His recollection of the Predator was enough to spark a search for any video the drone might have gathered. That search spanned six months, took investigators close to the highest reaches of the Pentagon and touched upon some of the most sensitive technology the United States possesses.

In September, Army security officials directed that investigators' memos seeking Predator footage be classified "SECRET/NOFORN," meaning no foreigners would be permitted to see the memos.

Special agents for the Army Criminal Investigation Command and the Defense Department inspector general's office spent much of last summer trying to track down the video - or determine whether it existed. Among other agencies, the agents reached out to "Psychological Operations, the Pentagon ... regarding the Predator footage which was taken during the Tillman incident."

A former US commander in Afghanistan told investigators that "the chances of footage being taken at the incident location during that time frame is minimal."

Still, the investigators met with Lt. Gen. William G. Boykin, the Pentagon's deputy undersecretary for intelligence, who said "he would coordinate with the Central Intelligence Agency and ensure a review for the requested imagery is conducted."

In October, however, the conclusive results came back from Navy Vice Admiral Eric T. Olson, deputy commander of the Special Operations Command: No video of the friendly fire episode was "known or suspected to exist."

Tillman's death received worldwide attention because he had walked away from a huge contract with the NFL's Arizona Cardinals to enlist in the Army after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.