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Tillman's brother criticizes Iraq war

News Wire Reports

Published October 24, 2006 at midnight

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The brother of NFL player- turned-Army Ranger Pat Tillman, who was killed in Afghanistan, has written a scathing indictment of the war in Iraq, calling it "an illegal invasion."

Kevin Tillman, a former Army Ranger, had remained silent since his brother's death in 2004, but in an article in the Web magazine Truthdig, he sharply criticizes the invasion of Iraq, the indefinite imprisonment of terrorism suspects and other events since the brothers enlisted together in response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

"Somehow, the more soldiers that die, the more legitimate the illegal invasion becomes," Kevin Tillman wrote. "Somehow American leadership, whose only credit is lying to its people and illegally invading a nation, has been allowed to steal the courage, virtue and honor of its soldiers on the ground."

Defense Department spokesman Todd Vician, an Air Force lieutenant colonel, said he disagrees with Kevin Tillman's characterization of the U.S. presence in Iraq.

"The operation in Iraq from the beginning has been a multinational effort and we remain there at the request of the government of Iraq," Vician told Bloomberg News.

FAILED TEST: Shawne Merriman's attorney said the Chargers outside linebacker failed a drugs test because of a tainted supplement and will continue to play while appealing his four-game suspension.

Attorney David Cornwell said he believed Merriman tested positive for the steroid nandrolone, which is prohibited under the NFL's substance abuse policy. Cornwell said the substance was in a supplement Merriman has been taking.

Merriman said he spoke with teammates and coaches earlier in the day, and "apologized to them for this being a distraction. . . . And I will try to get it straightened out as soon as possible."

CROSSING FINGERS: The Steelers aren't saying if quarterback Ben

Roethlisberger suffered his second concussion in slightly more than four months.

Roethlisberger was fit enough to fly home with the Steelers after their loss Sunday in Atlanta, and to drive his car to a team meeting Monday despite being briefly knocked unconscious during a helmet-to-helmet hit with the Falcons' Chauncey Davis.

He suffered a severe concussion and needed seven hours of surgery mostly to repair facial injuries when his motorcycle collided with a car June 12 in Pittsburgh.

ETC.: Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck will miss at least three weeks after straining a medial collater ligament in his right knee . . . Jaguars defensive end Bobby McCray apologized after being charged with reckless driving and possession of a controlled painkiller, saying his Sunday night arrest was "a big embarrassment." . . . Browns quarterback Gary Baxter tore patellar tendons in both knees while trying to break up a pass against the Broncos . . . Redskins running back Clinton Portis hobbled out of the team's practice facility with a walking boot on his left foot to protect a sprained ankle . . . The Packers placed receiver Robert Ferguson on injured reserve because of an injured foot, ending his season early for the third straight year . . . Titans receiver David Givens had a pin removed from his left thumb. Coach Jeff Fisher said Givens could play Sunday.