Soon to be a minor motion picture

Over the past few days several news items have appeared that sound like movie plots. This SFGate article on Pat Tillman's death brings to mind military cover-up movies like "A Few Good Men" or "Courage Under Fire":

The files [Tillman's] family received from the Army in March are heavily censored, with nearly every page containing blacked-out sections; most names have been deleted.… At least one volume was withheld altogether from the family, and even an Army press release given to the media has deletions.…

A Chronicle review of more than 2,000 pages of testimony, as well as interviews with Pat Tillman's family members and soldiers who served with him, found contradictions, inaccuracies and what appears to be the military's attempt at self-protection.

For example, the documents contain testimony of the first investigating officer alleging that Army officials allowed witnesses to change key details in their sworn statements so his finding that certain soldiers committed gross negligence could be softened.

If that's a little too real for you, you might prefer this article from the Observer:

It may be the oddest tale to emerge from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Armed dolphins, trained by the US military to shoot terrorists and pinpoint spies underwater, may be missing in the Gulf of Mexico.

Experts who have studied the US navy's cetacean training exercises claim the 36 mammals could be carrying 'toxic dart' guns. Divers and surfers risk attack, they claim, from a species considered to be among the planet's smartest. The US navy admits it has been training dolphins for military purposes, but has refused to confirm that any are missing.

After all that, it seems almost a shame to report that the purported "respected accident investigator" who appears to be the main source for the article is well-regarded among the crop-circles-and-UFOs crowd.

Finally, submarine movie fans can rejoice: there really are giant squid.