Retired U.S. general censured

WASHINGTON, July 31 (UPI) -- Retired Army Lt. Gen. Philip Kensinger was censured Tuesday for lying to investigators about the friendly fire death of Cpl. Pat Tillman in Afghanistan.

The report by Gen. William S. Wallace also concluded the retired three-star general did not follow policies requiring him to notify Tillman's family and top officials about the probe into the possibility Tillman, a former NFL player, was killed by fellow Army Rangers, The New York Times reported.

While Army Secretary Pete Geren said the report showed there was no cover-up and the shooting was accidental, he apologized to the Tillman family and the public for "mistakes, misjudgments and a failure of leadership."

But he put the blame squarely on Kensinger, who faces the possibility of losing one of his stars.

"Gen. Kensinger was the captain of that ship and his ship ran aground," Geren said. "It ran aground because he failed to do his duty."

Tillman walked away from his highly paid job as an Arizona Cardinals defensive back to enlist in the Army after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.