To this point, no military organization that I'm aware of has stepped up to address this shocking treatment of one of their members.
Please do correct me if I'm in error here.
King Aragorn has expressed his concern.
President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
March 18, 2011
Dear President Obama:
We are writing today to ask for immediate action to address the inhumane and unjustified treatment of PFC Bradley Manning at Quantico Marine Base. Despite the recommendations of three forensic military psychiatrists, the Brig Commander at Quantico refuses to lift the POI (Prevention of Injury) status and change his confinement classification from MAX to Medium Custody In (MDI). As a result, PFC Manning has been kept in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day for the past eight months.
On the evening of March 2, 2011 PFC Manning was stripped of all his clothing by the Quantico Brig and left naked in his cell for the next seven hours. His clothes were returned to him the following morning only after he stood to attention in front of the rest of the clothed inmates, still naked. The same thing occurred the following night and morning.
There can be no conceivable justification for this type of degrading treatment. It brings back memories of the abuses committed in Abu-Ghraib, which blackened the reputation of America’s armed forces.
Pfc. Manning is already being monitored at all times, both by direct observation and by video. No other detainee at the Brig is forced to endure this type of isolation and humiliation.
We, the undersigned, demand an immediate investigation into the conditions of Pfc. Manning’s detention and urge you to order a stop to the cruel treatment of an American soldier entitled to the same human rights and constitutional protections afforded to all citizens. Every human being deserves to be treated with respect. Every human being deserves due process. Pfc. Manning is receiving neither.
Sincerely,
Rosanne Cash
Daniel Ellsberg
Shepard Fairey
Danny Glover
Jane Hamsher
Tom Morello
Viggo Mortensen
Michael Rattner, Center for Constitutional Rights
Michael Stipe
Vince Warren, Center for Constitutional Rights
Angela Wright, Amnesty International
Jack Balkin's take on Manning which ya'll may find interesting . . .
ReplyDeletehttp://balkin.blogspot.com/2011/03/bradley-manning-barack-obama-and.html
Personally, I don't buy the comparison to Eisenhower and Nixon . . . there's a lot more to it than that.
his case illustrates why so many people were furious about the torture at Abu Ghraib, Gitmo, Bagram, and the other black sites. Because when you craft torture and torturers, when you expose the torture but don't punish the torturers, those who approved and those who authorized the torture, then the torture becomes the endpoint, and everything moves up a step.
ReplyDeleteSo, keeping a suspect naked in a cell 23 hours a day? Big fucking whoop. At least he's not being tortured, right?
And as seydlitz's article points up; this is the new normal. Nobody is getting excited about this anymore. This poor bastard should probably be thought of as the new John Q. Public; if you offend the Powers That Be, beware - you should look to Manning, and despair.
What I want to know, and I hinted at that, is why haven't orgs. like American Legion, VFW, various military blogs covered this?
ReplyDeleteI don't know about you guys here, what you belong to, if anything.
IMO these groups should be all over this, but they're not.
I found this:
http://tinyurl.com/46sv24y
If I actually believed the blather we hear from traditional veterans groups like the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and the American Legion, blowhard politicians, and warmongers both professional and amateur about "honoring our soldiers" and "supporting the troops," I would be surprised that they are not screaming about Manning's treatment. Soldiers accused of crimes are entitled to fair trials, even if it is in a court-martial. They are also entitled to have their legal rights respected, including the right not to be tortured.
I really find this whole situation digusting.
bb
bb-
ReplyDeleteIt has to do with the institution of the military - order and discipline. You can't have little cogs in the great machine thinking for themselves . . . it's like my Marine Corps DI told me back in 1975 . . . "instantaneous obedience to orders!" or simply "the ant principle", which is when an ant strays from the trail you smash it.
Not that I don't think that Manning's getting a raw deal, but them's the times. If he made any mistake at all it was probably being too idealistic and forgetting that being in the military is a whole different world.
From a strategic theory perspective, and this has nothing to do with the military mindset, but rather the highest strategic level, that is the political, what it all says to me is how fearful the powers that be are that someone might actually spill the beans on what has been going on since Bush's installation in December 2000. What Manning released was actually small potatoes . . .
For those interested, here is the blog for Manning's lawyer, which I've been reading for a few months now.
ReplyDeleteTop leaders have always lied to their followers. They are pulled in too many directions to satisfy everyone and it is easier to piss people off than it is to satisfy them.
ReplyDeleteThus, you tell people what they want to hear and hope that you don't get called out for it.
The real issue is that the lies are much more persistent than before. They get emailed, tweeted, texted, etc. Furthermore, they are sent to a much wider audience. It is really hard to keep control of a lie in the age of the internet.
So what is now happening is that we are in a reactionary phase as organizations and leaders evolve to cope with a world where anyone has the technical ability to distribute information.
They try to crush it via the legal system.
Note also how copyright laws are evolving from laws which restrict copying to laws that enforce control.
s, I realize that in situations where the half second of hesitation or the split-second personal calculation about whether this ordered action will personally benefit me or not can kill friends or cause mission failure, your Marine DI is absolutely correct.
ReplyDeleteBut in this long dragged out affair of Manning's incarceration and treatment, I see no benefit accruing for anyone involved.
The glaring fact that our military allows this shows me that there is definitely rot, it stinks, and it desperately needs correction.
I see that some of our major newspapers have picked up on the story, so we'll see if the added publicity shames someone into appropriate action.
And if it takes shames to create action here, more's the pity.
bb
As sweet as the letter is...I think we all can agree that, as Chief correctly points out, this is the order of things.
ReplyDeleteIn short, this is an Executive challenge to the Bill of Rights, and to the underpinnings of the Constitution of the United States.
And it is quite clear that Congress, by refusing to pick up the gauntlet is abetting the dissolution of the Constitution.
If Mr. Manning is being detained for espionage, treason, or for aiding and abetting the enemy then he is overdue to face his accusers, and be formally charged.
However, as we can plainly see...this is worse than a travesty of Justice, worse than even the usual "mistake", this is a clear indication that the our often stated pretense of "Rule of Law" is little more than just empty words.
We are well on our way to totalitarianism and really doesn't matter who is in office, what political party is at the microphone, or whoever ideologue is at the podium...it is clear as day that they are all mouthpieces for their monied masters.
Mr Manning is just the physical representation of our new reality...guess we better get used to it.
The story is picking up some virality, a stink rises, annnnnd ACTION!
ReplyDeletehttp://tinyurl.com/5tjvcxc
The usual in American politics.
bb
basilbeast -
ReplyDeleteIf what we see in the press is true then I personally think Manning's treatment is troubling. But the key word is "if". Not sure I believe Greenwald. Here are some things I would like to know about the case and about your thoughts on it:
1] I understood Manning was stripped to his skivvies, and not completely nude. What is the true situation?
2] What is the SOP is for controlling recalcitrant prisoners in brigs, stockades, and federal prisons??
3] Does his situation conform to those standards in [2] above or is it an outlier???
4] What is the temperature controlled to in the Quantico brig?
5] Is Manning being denied a blanket??
6] How much of this press is being fed by his lawyer to try the case in the media before the trial starts???
7] Did he in fact make suicide threats?
8] Why is he being held in a Quantico brig? Manning is a soldier in the US Army. Why doesn't the Army hold him at a stockade in Fort Belvoir or Fort Meade or any of the hundreds of other Army facilities in Virginia and Maryland??
9] Why do you condemn just the VFW and the Legion? Why not IAVA and IWVO and Obama also??
10] The primary function of the VFW at the National Level is to lobby in Congress for the safety, well being, and benefits of all vets and their widows and orphans. They do not speak for individual vets accused of crimes. They did not do it for Lynndie England and others at Abu Ghraib fame and they did not do it for the Haditha 8. Why should they do it for Manning? Especially since he has the media and 200+ law professors and the IVAW rallying for him.
Let it not be said that some of us Libertarians aren't aware of this problem.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLjt3dhdqXI
1. I only go by what I read in sources I trust, which claim he is stripped naked, and held in solitary 23 out of 24 hours each day.
ReplyDelete2. I haven't heard of any substantiated claims that Manning has been recalcitrant.
3. Last I heard, stripping a prisoner naked and holding him in solitary as much as claims that say Manning has been is not standard practice in this country. Last I heard anyway.
4. Don't know, but hope it's comfortable.
5. Reports that I have seen say he gets a blanket.
6. Don't know, but can you fault a lawyer doing his best for the client? If what the guy says is crap, why haven't we at least heard from some Quantico-approved 3rd party to say so?
7. It has been reported that he made some comment about hanging himself by his underwear elastic. Whether or not this was a serious statement is unknown, because we can't yet hear from Manning's own mouth his thoughts on the matter.
8. Don't know.
9. At the top of this article, I wrote that no military organization has spoken about Manning. I mentioned VFW and AL because they are the most widely know veterans' and military social support organizations known to most people.
10. Last I heard, England, the other abu Ghraib soldiers, and the Haditha 8 were not treated the same way Manning is now. They got their day in court, had their say and received what they got.
Not so for Manning.
bb
bb - Your sources differ from mine:
ReplyDelete1. I heard it was two days only, not every day and only down to his skivvies. A Quantico spokesman said that Mannings allegations of mistreatment were poppycock and that "Manning could talk to guards and prisoners in other cells, and left his cell for a daily hour of exercise, and for showers, phone calls, meetings with his lawyer, and weekend visits by friends and relatives." Doesn't sound like solitary confinement to me. Yes we should investigate but why should we give Mannings word more credibility than the authorities at Quantico or vice versa.
2. I haven't heard of any substantiated claims that Manning wasn't recalcitrant. Are you saying that he was a model prisoner who was only being abused because of sadistic tendencies of the guards or from some desire to punish him?
3. I did not claim that stripping a prisoner naked and holding him in solitary was standard practice in this country. I was trying to ask what the standard was. I believe that federal prisons and military brigs and stockades have strict rules and protocols for handling prisoners. Yes, of course there have been abuses. No such abuse has yet been proven in this case.
4. Me too.
5. A blanket is good.
6. Lawyers (both prosecutors and for the defense) tend to subvert justice anyway they can. Also we have heard from several 3rd parties - "Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell and Pentagon General Counsel Jeh Johnson visited Quantico in February 2011 to examine the conditions of the detention. Morrell said he was impressed by the professionalism of the staff, and that Manning's housing and treatment were appropriate. He said: "It just so happens that the configuration of the brig is that every individual is confined to his or her own cell. He's being provided well-balanced, nutritious meals three times a day. He receives visitors and mail, and can write letters. He routinely meets with doctors, as well as his attorney. He's allowed to make telephone calls. And he is being treated just like every other detainee in the brig." But perhaps you do not consider them 3rd party. I do think they have integrity and they have the trust of Gates and the President.
7. Whether or not his comment about hanging himself was a serious statement or a joke is beside the point. If he made the statement then the authorities had to assume it was in fact genuine. To not do so would have been dereliction of their duty and they would have been held responsible for his death. If he made a statement that he would hang himself with his skivvyies then perhaps they did ask him to strip down.
8. Me neither. But I do not think it is right, he should be held for pretrial confinement in an Army facility or a Federal facility.
9. Manning is an Iraq vet and IAVA is the largest Iraq War veteran's organization yet I have not heard that they are supporting him. The IVAW (Iraq Veteran's Against the War) has in the past and continue to rally for him.
10. Yes, Lynndie and ten others got their day in court and were convicted and took the rap for Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld. The Haditha 8 were all acquitted or charges were dropped, yet they were all crucified in the press, the opposite of what is happening to Manning who is being made out as a saint for stealing well over a quarter million classified US documents. Manning was arrested in May 2010 ten months ago and has not yet had his day in court. Not exactly swift justice, but well below par for the American court system civilian or military which sometimes takes years.
Something here ate my last comment from last night - too long maybe?:? But it gave no indication of rejection.
ReplyDeletebb – your sources and mine differ:
ReplyDelete”1. I only go by what I read in sources I trust, which claim he is stripped naked, and held in solitary 23 out of 24 hours each day.”
What sources? There are only four primary sources I know of. One is from his lawyer back in December that the guards were professional, and had not tried to bully, harass, or embarrass Manning. He was being allowed outside his cell to walk for up to one hour a day, and there was access to television for limited periods when it was placed in the corridor outside his cell. He was allowed to keep one book and one magazine in his cell. Another is Manning’s letter which stated his abuse lasted for three days and that he was ordered to stand naked at parade rest for three minutes during routine morning inspection after he joked about suicide with his flipflops and skivvie drawers. A third source is the Quantico spokesman that said his allegation is poppycock and that he is not in solitary, he has always been able to talk to other prisoners and guards, to leave his cell for showers, exercise and phone calls, to see his lawyer on a regular basis, and to get visits from friends and family. The last source is from two Pentagon civilians Press Spokesman Geoff Morrell and General Counsel Jeh Johnson who visited Quantico to examine his condition. Morrell said he was impressed by the professionalism of the staff, and that Manning's housing and treatment were appropriate. He said: "It just so happens that the configuration of the brig is that every individual is confined to his or her own cell. He's being provided well-balanced, nutritious meals three times a day. He receives visitors and mail, and can write letters. He routinely meets with doctors, as well as his attorney. He's allowed to make telephone calls. And he is being treated just like every other detainee in the brig." Everything else is hearsay and conjecture until an investigation is done.
”2. I haven't heard of any substantiated claims that Manning has been recalcitrant.”
I have not heard of any substantiated claims that he has been a model prisoner either.
”3. Last I heard, stripping a prisoner naked and holding him in solitary as much as claims that say Manning has been is not standard practice in this country. Last I heard anyway.”
I agree. But then I never said it was standard. I only asked what the standards were. BTW to my knowledge he is not now and has never been in solitary.
”4. Don't know, but hope it's comfortable.”
Me too.
”5. Reports that I have seen say he gets a blanket.”
Blankets are good. Apparently he does not like his as it is itchy and he has no sheets. It is designed to be non-shreddable so it cannot be made into a rope and therefore a noose. I understand it is standard issue for prisoners in maximum custody.
to be continued
bb -
ReplyDelete”6. Don't know, but can you fault a lawyer doing his best for the client? If what the guy says is crap, why haven't we at least heard from some Quantico-approved 3rd party to say so?”
The Pentagon Press Spokesman and General Counsel have said so. See #1 in my previous post. But then you may not consider them 3rd parties. Both are civilians, I am sure that Gates and Obama believe in their integrity and non-bias.
”7. It has been reported that he made some comment about hanging himself by his underwear elastic. Whether or not this was a serious statement is unknown, because we can't yet hear from Manning's own mouth his thoughts on the matter.”
Yes, he claimed that he made a joke about committing suicide with his skivvy drawers or his shower shoes. Not serious for him perhaps, but it was apparently taken seriously and perhaps rightly so by the brig authorities. That could well have led to those items being taken from him. Was he then embarrassed by having to stand naked during a routine morning inspection. Probably so. But that inspection is given to all prisoners by brig supervisors to ensure their safety. Did any of the guards smirk about the size of his schwantz? Maybe. I don’t know and I don’t believe anyone else knows at this time. And if they did, a smirk is certainly not torture.
”8. Don't know.”
Me neither. It seems to me though that the Army has pretrial confinement facilities. He should be held in one of those or in a federal pretrial detention center.
”9. At the top of this article, I wrote that no military organization has spoken about Manning. I mentioned VFW and AL because they are the most widely know veterans' and military social support organizations known to most people.”
Even if the VFW and the Legion think that Manning’s treatment is unjust (which has not yet been established); why should they join the wolfpack of people, organizations and media that are on his side. Manning has hundreds of people and organizations speaking out for him. The Iraq Vets Against the War have spoken out for Manning. So have Ellsberg, Mike Moore, Dennis the Menace Kucinich, a major portion of the US media, and hundreds of law professors. A UN Rep on torture and Amnesty International are inquiring about his condition. And the man even has his own “Bradley Manning Support Network” with thousands of supporters. Anonymous threats have been received by Quantico personnel. Perhaps the VFW should be supporting them and not Manning.
”10. Last I heard, England, the other abu Ghraib soldiers, and the Haditha 8 were not treated the same way Manning is now. They got their day in court, had their say and received what they got. Not so for Manning.”
Yeah, Lynndie and ten others were convicted and went to prison for Abu Ghraib. Rightly so. Yet they received all of the media storm and took the rap for Bush, Cheney, and Rummy. The Haditha 8 were all acquitted or had charges dropped to my knowledge, but every one of them was branded guilty in the media, which is just the opposite of what is happening to Manning, who is being made out to be a saint. And perhaps Manning has not had his day in court yet, but it has only been ten months, not quite a speedy trial but below par for the US Justice system, civilian or military.