State Department spokesperson P.J. Crowley decries Bradley Manning's treatment as "counterproductive," "stupid"
Army Pfc. Bradley Manning
/ AP/Grpahics BankUpdated at 2:20 p.m. ET with comments on Manning's treatment from President Obama.
State Department spokesperson P.J. Crowley, speaking at an academic event regarding new media and foreign policy Thursday, called the treatment of accused Wikileaks leaker Pfc. Bradley Manning "ridiculous and counterproductive and stupid," according to reporting from BBC reporter Philippa Thomas.
Crowley was speaking at an event at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology when he was asked about the treatment of Manning, who is currently detained at the Marine Corps base in Quantico, Va.
Crowley criticized the Defense Department's handling of Manning but added that "Nonetheless Bradley Manning is in the right place." Crowley continued that "there is sometimes a need for secrets... for diplomatic progress to be made."
A State Department official told CBS News that Crowley's comments reflected his personal opinion and do not reflect the official policy of the U.S. government.
Manning has been held in restrictive conditions at Quantico since July 2010, and some have questioned why the legal proceedings against him have taken so long to begin. Earlier this month, the Army filed 22 new charges against Manning and for the first time formally accused Manning of aiding the enemy, CBS News national security correspondent David Martin reported.
Following news that Manning is being forced to sleep without clothes in his cell, Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) charged that the miilitary's treatment of Manning is comparable to the abuse carried out at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.
UPDATE:In a press conference today, President Obama said the Department of Defense has assured him that Manning is being treated appropriately.
"With respect to Private Manning, you know, I have actually asked the Pentagon whether or not the procedures that have been taken in terms of his confinement are appropriate and are meeting our basic standards," Mr. Obama said. "They assured me that they are. I can't go into details about some of their concerns, but some of this has to do with Private Manning's safety as well."
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Unfortunately, Might is Right in the U.S. And that unbridled U.S. arrogance is above the law, and above the standards of human decency - both domestically and globally. The American mantra "nobody is above the law" applies only to non-national security matters, but it doesn't apply to the practices of national security agencies. That is why about 30% of Americans still believe that John F. Kennedy assassination was planned and carried out by the CIA because Kennedy failed to approve the invasion of Cuba during the disastrous 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion by CIA mercenaries. And this is not just hypothetical gossip; it is just the only conspiracy possibility that is still strong and it doesn't show any wear and tear after 48 years!
Where does the U.S. judiciary stands in this unspoken American divide of protected constitutional rights versus the ongoing torture chambers practice? The U.S. judiciary is actually subservient and "second" in power to the Intelligence and National Security Agencies. They are "above the law," because they supposedly do whatever is necessary to turn enemies of the U.S. -including U.S. citizens deemed such enemies, into "chopped liver!" And that - they argue- cannot be done effectively within the confines of the legal and constitutional restrictions! That is why during the U.S. trial of former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega, the presiding Federal Judge William Hoeveler issued several court orders that the U.S. Department of Justice refused to execute. That prompted the judge to hold a press conference and lambast the prosecutors. He even went so far as to tell the reporters: "I am ashamed of the United States," on quote. Hoeveler knew that he could only rubber-stamp what the prosecutors wanted, not what he as a judge thought was legal and right. That is a fact still today. If, for example, a U.S. federal judge orders the release of an "enemy combatant," and the U.S. security agencies disagree, they can still hold him indefinitely!
As for the torture of Bradley Manning, NOBODY CAN STOP IT! Not even Barack Obama! There is an "Unofficial" policy in the U.S. that is "higher" that the official policy - and "ABOVE THE LAW!" And that is: "Security agencies and agents can do whatever is needed -including torture and death if necessary, to "protect the United States!" And this "protect the United States" theme stands "above the law, above federal judges, and above the U.S. congress and the president!" And some times, when the U.S. media disclose activity by those agencies that is criminal under the Statues of the United States, nothing absolutely happens! The most it can happen would be the scapegoating of an agency director for public consumption, but below the surface everything will stay the same. The reason? Torture and any criminal activity under the banner of " U.S. national security" has become a "national VIRTUE!" Nikos Retsos, retired professor
even common sense will tell you that if you want to know about possible mistreatment... you don't rely on the words of those who are carrying out that possible mistreatment)...
according to reports... (by either pfc bradley manning's defense lawyer david coombs... or a friend of his david house who is on his visitation list)...
in addition to pfc manning being stripped of all his clothing and naked 7 hours a day... (including being made to stand naked at attention every morning)...
his communication and exercise and sleep are being severely restricted...
(his 1 hour that's not in isolation... includes exercise of walking around a room in chains... he's not allowed any basic exercise in his cell)...
it was reported that he saw the evidence of criminal activites being carried out throughout the middle east that involved our country...
and that he reported it through appropriate channels but nothing was done...
he wanted the public to know what is really going on over there... so we'd know the facts... and we could make decisions according to the facts of what's actually going on... instead of just being fed whatever stories they want to feed us and want us to believe...
are you aware of the collateral murder video?... it's the video he forwarded for the public to see and be informed of what's actually going on... and was arrested for doing that...
it's footage showing a u.s. apache helicopter firing on civilians in new baghdad in 2007...
(the civilians had returned no fire)...
11 people were killed... among them were 2 news journalists for reuters... a driver... and 2 children in a van...
the u.s. soldiers had kept on asking... over and over again... for permission to open fire... they were finally granted permission...
and then the 2 soldiers encouraged each other and made jokes about the dying and dead civilians...
(and this is just one instance of many illicit activities going on over there)...
which brings to mind... look at all the soldiers that suffer mental problems and they keep being re-deployed over there at the military's insistance...
and look at all the soldiers suffering in one way or another... and so many killed... and so many civilians too... and for the sake of what?... it's so sad...
(and our country is spending around $2 billion a week in just afghanistan... and that's taxpayers' money)...
PJ Crowley said the treatment by the Marines was "ridiculous, counterproductive and stupid."
On this one, the President is far more informed on the matter than PJ Crowley. Furthermore, the President is accurate; PJ Crowley is inaccurate&more than inaccurate, PJ Crowley is irresponsible and an amateur with a questionable agenda.
Always have faith in your Marines, Mr. President. You have taken the correct stand.
PJ Crowley is an embarrassment to the public affairs profession in service to the nation. He should be removed from his responsibilities as the PAO for the State Department post haste.
Semper Fidelis.
pfc bradley manning will now be naked 7 hours everyday ongoing indefinitely...
according to david coombs blog (pfc manning's defense lawyer)... the lawyer said that he learned about the circumstances from both manning and the brig forensic psychiatrist...
(pentagon press secretary geoff morrell has said that pfc manning has been a model detainee)...
(the brig forensic psychiatrists have continually said that there's no mental health justification for a poi order for pfc manning)...
pfc manning had requested to be removed from maximum custody and poi...
pfc manning had been told that his request to be removed from maximum custody and poi (prevention of injury) had been denied by quantico commander col. daniel choike...
pvt manning then asked the brig operations officer...what he (manning) needed to do to be downgraded from maximum custody and poi (prevention of injury) orders...
he was told that there was nothing he could do to be downgraded... that the brig considers him a risk of self-harm...
he then said that was absurd... and then he sarcastically remarked that if he wanted to harm himself... he could conceivably do it with the elastic waistband in his shorts or his flip flops...
and then without consulting any brig mental health staff... chief warrant officer denise barnes used his sarcastic remark as a reason to increase the restrictions on him... under the pretense of concern that he's a suicide risk...
but pfc manning was not put on the suicide watch list because it would have needed a mental health staff recommendation which the brig commander did not have...
(but... the brig commander does not need a mental health staff recommendation in order to increase the poi)...
the brig psychiatrist assessed pfc manning for this incident and said he was low-risk... and only needed out-patient follow-up...
the brig psychiatrist said that pfc manning's remark about the waistband was not caused by a psychiatric condition...
but as stated earlier... the brig commander doesn't need a recommendation in order to increase the poi (prevention of injury)... which is just what the commander did...
it's a punishing act by the commander... as there's no mental health justification for it...
Are we a nation of laws and civilization or are we a nation of assorted savages?
Ok will change traitor to spy, that's exactly what he was doing giving out classified information. He was a spy for wikileaks.