Agreed. I’m not particularly outraged about what he did, but he broke his oath and disobeyed standing orders regarding classified information. You can’t have every private in the Army deciding what he will or will not do willy nilly, especially when the order itself was lawful.
What Wikileaks did with the information is a separate matter. (I agree with their handling of it since they neither work for nor gave an oath to the US military.) Manning is going to have to face the charges.
Edit: Also this.
Army prosecutors have told the Manning defense team that they will not recommend the death penalty.
AlanQ
1602
Actually these are simply new charges. Manning was charged with a number of crimes in July 2010. There is something of a meme going around that he he was being held without being charged, but this was never the case.
Quaro
1603
Yeah, the more accurate complaint is that he’s been in solitary + POI watch for long enough to screw him up (>3 months?) before even getting a trial. He’s the only prisoner at Quantico in either Maximum Security or POI.
Posted today, from Manning’s defense lawyers:
Last night, PFC Manning was inexplicably stripped of all clothing by the Quantico Brig. He remained in his cell, naked, for the next seven hours. At 5:00 a.m., the Brig sounded the wake-up call for the detainees. At this point, PFC Manning was forced to stand naked at the front of his cell.
The Duty Brig Supervisor (DBS) arrived shortly after 5:00 a.m. When he arrived, PFC Manning was called to attention. The DBS walked through the facility to conduct his detainee count. Afterwards, PFC Manning was told to sit on his bed. About ten minutes later, a guard came to his cell to return his clothing.
This type of degrading treatment is inexcusable and without justification. It is an embarrassment to our military justice system and should not be tolerated. PFC Manning has been told that the same thing will happen to him again tonight. No other detainee at the Brig is forced to endure this type of isolation and humiliation.
Predictably, the “interrogation innovations” from Iraq are getting brought home.
Come on, random military officials said he is being treated fine. And if there is a more trust worthy system than the US Military, I do not know about it.
PFC Manning was forced to strip naked in his cell again last night. As with the previous evening, Quantico Brig guards required him to surrender all of his clothing. PFC Manning then walked back to his bed, and spent the next seven hours in humiliation.
The decision to require him to be stripped of all clothing was made by the Brig commander, Chief Warrant Officer-2 Denise Barnes. According to First Lieutenant Brian Villard, a Marine spokesman, the decision was “not punitive” and done in accordance with Brig rules. There can be no conceivable justification for requiring a soldier to surrender all his clothing, remain naked in his cell for seven hours, and then stand at attention the subsequent morning. This treatment is even more degrading considering that PFC Manning is being monitored – both by direct observation and by video – at all times. The defense was informed by Brig officials that the decision to strip PFC Manning of all his clothing was made without consulting any of the Brig’s mental health providers.
http://www.armycourtmartialdefense.info/2011/03/pfc-manning-stripped-naked-again.html
This guy definitely deserves to be tortured for what he has done…
It’s doubtful he would’ve “made bank” unless his idea of “bank” was a few thousand dollars followed by blackmail for years to continue to provide information until his eventual arrest. That’s if he was lucky. Sometimes the officials of the spying country immediately give up the turncoat in hopes of a diplomatic return. Also, never discount the probability that anyone attempting to sell secret documents to a foreign power will just wind up talking to an undercover US agent and get nabbed right away.
I’m sure Manning knew all this. They make you watch a ton of case study films while waiting for clearances to go through in the Army.
Whoever made that JPG needs to be tortured, not Manning.
It took me a bit to get the Fight Club reference.
Wow:
http://chuckdude.com/?tag=p-j-crowley
That guy has some balls. Wonder how long he will keep his job.
Refreshing to have at least one person in government speak the truth.
And, under pressure from the White House, Crowley has resigned.
I swear to god this country…
At least we know the answer to your question.
It’s certainly a weird situation when you can get fired from the staff of a supposedly liberal president for speaking out against torture.
Fuck Obama and Hillary too.
Quaro
1618
WTF. WTF.
You know what is 'is ridiculous and counterproductive and stupid?" Making that guy resign for providing a shred of evidence that at least some people in the State Department were reasonable.
Seriously pissed right now.
It’s a question of bureaucracy. He broke ranks and went off message. That will get you fired in any line of work.
Kinda shows how off message Obama has gone. As a fan of Obama who cheered when he got elected, I’d be happy to back a moderate Republican running against him right now. And it’s not just his response to this.
