Alleged Wikileaker’s appalling treatment continues

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By Atticus Morris
The Guardsman

The  military’s treatment of alleged Wikileaker Pfc. Bradley Manning is  shameful and inconsistent with the values enshrined in the U.S.  Constitution.

Manning, an American citizen, has been imprisoned without trial for the last 11 months under unnecessarily harsh conditions.

An  introvert who played saxophone and aspired from a young age to serve  his country, Manning suffered a crisis of conscience when he was ordered  by a commanding officer to ignore well-reasoned critique of Iraqi  government corruption because the critics were “the bad guys.”

He’s  been held for eight months at the Marine Corps base in Quantico, Va  under “maximum custody,” which means he’s locked down for 23 hours a day  and must be shackled and accompanied by at least two guards whenever he  leaves his cell.

While  Pentagon spokesman Lt. Brian Villiard insisted Manning’s treatment is  in accordance with his maximum custody status, he neglected to mention  that Manning is the only detainee being held in max custody.

This  is a non-violent “offender” who has not been convicted of any crime. By  Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell’s own admission, Manning is an  “exemplary” detainee, so why is he being treated this way?

Many,  such as CBS Radio News chief legal analyst Andrew Cohen, have suggested  the military is using Manning to send a message to would-be  whistle-blowers.

Whatever  the rationale, it’s a direct violation of Defense Department policy,  which states “no persons, while being held for trial may be subjected to  punishment or penalty other than arrest or confinement, nor shall the  arrest or confinement imposed upon them be any more rigorous than the  circumstances require.”

David  Coombs, Manning’s attorney, said the degrading treatment of his client  is inexcusable and an embarrassment to the military justice system and  should not be tolerated.

In  addition to being held in max custody, Manning is also the only inmate  under a “prevention of injury” watch. He is required to reassure his  captors every five minutes that he is okay, and when he goes to sleep he  is required to strip down and is denied pillow and sheets. He is also  denied the use of his glasses, which leaves him to sit in “essential  blindness.”

Manning’s  request to be removed from prevention of injury watch was denied on  March 1, despite the fact that brig forensic psychiatrists have  repeatedly concluded there is no mental health justification for such  watch.

The  notion that this treatment is somehow for Manning’s own safety is  patently ludicrous. Former State Department Assistant Secretary for  Public Affairs P.J. Crowley said as much, calling it “ridiculous and  counter-productive and stupid.” The remarks cost him his job.

A well informed electorate is vital for healthy democracy and should be of the utmost importance to any “free” society.

When  Manning passed government secrets on to Wikileaks, he was acting as a  whistle-blower, not a spy; the chat logs with  hacker-turned-government-informant Adrian Lamo make this clear.  During  the exchange Manning wrote “the information belongs in the public  domain,” adding that if he’d wanted to, he could have sold the secrets  to a foreign entity for profit.

He  certainly didn’t “boast” of his deed, although that bit of  misinformation has been parroted by much of the press. Rather, he was  mired in ethical dilemma, saddled with the moral weight of an immense  secret that isolated him from his countrymen.

George  Orwell famously said that telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act  in a time of universal deceit. The Obama administration’s handling of  Manning would suggest it’s a crime against the state.

Email:
amorris@theguardsman.com