Marines Replace Commander in Charge of Detention of Bradley Manning, Accused WikiLeaker

[EFerrari]

One week ago, David Coombs, the main lawyer for accused WikiLeaks document leaker Bradley Manning, filed a complaint with military officials against Quantico Base Commander James Averhart.

Coombs accused Averhart of abusing his "discretion" by arbitrarily choosing harsh - some have said tortuous - confinement conditions for Manning, who is housed in the Quantico brig.

On Wednesday, the Marines replaced Averhart as Quantico's commander with Chief Warrant Officer Denise Barnes, CNN reports.

A base spokesman claims the complaint and Averhart's removal are not related, and that the decision to replace Averhart was made back in October, CNN reports.

Coombs said earlier that Averhart, against the recommendations of two psychiatrists, chose to place Manning under suicide watch last week, which allows guards to force Manning to "remain in his cell for 24 hours a day," be "stripped of all clothing with the exception of his underwear," and have "his prescription eyeglasses taken away."

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503543_162-20029688-503543.html

Kudos to Greenwald, to David Swanson, to SaveBradley, to Mr. Coombs and to everyone who kept pushing on this disgrace.

[bobthedrummer]

1. K&R-even though the unrec crew is on the job n/t

[EFerrari]

5. I'm very proud (if that's the word) of Greenwald.

He was in a position to do something and he did it. I hope we all make the same choice given the same opportunity.

:toast:

[The Magistrate]

2. It Is Something, At Least, Ma'am

The young man is being tortured, and that on suspicion only....

[EFerrari]

3. It is something, at least, agreed.

His ability to defend himself is being eroded and that's plain unAmerican.

[okieinpain]

4. yeah, that's torture but what the hell did he think was going to

happen.

[EFerrari]

6. It sounds like you're rationalizing torture

and I have to think, that's not your intention.

[okieinpain]

16. not rationlizing torture, I'm just being real. if you do something like

what that stupid kid did do you really think some dumb ass isn't going to take it upon himself to teach you a lesson. no it's not right, but you damn sure better believe it's going to happen.

and as I've said before I do not feel sorry for him, he knew he was handling classified materials and what the penalty is for making them public.

[EFerrari]

21. There is no legal pre-trial torture penalty in America. n/t

[okieinpain]

33. there is not post-trail torture penalty in america either but it

happens. and we all know it happens every day, that's why most people try to stay out of trouble. hell I'm telling you I don't feel sorry for the kid, and I could be in jail tomorrow. but if I do end up there it's because of something stupid i've done, and if i get there and someone feels like teaching me a lesson, well guess what.

[malaise]

22. This is not about him

This is about rule of law - either you don't do torture or you do. One is illegal.

[okieinpain]

37. sure it's illegal but it happens. for the particular person that it is

happening to I do not feel sorry. let me put it this way my son got arrested for smoking pot, when I arrived at where he was being arrested the cop told me that had been by earlier to tell the kids to turn down the music, he said he had not been gone 15 minutes when the neighbor call again saying that they turned the music up as soon as he left.

when i picked my son up from jail his wrist where black from where the cop had put the cuffs on extra tight, my son said that while he was in the back of the police car he was crying begging them to loosen the cuffs and the cop told him he should have thought of that before he turned the music up again. that's torture pure and simple, but it was my stupid ass son's dumb decision that got him in that situation. I didn't feel sorry for my son, and I'm not going to feel sorry for this kid.

[JoeyT]

70. Can we justify torture?

Yes we can!

So by your bizarre logic, Martin Luther King got exactly what he deserved. What did he think was going to happen when he went around challenging racism? Even worse, by your logic escaped slaves got what was coming to them if they were caught, because they knew exactly what would happen to them when they ran away.

I didn't feel sorry for my son, and I'm not going to feel sorry for this kid.

Then you're a terrible fucking parent. I'm sorry that I'm the one to have to break it to you, but insisting the kid suck it up over police abuse makes you a shitty parent. You're not quite as bad as an actively abusive one, but you're not very far above them either. You'll be lucky if your kids don't write you completely out of their lives, and they'll be lucky if they do.

[Luminous Animal]

76. ! +1

[eleny]

25. I haven't read or heard any evidence that Manning is complaining

Others have observed his condition and reported on it.

Can you please provide me with a link to evidence that Manning has complained? I'd like to stay current. Thanks in advance.

[EFerrari]

44. Your best evidence is his lawyer's filings witth respect to his detention.

21 January 2011
Article 138 Complaint
On Wednesday January 19, 2011, the defense filed an Article 138 complaint with the Quantico base commander, Colonel Daniel Choike. The Article 138 complaint is a complaint filed under the Uniform Code of Military Justice to address a perceived wrong against a soldier by his command. The defense asserts that the action of holding PFC Manning in Maximum (MAX) custody, under Prevention of Injury (POI) watch for over five months and recently placing him under suicide risk was an abuse of CWO4 James Averhart’s discretion, and a wrong within the meaning of Article 138, UCMJ. As redress, the defense has requested that Colonel Choike order PFC Manning’s removal from suicide risk and POI watch and that he order the reduction of PFC Manning classification level from MAX to MDI.

http://www.armycourtmartialdefense.info/

[eleny]

51. But I'm not seeing any Manning quotes where he's acting surprised at his treatment

His friend who visits him regularly said that Manning doesn't talk about it.

So there doesn't seem to be any direct evidence that Manning is shocked at is treatment as okieinpain "responds" to. Sounds like okieinpain has constructed a strawman and then reacts to his invention.

Until I hear Manning complain I think it's self serving to blame him for complaints we haven't heard or read. Says more about okieinpain than Manning, imo.

okieinpain, you can jump in here any time.

[EFerrari]

53. Manning's lawyer is his agent and speaks for him.

He's asking for a dismissal based on the conditions of his detention.

[eleny]

55. And for that he deserves the rancor of okieinpain?

I just can't make the connection between that official request and okieinpain's reaction. Seems way over the top given how others have described Manning's treatment and the resulting deteriorating physical condition. That condition almost seems to speak for itself.

[EFerrari]

56. I agree. But when you take into consideration how our expectations

are constantly being whittled down, okieinpain's response isn't surprising, to me, anyway.

[eleny]

57. I find it aberrant

Take care.

[PBS Poll-435]

67. Like that's gonna happen

:rofl:

[Puregonzo1188]

62. And that penalty is torture? Seriously?

[formercia]

7. That he be treated according to the UCMJ

which doesn't allow torture.

[EFerrari]

9. Or pre-trial punishment as a DUer pointed out here

very early on, I'm sorry, I can't remember who did.

[okieinpain]

19. sure I agree that would be nice in nice, nice land. for example

I mouth off to a cop that was writing me a ticket for no seat belt, so he gave me another ticket for illegal lane change because I did not signal when he pulled me over. that was a extra $150 bucks. to me that was a form of torture as I'm pretty sure the cop thought so too. moral of the story being a dumb ass has it price. I paid mine now he gets to pay his.

[Puregonzo1188]

63. Now you're just demeaning the term torture. A ticket for an illegal lane change is not torture.

And no torture should not only be non-existant in "nice, nice land" it should be non-existant anyone, but particularly in a country where it is illegal.

[The Magistrate]

8. Oddly Enough, Sir

It is just possible he thought he had rights under the Constitution, as a United States citizen, who had (and has) not been convicted of any crime....

[okieinpain]

11. well he should have tought of that before he put that information

on his little read/write disk. the kid is a dumb ass and deserves the full attention of the dumb asses that are going to try and make an example out of him. his dumb ass actions are just going to make it easy for the government to stonewall the hell out of someone that actually come across a crime and wants to report it. instead of some stupid kid that's gets his kicks releasing peoples dumb emails.

[gratuitous]

17. What "dumb ass actions" did he perpetrate?

Or am I getting the horse before the cart again? That whole "due process" thing trips me up so much when others are all ready to put together the lynch mob. It's like I'm always out of step. Very distressing, but at this point in my life, it may just be a personal shortcoming that will never be remedied.

[okieinpain]

28. no the stupid kid knew that if he release classified information

that he was going to get in trouble, but he did it anyway. that is what I would consider dumb ass actions, you really can't get upset when someone does something stupid.

[gratuitous]

32. Did he release classified information?

I'm unaware of any trial that has convicted him of such, but then again, there's that "due process" thing again! Makes torture almost no fun at all when you don't know if someone deserves it.

[okieinpain]

39. well jared laughner has been convicted either. n/t.

[gratuitous]

42. Well, we should torturing Jared Loughner then, too

Obviously another shortcoming of the Obama administration!

:eyes:

[okieinpain]

47. see my point exactly, I've read more about the shortcomings

of president obama, then the crimes exposed by mr. manning.

[Canuckistanian]

38. "trouble" should only be issued by the judges in a Court Martial

It should NOT be meted out by jailers before the trial has even begun.

[okieinpain]

41. I understand what everybody is upset about, but you all know it

happens. not just for this kid but for everyone that's locked up, I just do not feel sorry for him. he made his decision now he has to live with it.

[Puregonzo1188]

64. Segregation, slavery, torture--those were all things that also used to "happen."

I don't know if this is the norm or not, but I'm not naive enough to believe stuff like this never happens in the United States, but it shouldn't and it's illegal. I really can't follow the argument that we shouldn't express outrage at or try to stop a human rights abuse because "it happens."

[leftstreet]

24. Are you sure you really mean this?

I can't believe I'm reading this on DU

:shrug:

Can you make your point without advocating the circumvention of Constitutional and Human rights?

[okieinpain]

30. oh like i've said mass murder or something. I'm just stating the

truth. you do something stupid like what that kid did and yes you're going to get treated like that. hell they probably treat a foreign spy better then they are going to treat him.

[leftstreet]

34. If you ever get a jury duty summons, I'd be happy to help you get out of it

Jesus

:scared:

[okieinpain]

50. funny.... n/t.

[The Magistrate]

29. Simple Question, Sir --- Is The Government Required To Abide By Law?

That it may be reasonable to expect mis-behavior by the authorities does not make that misbehavior proper; it remains criminal, and a despotic wrong, even if a wager on its occuring is investment grade.

[okieinpain]

31. sure it is and we all pray that it does, but what crazy law was

broken by the government. I haven't seen any post on du about the laws that were broken that this stupid kid exposed. mostly almost all of it has been behind the scenes comments about people. what I feel this does is make it harder for someone that does stumble across something to come forward.

[The Magistrate]

36. The Conditions Of His Confinement, Sir, Are Torture

And that torture is being applied to compel his witness against himself and others.

[johnroshan]

72. Its an endless list my friend. Classification is used too frivolously these days.

Clinton spying on UN officials.

US arm twisting Germany to avoid prosecution of CIA officials for kidnapping an innocent man and torturing him.

DynCorp using children to "Entertain" afghan policemen and generals.

The endless list is out there, IN FRONT OF YOUR EYES. People can lead you to, point their fingers, even urge you to look, but CAN'T MAKE YOU SEE WHAT YOU REFUSE TO SEE.

John.

[Capitalocracy]

73. ...

[johnroshan]

75. LOL.. thank you for a graphical illustration of the blind-by-choice.

[Capitalocracy]

10. of course, when you expose the crimes committed by our government

you have to expect to be tortured, and this is the natural order of things and the way it should be. Awesome!

[okieinpain]

12. yep, just awesome, and what crimes have come out of the leaks

oh yeah, khadaffi likes big breast.

[formercia]

15. You must be lost.

I think you have the wrong forum.

Go tell Rim Job at FreeRepublic.

[okieinpain]

23. man that's great have an opinion and you must leave. I don't

think you need to leave because you feel sorry for the stupid kid. I just do not feel sorry for him.

[EFerrari]

18. Obstruction of justice in BushCo homocide and torture cases in Spain

covering up the killing of hundreds of civilians at check points in Iraq, using tax money to buy child sex workers in Afghanistan, sending Special Forces illegally into Pakistan. For starters.

[okieinpain]

26. really so where are the trials. I haven't heard any of that even

on du. all i've been reading about is how horrible president obama is.

[EFerrari]

35. You can search any of the stories I mentioned.

There are many more and they have been posted here repeatedly.

[okieinpain]

46. yeah but they are not on the main page today, or yesterday.

I don't even see them mention in the story about him being tortured. keith olberman has mentioned them, rachel maddows hasn't, nor ed, or tweety. there are no stories about the stuff the kid released. it was mainly just embarrassing stuff people were saying behind peoples backs.

let me put it this way if i was that kid, doing the same job he had you better believe that if I was going to expose something, it would really be something to expose.

[EFerrari]

48. Amnesty International, the Committee to Protect Journalists,

the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Reporters without Borders have all publicly objected to the conditions of Manning's detention.

Brad Manning first got involved with all of this when his job was to process prisoners we were holding out and into the hands of the Iraqis, who were torturing them. He tried to alert his chain of command and they told him to STFU.

We all can't keep up with everything but there is a lot out there if you are interested.

[okieinpain]

52. the kid was stupid, if he didn't like something he should have

resigned then reported what he saw to the media. he would have stood a better chance, but he decided otherwise now he is caught up in their world. he is going to face a million little cuts from the the rest of his life.

[EFerrari]

54. Being "stupid" is not a justification to be tortured by the US government. n/t

[okieinpain]

58. you are absolutely correct, which is why they are replacing the

one guy. but we both know it's going to happen to him, and me personally I do not feel sorry for him. what he did was really stupid.

[Capitalocracy]

60. What he did was heroic. The people who are falling short are, well, us.

As a nation, and even as activists. What the Wikileaks cables have shown may not be big "news" because a lot of it has been reported on before, but they are proof of crimes we've known about for a long time. This means the era of plausible deniability is over. The proof is out in the open, and the fact that we are not prosecuting these crimes, that, as you said, a trial is missing, is not Manning's fault. It's our fault as a nation. Our nation is broken to the point where as long as they have a little power or money, we won't prosecute blatant, known criminals who have committed the most horrible crimes that can be committed. Torture, murder, the waging of unjust war, what crimes could be worse than these? How is it possible that we view this as normal and fail to prosecute these people, and the people who actually try to do something about it, like providing proof of these crimes, we watch them get thrown in jail and tortured and just laugh at them and say, "Ha ha, what did he expect? Jackass."

[okieinpain]

77. no he is not heroic, which is the whole point of me not caring

about how he is treated. he just as easy could have gotten someone like valerie plame killed releasing stuff he has no idea about. if there was something that he was concerned about he should have resigned from his post, come home and march straight down to the nearest news station and told his story. not do a massive email dump about stuff he had no idea about.

[EFerrari]

14. The president joked about "pat-downs" last night

which for some travelers have been genital gropings.

What we expect any more is quite disturbing.

[formercia]

27. That was insensitive on his part

especially in regards to those who have suffered from Rape and Sexual Abuse, having to relive their trauma.

[Ellipsis]

66. Certainly not a revolution in Tunisia or Egypt

[malaise]

20. Yes Sir

A start...that is good.

[Catherina]

43. That sums up my feelings. +1 n/t

[Kurovski]

13. K&R. (nt)

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

40. OTOH, Lt. William Calley had to spend one whole weekend in the stockade.

Of course, he only murdered people, rather than horrendously embarrassing our government.

[Catherina]

45. +1 And OP rec'd. n/t

[okieinpain]

49. yep, and the same guy that went out of his way to screw manning

would probably server a 6 course meal to calley. my point is when you put yourself in the hands of those types of people you don't know what's going to happen. mr. manning did not have to do what he did or should I say what he's accused of.

[Bluenorthwest]

59. According to the actual religion Obama uses as a framework

for his improvisational anti-gay dogmas, each prisoner is in actual fact Jesus himself. In this case, Jesus is stripped to his underwear and locked in a cell for 24 hours a day against medical advise. It gets old having some geezer who is doing that to Jesus claim to speak for him in regard to what is and is not love. Perhaps those who confine their deity to solitary cells are not fit to have either prisoners or deities. Perhaps such men have no idea what is sacred, sanctified, or sacramental.

[EFerrari]

61. Kick.

[EFerrari]

65. Update: PFC Bradley Manning Is Not Being Treated Like Every Other Detainee

PFC Bradley Manning Is Not Being Treated Like Every Other Detainee

Despite the assertion of Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell, PFC Bradley Manning is not being treated like every other detainee at the Quantico brig. Morrell stated during today’s Pentagon briefing that PFC Manning’s “confinement is not in the least different from the manner in which anyone else at the brig is being held.” This statement is patently false.

PFC Manning is being treated differently. He is the only detainee being held in Maximum (MAX) custody and under Prevention of Injury (POI) watch. Every other detainee is being held in Medium Detention In (MDI) and without POI watch restrictions. What is the difference?

Maximum Custody Detainees vs. Medium Detention In Detainees

Maximum Custody - PFC Manning:
Under the Secretary of Navy Instruction 1649.9C, the regulation that details the proper procedures and safeguards for classification of inmates, evaluation of inmates and the limited use of special quarters, a maximum custody detainee has the following mandatory restrictions:

(1) Supervision must be immediate and continuous. A DD 509, Inspection Record of Prisoner in Segregation, shall be posted by the cell door and appropriate entries made at least every 15 minutes.
(2) They shall not be assigned to work details outside the cell.
(3) They shall be assigned to the most secure quarters.
(4) Two or more staff members shall be present when MAX prisoners are out of their cells.
(5) MAX prisoners shall wear restraints at all times when outside the maximum-security area and be escorted by at least two escorts (confinement facility staff or certified escorts, per article 7406).

Under the above restrictions, PFC Manning is held in his cell for 23 hours a day. Whenever he is moved outside of his cell, the entire facility is locked down. PFC Manning must wear hand and leg restraints when he is outside of his cell. He is escorted by at least two guards whenever he is moved.

http://www.armycourtmartialdefense.info/2011/01/pfc-bradley-manning-is-not-being.html

[Ellipsis]

68. Thanks for the post, info and the update.

K&R

[Solly Mack]

69. K&R

[EFerrari]

71. Geoff Morrell, Pentagon Liar, enlists the media in making the government case

against Assange:

Q: Geoff, is it true that prosecutors have not been able to tie Private Manning to Julian Assange and essentially make a link between the two in the case?

MR. MORRELL: Well, what I would say on this is, as much as I'd like to weigh into this, this is, as you know, an ongoing criminal investigation. So it would be inappropriate for me to speak to any -- with any specificity to these issues.

But I would avail myself of this opportunity to admonish or warn you all to be extraordinarily careful about how you report on this story, because one thing I can -- I do feel comfortable in telling you is that this case is being taken extremely seriously by the investigators both here in the Defense Department and, of course, at the Department of Justice. They are hard at work at on building a case here.

So any pronouncements about a connection or lack of connection, those that have been found or are yet to be found, are just premature at this point. So I'd urge everybody to proceed with caution on this, and probably most stories, for that matter.

from January 26 Briefing
http://www.defense.gov/transcripts/transcript.aspx?transcriptid=4758

[Dappleganger]

74. It's a start.