Political India: Engaging America

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Defence argument

From The Hindu

Bradley Manning, U.S. military intelligence officer charged with leaking confidential government documents to WikiLeaks, the online whistleblower website, was deployed in Iraq despite warnings from evaluators that he was not mentally stable and a risk to himself and others, an investigation has revealed.

A detailed report and video published by The Guardian newspaper showed that Mr. Manning was not only given a negative report by his commanding officers here, but was also noted by his colleagues as displaying signs buckling under enormous stress. Yet, in October 2009, Mr. Manning was sent to Forward Operating Base Hammer, near Baghdad.

The extensive investigation by The Guardian suggested that even by that point Mr. Manning had faced much bullying within the army and was also possibly distressed owing to his partner, Tyler Watkins, ending their relationship in late 2009. It was clear that he had been under much pressure when one officer said to The Guardian, “He was harassed so much that he once [urinated] in his sweatpants.”

Mr. Manning's demotion and ultimate discharge from the military came after May 7, 2010, when, according to a soldier who had been deployed to FOB Hammer alongside Mr. Manning said Mr. Manning started “blowing up and punching this chick in the face.”

It was shortly after this point, while he was still awaiting discharge for “adjustment disorder,” that he communicated with former hacker-turned-informant, Adrian Lamo. Within 24 hours of revealing to Mr. Lamo that he had possibly copied and transmitted to “WL” a vast tranche of confidential government data when he was at FOB Hammer, Mr. Lamo reported him to U.S. authorities.

Since his arrest in May 2010 evaluators have continued to assess Mr. Manning's mental health, officials confirmed, and earlier reports suggested that he might be considered to be at risk of self-harm.

However the controversial conditions of Mr. Manning's incarceration also threatened to become a major embarrassment to the administration when it became evident that he was being forced to strip down to a smock every night and was being held in solitary confinement.

While he was transferred to a lower-security prison in April 2011, his prior time in the military brig in Quantico, Virginia, saw top officials and civil society groups voicing strong protest to the treatment meted out to him by jail officers there.

In particular, U.S. State Department spokesman Philip Crowley had to resign after he described Mr. Manning's treatment as “ridiculous and counterproductive and stupid.” Further

A group of 250 legal experts including a former professor of President Barack Obama wrote a letter condemning the U.S.' describing the harsh conditions of Mr. Manning's time in jail as “illegal and immoral.”

From The Hindu

An army intelligence analyst jailed on charges of leaking United States government data to Wikileaks has been found competent to stand trial despite earlier being categorised as a suicide risk, according to official sources. Bradley Manning, who was held in solitary confinement for 11 months following allegations that he gave the online whistleblower website sensitive information on U.S. military and diplomatic engagements, was cleared to stand trial by a “panel of experts.”


Despite protests from his legal team, the Pentagon earlier ruled that Mr. Manning was in danger of harming himself and consequently stripped him down to a smock every night and held him in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day. However last week Mr. Manning was transferred from the military facility in Quantico, Virginia, where he was being held under these restrictive conditions, to a prison in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where he was said to be considered “medium-security” detenu. In Fort Leavenworth, authorities said he would be permitted to interact with other inmates.

While the treatment meted out to Mr. Manning in Quantico was described as “degrading and inhumane” by a group of 250 legal experts, including a former professor of President Barack Obama, Pentagon officials said there was a lot of “misinformation” about Mr. Manning and insisted he was neither in solitary confinement nor stripped naked every night.

With Mr. Manning being suddenly moved to Fort Leavenwoth the focus of his case is likely to shift to military court martial proceedings, the date for which has not yet been set.

In a concurrent development, Mr. Obama was recently caught on camera saying to an attendee at a fundraising event in San Francisco last week that Mr. Manning “broke the law,” prompting some legal experts to argue that in saying so Mr. Obama has “destroyed the chance of a fair trial” for Mr. Manning.
The White House subsequently withdrew the privileges of the journalist, Carla Marinucci, who posted online the video of Mr. Obama commenting on Mr. Manning's guilt.

From The Hindu

Bradley Manning, the United States army intelligence analyst jailed for allegedly leaking government documents to WikiLeaks, will no longer be in solitary confinement after being transferred from a military facility in Quantico, Virginia to a prison in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, according to the Department of Defence.

Members of the media were permitted to enter the Fort Leavenworth jail and observe the conditions under which Mr. Manning is being detained. According to the visiting group of reporters, officials assured them that Mr. Manning would be held alongside another ten detainees awaiting trial.

Specifically the Associated Press reported that he would “have his own cell, wear standard prison clothing and have open access to a communal area except overnight.” In Quantico Mr. Manning’s treatment by prison officials became the centre of a growing controversy as he was held in solitary confinement for 23 hours each day and forced to strip down to a smock every night.

His treatment there also led to several incidents involving high-profile officials. Last month State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley resigned after calling the Pentagon’s actions “ridiculous and counterproductive and stupid.” Following this a top United Nations official has said that he was “deeply disappointed and frustrated by the prevarication of the U.S. government,” after his attempts to have unmonitored meetings with Mr. Manning were rejected.

However as he is now held along with medium-security prisoners and in less restrictive conditions the focus of his case is likely to shift to his court martial hearing, the date for which has not yet been set.

Yet even that trial has already been dogged by controversy as President Barack Obama was caught on camera saying to an attendee at a fundraising event in San Francisco last week that Mr. Manning “broke the law.” Some legal experts have argued that in saying so Mr. Obama has “destroyed the chance of a fair trial” for Mr. Manning.

From The Hindu

Bradley Manning, the former United States army intelligence officer jailed on suspicion of leaking U.S. government data to Wikileaks, will be moved from a military brig at Quantico, Virginia to a prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, the Pentagon announced on Tuesday.

The transfer will follow closely on intensifying criticism of the Pentagon for meting out harsh treatment to Mr. Manning, including allegations that he was kept in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day, allowed no contact whatsoever with other inmates, and that he was stripped naked every night and forced to sleep in only a smock. Authorities have been quoted as saying that Mr. Manning faced restrictions to prevent self-injury.

His confinement has not been without controversy either, as a senior State Department official, Assistant Secretary P.J. Crowley, resigned last month after describing Mr. Manning’s treatment by the Pentagon as “stupid.” Further a group of 250 top lawyers including a former professor of President Barack Obama wrote a letter describing Mr. manning’s conditions of imprisonment as “illegal and immoral.”

Further, a top United Nations official, Special Rapporteur on torture Juan Mendez, said earlier this month that he was “deeply disappointed and frustrated by the prevarication of the U.S. government,” after he was denied permission for unmonitored visits to Mr. Manning.

The latest step by the Pentagon, to move Mr. Manning to Fort Leavenworth, was announced by Jeh Johnson, Pentagon General Counsel, who said, “Given the length of time he has been in pre-trial confinement at Quantico ... and given what the likely period of pre-trial confinement in the future [is]... we reached the judgment this would be the right facility for him.” Mr. Johnson also speculated, “We are probably months off from a trial.”

However Mr. Manning’s attorney, David Coombs, said that he was not officially notified of Mr. Manning’s pending move until twenty minutes before the Pentagon’s press briefing – “This is despite the fact that the Pentagon has “been thinking about this for a while,”” Mr. Coombs said.

Mr. Coombs however added that although the move came as a surprise its timing did not, because Mr. Manning’s defence team had recently received “reliable reports of a private meeting held on 13 January 2011, involving high-level Quantico officials where it was ordered that PFC Manning would remain in maximum custody and under prevention of injury watch indefinitely.”

At that meeting, when an attending psychiatrist “challenged” senior Quantico officials saying that there was no mental health justification for the decision, one of the prison officials said “he would not risk anything happening on his watch,” adding, “We will do whatever we want to do.”

From The Hindu

A top United Nations official has said that he was “deeply disappointed and frustrated by the prevarication of the United States government,” after attempting to meet with Bradley Manning, the former army intelligence officer incarcerated on suspicion of leaking government data to Wikileaks, the whistleblower website.

The comments by Juan Mendez, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture and Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment, came even as allegations of inhumane treatment of Mr. Manning by the Pentagon have intensified.

In particular Mr. Mendez was said to have been frustrated by the fact that although most governments permitted unsupervised visits to detainees, officials at the military facility in Quantico, Virginia, where Mr. Manning is being held in solitary confinement, have denied Mr. Mendez’s request to make an “official visit.”

Mr. Manning’s defence attorney, David Coombs, said that the Pentagon allowed for two types of visitors for a detainee – “authorised” and “official,” and the “critical distinction between the two is that official visits are privileged and not subject to Brig monitoring.”

Mr. Coombs further said that the government’s insistence on an “authorised” visit by Mr. Mendez and others, including U.S. Congressman Dennis Kucinich and a representative from Amnesty International, was based on the notion that these individuals were not visiting on “official government business.”

“Such an authorised visit, of course, will be subject to Brig monitoring and can be used as evidence against PFC Manning in a court-martial proceeding,” Mr. Coombs explained.

Mr. Mendez further said that, “A private visit means with a guard;” however he added that his mandate was to conduct unmonitored visits and he would continue to press for an unmonitored visit. “I am insisting the U.S. government lets me see him without witnesses. I am asking [the U.S. government] to reconsider,” Mr. Mendez was quoted as saying.

Regarding the purpose of his visit with Mr. Manning, Mr. Mendez said, “I am acting on a complaint that the regimen of this detainee amounts to cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment or torture … until I have all the evidence in front of me, I cannot say whether he has been treated inhumanely.”

The latest controversy over Mr. Manning’s allegedly cruel treatment by the U.S. Department of Defence follows an earlier high-profile resignation by a senior State Department official who criticised the Pentagon’s actions. Last month State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley resigned after calling the Pentagon’s actions “ridiculous and counterproductive and stupid.”

Earlier this week, a group of 250 legal experts including a former professor of President Barack Obama wrote a letter condemning Mr. Manning’s treatment and in January a non-profit group called Psychologists for Social Responsibility wrote an open letter to Secretary of Defence Robert Gates saying that it was “deeply concerned about the conditions under which PFC Bradley Manning is being held.”

Concerns surrounding inhumane treatment have focused in particular on Mr. Manning’s solitary confinement for approximately 23 hours a day in a cell approximately six feet wide and twelve feet in length and allegations that he is stripped naked every night and prevented from resting and sleeping.

Yet according to reports Colonel Dave Lapan, a Pentagon spokesman, denied these allegations saying, “We cannot, under Quantico brig practice, guarantee the U.N. special rapporteur an unmonitored visit. At Quantico, such a guarantee is only reserved for attorney-client communications.”

He further added that there was a lot of “misinformation” about Mr. Manning and insisted he was neither in solitary confinement nor stripped naked every night. “Except for a brief period about a month ago, and for reasons of Manning's own physical safety, Manning does not sleep naked. Nor is Manning awakened every five minutes by brig personnel. These facts are simply not true,” Colonel Laplan said.