"The Vindication of P.J. Crowley" ~ Re. His Comments on Bradley Manning's Treatment at Quantico [View All]

[sabrina 1]

P.J. Crowley AP/Charles Dharapak

P.J. Crowley was interviewed this week by Justin Elliott for Salon. Bradley Manning has been moved to a medium security facility at Leavenworth, ending his stay in solitary confinement at Quantico. Asked if his public criticism of Manning's treatment had anything to do with the decision, this is how he responded:


"The Vindication of P.J. Crowley"

Do you think Bradley Manning would have been moved from Quantico without your experience and all the press it got, as well as the pressure from activists and journalists on the issue?

There's no question that the public pressure, both domestically and internationally, helped propel the Pentagon decision to move him. But understand that, notwithstanding my public comments, there were many, many people inside government and outside government who were working on this for some time. The Pentagon finally realized it was in an unsustainable position.

You mentioned on Twitter that you believe what happened at Quantico should potentially be investigated. Can you elaborate?

Manning's civilian attorney has raised some very serious questions about command decisions at Quantico, and whether they had either a legal or medical foundation. That should be investigated.

And what form should that take?

This should be investigated within the Marine Corps chain of command.

Do you have other thoughts on what should be happening with Manning now?

Well during the Pentagon press briefing, the commander of the Fort Leavenworth medium-security facility acknowledged that Quantico was unsuited for long-term pretrial detention. So it took a while, but assuming that Manning passes his evaluation at Fort Leavenworth, it would appear it is a facility and an environment that is more consistent with the pretrial confinement of prisoners throughout our judicial system.

Interesting that he reveals that 'many, many people INSIDE and outside the government' have been working on ending the treatment Manning was receiving. There was obviously conflict and if he made the decision to lose his position (and an ambassadorship) by making his own feelings known, he is to be commended for doing so.

It's also interesting that he believes the treatment of Manning at Quantico needs to be investigated.

So much for all those who have been defending it.