Former Quantico Commander Objects to Treatment of Bradley Manning

[EFerrari]

Via Andy Worthington:

Via WarIsACrime.org, here’s a powerful letter to General James F. Amos, Commandant of the Marine Corps, by retired Marine Corps captain David C. MacMichael, the former commander of Headquarters Company at Marine Corps Base Quantico, in Virginia, where Pfc Bradley Manning, the young soldier accused of providing a trove of classified US government documents to WikiLeaks, is being held in conditions that amount to prolonged solitary confinement, as I explained in a recent article, Is Bradley Manning Being Held as Some Sort of “Enemy Combatant”?

Capt. MacMichael makes a number of valid and powerful points, in particular asking why Manning is being held for so long before trial (in violation of his Sixth Amendment rights), and also questioning his conditions of confinement. On the first point, he states, “I question the length of confinement prior to conduct of court-martial. The sixth amendment to the US Constitution, guaranteeing to the accused in all criminal prosecutions the right to a speedy and public trial, extends to those being prosecuted in the military justice system.” On the second, he notes, “I seriously doubt that the conditions of his confinement — solitary confinement, sleep interruption, denial of all but minimal physical exercise, etc. — are necessary, customary, or in accordance with law, US or international.”

This is an important letter, already doing the rounds on the Internet, and I’m happy to play a part in getting it out to more people. As with so many aspects of the “War on Terror” — which this is clearly part of — it is often military figures (whether retired or still serving) who recognize, and are disturbed by the extent to which the Executive branch of government, and often lawmakers in Congress, continue to trample on the law, and on rights enshrined in the Constitution, in furtherance of political aims.

General James F. Amos
Commandant of the Marine Corps
3000 Marine Corps Pentagon
Washington DC 20350-3000

Dear General Amos:

As a former regular Marine Corps captain, a Korean War combat veteran, now retired on Veterans Administration disability due to wounds suffered during that conflict, I write you to protest and express concern about the confinement in the Quantico Marine Corps Base brig of US Army Pfc. Bradley Manning.


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http://www.andyworthington.co.uk/2011/01/20/former-quantico-commander-objects-to-treatment-of-bradley-manning-the-alleged-wikileaks-whistleblower/

[sabrina 1]

1. Thanks for posting this.

I hope they listen ~ but when Manning did report war crimes he witnessed, no one listened, so I'm not going to get my hopes up.

[EFerrari]

8. The public pressure is more useful than any appeal itself, imo.

Pressure like this letter in circulation. If anyone has a chance to pass it along or tweet it, that would be helpful.

[sabrina 1]

9. True, public pressure should be more effective than one

soldier trying to do the right thing all by himself.

I will pass it along to my email list :-)

[EFerrari]

10. Thanks, sabrina!

[Solly Mack]

2. K&R

[bobthedrummer]

3. K&R n/t

[Ernesto]

4. Semper Fi Captain!........ nt

[Robb]

5. The captain is much, much more recently with the CIA.

Just throwing that out there. :D http://articles.latimes.com/1986-07-20/opinion/op-17185_1_contra-force

[EFerrari]

6. That's a very interesting document, Robb, because it shows

that some faction in CIA knew the contra war was going to fail, was bullshit. Good find.

[Robb]

7. Half the intelligence officers are right all the time.

:D