DOD Refuses To Let Kucinich Visit Manning: He Is Treated "Same" As Other Prisoners (REALLY?!?)

[kpete]

LETTER FROM DOD TO KUCINICH HERE:
http://kucinich.house.gov/UploadedFiles/2-24_Response_from_Secretary_of_the_Army.pdf

DOD Passes the Buck Rather than Let Kucinich Visit Bradley Manning
By: emptywheel Friday March 4, 2011 9:32 am

On February 4, Dennis Kucinich asked DOD to allow him to visit Bradley Manning so he could assess his conditions of confinement. On February 8, Robert Gates wrote Kucinich a short note telling him we was referring his request to Secretary of the Army, John McHugh. In a letter dated February 24–but apparently not received in Kucinich’s office until March 1–McHugh told Kucinich he was referring his request to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Legislative Affairs.

In short, a full month after the date when a member of Congress requested a visit with Manning, DOD is still stalling on a real response with bureaucratic buck-passing.

As to the substantive response McHugh offered Kucinich? It matches all the disingenuous boilerplate responses the rest of DOD has offered–claiming that Manning is treated as any other “similarly situated” pretrial detainee at Quantico, without mentioning that there is at most one other Max prisoner, and none who have been held on Prevention of Injury watch for eight months.

PFC Manning experiences the same confinement conditions as other similarly situated pretrial prisoners at the MCBQ Pretrial Confinement Facility.

more:
http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2011/03/04/dod-passes-the-buck-rather-than-let-kucinich-to-visit-bradley-manning/

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Soldier in Leaks Case Was Jailed Naked, Lawyer Says
By CHARLIE SAVAGE
Published: March 3, 2011

WASHINGTON — A lawyer for Pfc. Bradley Manning, the Army intelligence analyst accused of leaking secret government files to WikiLeaks, has complained that his client was stripped and left naked in his cell for seven hours on Wednesday.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/04/us/04manning.html

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Kucinich isn’t missing that parallel, either. In his response today, he said:
http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2011/03/04/dod-passes-the-buck-rather-than-let-kucinich-to-visit-bradley-manning/

KUCINICH RESPONSE:

My request to visit with Pfc. Manning must not be delayed further. Today we have new reports that Manning was stripped naked and left in his cell for seven hours. While refusing to explain the justification for the treatment, a marine spokesman confirmed the actions but claimed they were ‘not punitive.’

Is this Quantico or Abu Ghraib?Officials have confirmed the ‘non-punitive’ stripping of an American soldier who has not been found guilty of any crime. This ‘non-punitive’ action would be considered a violation of the Army Field Manual if used in an interrogation overseas. The justification for and purpose of this action certainly raises questions of ‘cruel and unusual punishment,’ and could constitute a potential violation of international law.







MORE BAD APPLES??????????????????????????

when does it stop, please make it stop............

[Blue Owl]

1. nice cartoon

:kick:

[EFerrari]

2. Why is career Bush fixer Gates writing to the SecArmy

when Manning is being held by the Navy?

[dixiegrrrrl]

6. Very interesting question.

[former9thward]

9. Military SOP

Manning is in the army and they have control over him. Where he is actually being held is just an administration detail.

[Angry Dragon]

3. I am ashamed of my country

[DeSwiss]

4. I wished that the US military.....

...had the fucking balls to admit we're living in a goddamned military-dictatorship and just get it over with.

- Rule of law my ass.......

K&R

[DirkGently]

5. Thank you for your inquiry, Citizen. The military junta will review it in due course.

[slay]

7. Dennis is a caring person AND a congressman who should at least be allowed to verify

Manning's condition. I hope Dennis keeps the pressure on these assholes. What have we become?

[Catherina]

8. Kucinich! Olive pit! Where are all the other so-called great American politicians?

Rec'd.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

10. No doubt the pilots who murdered 9 children in Afghanistan are being treated the same.

Aren't they?

[Gregorian]

11. America, we have a problem. We have a cancer called Department of Defense.

Wake up and smell the cancer.

[Rabblevox]

12. I'm a decorated veteran, who used to be proud of my oath and my uniform...

now I am deeply ashamed. Nazi spies and communist traitors were treated better than this.

While I don't pretend to know the details of Bradley Manning's case, my gut tells me that exposing a war crime is not a crime. And even if he is guilty as hell, he deserves a swift and fair trial under the UCMJ, and he deserves to be treated humanely in the meantime.

Please call/write your congresscritter to demand real justice for Bradley Manning.

[DirkGently]

13. Yes. This conduct smears everyone who ever served honorably, or ever will. It denigrates ALL of us.

[kpete]

14. more

This treatment is even more degrading considering that PFC Manning is being monitored -- both by direct observation and by video -- at all times. The defense was informed by Brig officials that the decision to strip PFC Manning of all his clothing was made without consulting any of the Brig's mental health providers
http://www.salon.com/news/pentagon/index.html?story=/opinion/greenwald/2011/03/04/morrell

[jwirr]

15. Similarly situated - tried and convicted without a trial. Yeah for the

American Revolution!:nuke: