The Truth Behind Quantico Brig's Decision to Strip PFC Manning

[kas125]

The Truth Behind Quantico Brig's Decision to Strip PFC Manning

The Brig has stripped PFC Manning of all of his clothing for the past three nights, and they intend to continue this practice indefinitely. Each night, Brig guards force PFC Manning to relinquish all of his clothing. He then lies in a cold jail cell naked until the following morning, when he is required to endure the humiliation of standing naked at attention for the morning roll call. According to Marine spokesperson, First Lieutenant Brian Villiard, the decision to strip him naked every night is for PFC Manning's own protection. Villiard stated that it would be "inappropriate" to explain what prompted these actions "because to discuss the details would be a violation of PFC Manning's privacy."

The defense communicated with both PFC Manning and the Brig forensic psychiatrist and learned more about the decision to strip PFC Manning of his clothing every night. On Wednesday March 2, 2011, PFC Manning was told that his Article 138 complaint requesting that he be removed from Maximum custody and Prevention of Injury (POI) Watch had been denied by the Quantico commander, Colonel Daniel J. Choike. Understandably frustrated by this decision after enduring over seven months of unduly harsh confinement conditions, PFC Manning inquired of the Brig operations officer what he needed to do in order to be downgraded from Maximum custody and POI. As even Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell has stated, PFC Manning has been nothing short of "exemplary" as a detainee. Additionally, Brig forensic psychiatrists have consistently maintained that there is no mental health justification for the POI Watch imposed on PFC Manning. In response to PFC Manning's question, he was told that there was nothing he could do to downgrade his detainee status and that the Brig simply considered him a risk of self-harm. PFC Manning then remarked that the POI restrictions were "absurd" and sarcastically stated that if he wanted to harm himself, he could conceivably do so with the elastic waistband of his underwear or with his flip-flops.

Without consulting any Brig mental health provider, Chief Warrant Officer Denise Barnes used PFC's Manning's sarcastic quip as justification to increase the restrictions imposed upon him under the guise of being concerned that PFC Manning was a suicide risk. PFC Manning was not, however, placed under the designation of Suicide Risk Watch. This is because Suicide Risk Watch would have required a Brig mental health provider's recommendation, which the Brig commander did not have. In response to this specific incident, the Brig psychiatrist assessed PFC Manning as "low risk and requiring only routine outpatient followup no need for ... closer clinical observation." In particular, he indicated that PFC Manning's statement about the waist band of his underwear was in no way prompted by "a psychiatric condition."

While the commander needed the Brig psychiatrist's recommendation to place PFC Manning on Suicide Risk Watch, no such recommendation was needed in order to increase his restrictions under POI Watch. The conditions of POI Watch require only psychiatric input, but ultimately remain the decision of the commander.

con't at:
http://www.armycourtmartialdefense.info/2011/03/truth-behind-quantico-brigs-decision-to.html

[Boswell]

1. Chief Warrant Officer Denise Barnes needs

to GTF out of any position of authority over anyone else, if she has kids get them away from here

[Webster Green]

2. Manning isn't insane, but the brig commander and "mental health provider" are.

They are sadistic sociopaths.

[RKP5637]

3. Exactly, and in positions of power. The ultimate goal of the sadistic sociopathic authoritarian. n/t

[kas125]

6. My exact thoughts! Those people are insane. And

sadistic. The minute I heard he'd been arrested, my heart sank because I knew they'd treat him as badly as they could possibly get away with doing and they sure haven't proven my wrong.

[Warren Stupidity]

26. They are not insane either. This is the standard treatment given to special prisoners.

It is the psy-ops torture program developed and refined by the intelligence services over the last half-century, and no deployed throughout our military and civilian prison systems.

[Webster Green]

27. I don't give a shit who fucking developed it.

They are sadistic sociopaths. They are clearly insane, same as the mutherfuckers who "refined" it.

[Warren Stupidity]

28. 'insane' means to me, 'not culpable'

these people are quite sane and know exactly what they are doing and why they are doing it.

[leftstreet]

4. K&R

[sixmile]

5. IRONY ALERT!

"...because to discuss the details would be a violation of PFC Manning's privacy."

Are you fucking kidding me?

[customerserviceguy]

7. If he did take his own life in prison

Wouldn't most people here be very suspicious of that claim? They've got to keep him alive, no matter what.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

8. Obviously, the intent of forcing him to strip was to cheer him up to deter suicidal thoughts.

Much like the Military's fondness for burning down villages to save them.

[northoftheborder]

10. Why can't SOMEONE get to the bottom of this problem with Manning's treatment?

[sabrina 1]

11. Dennis Kucinich is trying to get in to see him and to

investigate these abuses. I just put up an OP which is being unrec'd here on DU, about Kucinich's attempts to abide by the rule of law.

I searched to see if any other elected officials have had anything to say about this, but so far, I have found nothing.

We get the government we deserve, and the treatment of this soldier is abuse of all of us.

[Cleita]

12. Well said and I agree with you. The silence from

our elected representatives is deafening.

[janet118]

9. Cuckoo's Nest Redux . . .

Chief Warrant Officer Denise Barnes = Big Nurse

[Luminous Animal]

13. Kick. This is outrageous.

[jwirr]

14. As someone who had a family member hang himself in a jail cell

I understand taking most of the clothes away when they are not closely watched. But let me tell you. With today's tech equipment there is not a place in any jail that is not watched from the front desk on a number of tv sets. What makes this story blatantly untrue is there is no health reason to have a "cold cell" or to have to be naked at roll call. I don't care what they tell us - this is TORTURE. The military thinks it is the police, judge and jury in this case. Unamerican.

[kas125]

15. I'm sorry about your family member. And I'm grateful for

your thoughtful reply here. This IS torture and it makes me sick to my stomach to think that they're representing us when they do it.

[defendandprotect]

16. " ... to discuss the details would be a violation of PFC Manning's privacy"

I'd bet more on Manning's intelligence, humor and reasoning than the guy in

charge of him or our MIC!!

We're being led by organized criminals !!

[kas125]

17. Isn't it ironic how they don't want to violate his privacy, but

they're perfectly alright violating his human dignity. They make me ashamed to be the same species they are.

[Capitalocracy]

18. Whatever happened to paper clothing?

Nope, has to be naked. Which, of course, is a known U.S. torture technique. I'd like to know what temperature they're keeping his cell.

[TorchTheWitch]

19. paper can and has been used to kill one's self

Stuff it in your mouth and nostrils and you will sufficate. People have come up with all manner of bizzare ways to kill themselves. This is why he can't have a pillow and his face has to be viewable when he's in his bunk at all times... suffication and hanging are the most common methods of a confined person to kill themselves.

[Capitalocracy]

22. Isn't that avoidable by minimal supervision?

Correct me if I'm wrong.

[TorchTheWitch]

30. Not at all

And unfortunately people learned this the hard way. Which is exactly why such standard and elaborate steps are universally used to try to avoid the possibility of a detained person killing themselves. If a person really is desperate to kill themselves they can even get around 24/7 monitoring. Only one on one perpetually alert and physical watching (not by video) is really reasonably foolproof. There is really nothing that is completely foolproof.

[Warren Stupidity]

25. There is zero evidence that he is a suicide threat.

Good grief. Are you seriously that dull?

[LiberalAndProud]

20. How do we send angels to PFC Manning?

What avenues are available to send support and concern so that he can be made aware that we know and we care? Haralan Popov said that we should send our angels. If I had one I'd be sure to send her, but since I've never met her I'd like to do something a little more concrete. Beyond prayer, what can we do?

[kas125]

21. He can only get mail from people on his approved list,

therefore all mail must be taken to him by someone on that list when they visit him. You can send letters to this address and they will deliver them to Bradley -

Bradley Manning
c/o Courage to Resist
484 Lake Park Ave #41
Oakland CA 94610
USA

You can also go to the Courage to Resist website where you can sign petitions and learn what else you can do.

[lonestarnot]

23. This deplorable treatment is so American, the culture of torture.

[Warren Stupidity]

24. more than seven months of psy-ops torture

Arrested May 2010, and put into the psy-ops torture program at Quanitco in July 2010. Manning is being punished, unconstitutionally punished, prior to any trial and conviction. You want to see 21st Century Fascism? Look in the mirror.

[Raksha]

29. I think the true purpose of it is political. Manning is meant to be an object lesson

to the rest of us, and especially to all potential whistleblowers, that this is what happens to you if you get caught. You WILL be punished, you WILL be tortured, whether you are guilty or not. And your president and your elected representatives won't do a fucking thing about it either.