Manning Overboard
When the people are being beaten
with a stick, they are not much happier
if it is called "the People's Stick
--Statism and Anarchy (1873) Mikhail Bakunin
And if you can take a man's life
for the thoughts that's in his head
Then won't you sit back in that chair
and think it over judge one more time
--Johnny 99, Bruce Springsteen
Are you gonna pull those pistols
or whistle Dixie?
--Outlaw Josie Wales (1976)
__________________
Why is Bradley Manning being held in punitive and vengeful Federal custody? What is his crime, or alleged crime?
It cannot be espionage or treason. It is even hard to call it spying, so what is it, exactly? If Manning is such a threat, why hasn't WikiLeaks, founder Julian Assange or anyone else associated with this incident been indicted as co-conspirators? Why is Manning the only one in Federal prison? Why were none of his superiors charged with failure to secure classified data?
Manning was recently transferred to Ft. Leavenworth Correctional Facility, a Federal prison. Not only was Manning held in isolation for five months in the Marine Corps brig in Quantico where he was subjected to possible human rights violations and certainly held without recourse to a speedy trial, he is now being imprisoned without having been adjudicated guilty by any court, not even a kangaroo one.
Why this pre-trail confinement, which appears as open-ended as the Middle East campaigns? Further, why hasn't Manning's legal team filed a writ of habeas corpus? Manning's condition is similar to that of the Guantanamo Bay detainees -- try them or release them; there is no middle ground. Manning is a U.S. citizen, and if he can be jacked around by the legal system, so too can anyone.
We owe to the rule of law to try Manning or release him -- if murderers can get a speedy trial, so can Manning. Our system of jurisprudence demands this small token of respect for U.S. legal thought, traditions and practice.
with a stick, they are not much happier
if it is called "the People's Stick
--Statism and Anarchy (1873) Mikhail Bakunin
And if you can take a man's life
for the thoughts that's in his head
Then won't you sit back in that chair
and think it over judge one more time
--Johnny 99, Bruce Springsteen
Are you gonna pull those pistols
or whistle Dixie?
--Outlaw Josie Wales (1976)
__________________
Why is Bradley Manning being held in punitive and vengeful Federal custody? What is his crime, or alleged crime?
It cannot be espionage or treason. It is even hard to call it spying, so what is it, exactly? If Manning is such a threat, why hasn't WikiLeaks, founder Julian Assange or anyone else associated with this incident been indicted as co-conspirators? Why is Manning the only one in Federal prison? Why were none of his superiors charged with failure to secure classified data?
Manning was recently transferred to Ft. Leavenworth Correctional Facility, a Federal prison. Not only was Manning held in isolation for five months in the Marine Corps brig in Quantico where he was subjected to possible human rights violations and certainly held without recourse to a speedy trial, he is now being imprisoned without having been adjudicated guilty by any court, not even a kangaroo one.
Why this pre-trail confinement, which appears as open-ended as the Middle East campaigns? Further, why hasn't Manning's legal team filed a writ of habeas corpus? Manning's condition is similar to that of the Guantanamo Bay detainees -- try them or release them; there is no middle ground. Manning is a U.S. citizen, and if he can be jacked around by the legal system, so too can anyone.
We owe to the rule of law to try Manning or release him -- if murderers can get a speedy trial, so can Manning. Our system of jurisprudence demands this small token of respect for U.S. legal thought, traditions and practice.
Labels: bradley manning, whistleblowing, wikileaks
posted by rangeragainstwar at 10:40 PM
7 Comments:
Correct me if Im wrong, but isn't his confinement ILLEGAL under the UCMJ? Sadly, PFC Manning will be yet another sacrifice in the (Phony) War on Terror. We (supposedly) killed our Goldstei...err..I mean killed Osama bin Laden. News of the pig-f@cker's death wasn't an hour cold when we are told that bagging him (which was the reason we went into Afghanistan) doesn't mean Mission Accomplished.
BRL,
Under ucmj i have put troops in pre trial confinement when they were dangerous or flight risks.
But that was a long time ago. I don't know the current regs, but they must be based on US code.
jim
Because he embarrassed SO many people and the good old pissed off party of politicians couldn't get their hands on Assange. That's why. No other reason.
My newest charitable effort every month is Manning's legal defense fund.
A worthy effort, labrys.
You're right. If they can do it to him, they can do it to anybody.
We have given away the rule of law, not just here, but with the Wall Street cheaters and embezzlers, the mortgage fraudsters who did not even bother to record and sign the deeds, the torturers, the ones who kidnapped people off the streets of Rome and threw them in dark dungeons in Egypt.
In other news, the whole Osama assassination narrative appears to be unraveling a bit...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/al-qaeda/8493391/Osama-bin-Laden-dead-Blackout-during-raid-on-bin-Laden-compound.html
"Leon Panetta, director of the CIA, revealed there was a 25 minute blackout during which the live feed from cameras mounted on the helmets of the US special forces was cut off.
A photograph released by the White House appeared to show the President and his aides in the situation room watching the action as it unfolded. In fact they had little knowledge of what was happening in the compound."
"Because he embarrassed SO many people and the good old pissed off party of politicians couldn't get their hands on Assange. That's why. No other reason." Um, didn"t this go down during the Obama admin.?
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