Defense raises questions about Manning's mental health

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Attorney cites emotional outbursts
By John Fritze, The Baltimore Sun
7:10 p.m. EDT, August 12, 2013

Defense attorney David Coombs questioned seven witnesses about a series of emotional outbursts by Manning — including one in which he overturned a table and had to be restrained — and whether the unit's leadership ignored those potential problems because they had too few intelligence analysts to carry out their mission.

"We were having a problem meeting strength. There was pressure on the whole unit to deploy," said retired Maj. Clifford Clausen, who led the brigade's intelligence branch but was later removed from the position for what others testified was an inability to communicate with senior leaders.

Manning, who did not testify during his trial, is expected to make a statement as early as Wednesday in some form, his attorneys have said. His court-martial has drawn worldwide attention to the small courtroom at Fort Meade, where Army Col. Denise Lind has heard the case without a jury ...

Lind, ruling over Coombs' objections, said the defense must turn over portions of an assessment of Manning's mental health made by Department of Defense officials ...

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-manning-sentencing-20130812,0,3504562.story

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1. Defence in WikiLeaks case focuses on Manning's mental health

David Dishneau, The Associated Press
Published Monday, August 12, 2013 6:45AM EDT
Last Updated Monday, August 12, 2013 6:47PM EDT

... Manning had a history of violent outbursts and psychological evaluations during his military training before and after he deployed in 2009. During his stateside training as an intelligence analyst, he had to give a classroom presentation about the dangers of disclosing classified information after he provided secret details about his schooling in online communications with relatives ...

Maj. Clifford Clausen, who headed the brigade's intelligence branch, said there was pressure to take every soldier ...

Miller's executive officer Lt. Col. Brian Kerns said he had concerns before deployment about Clausen's leadership abilities ...

Kerns and Clausen both said they received letters of reprimand as a result of an Army investigation into Manning's actions. They are among 15 people disciplined in the case ...

http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/defence-in-wikileaks-case-focuses-on-manning-s-mental-health-1.1407127

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2. Signs U.S. soldier Manning was unfit for job before leaks - lawyer

By Tom Ramstack
FORT MEADE, Maryland
Tue Aug 13, 2013 4:57am IST

... Defense lawyers have portrayed Manning, who is gay, as naive but well-intentioned and struggling with his sexual identity when he arrived in Iraq in November 2009. They contend he was conflicted by his exposure to war and a trove of military data.

The defense tried to show that Army commanders failed to notice personality traits that might have made Manning unfit to serve as an intelligence analyst in Iraq, where he released secret files to pro-transparency website WikiLeaks in 2010.

Coombs questioned Manning's brigade commander, Colonel David Miller, about whether mid-level officers failed to respond properly to behavior by Manning showing he should not be placed in an intelligence analyst position.

Manning was referred to counseling in December 2009, Miller testified. Miller said he was not told about Manning's behavior until after the leaks were published ...

http://in.reuters.com/article/2013/08/12/usa-wikileaks-manning-job-idINDEE97B0KC20130812

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3. Convicted Wikileaks soldier's mental health questioned at sentencing

Published: Monday, August 12, 2013
By Dan De Luce
AFP

... The junior intelligence analyst had "a problem getting along with people," according to the head of the brigade's intelligence section, Major Cliff Clausen, citing an account from his deputy.

The company commander, Captain Matthew Freeburg, told the court he was surprised the military had not taken more severe disciplinary action against Manning before he was accused of assaulting another soldier.

The captain demoted Manning over the incident and removed him from the intelligence office, filing paper work that he expected would strip the soldier of his security clearance and possibly expel him from the force ...

http://www.theoaklandpress.com/articles/2013/08/12/news/nation_and_world/38a602a5-0592-45d4-befe-934d358a6294.txt