"The Vindication of P.J. Crowley" ~ Re. His Comments on Bradley Manning's Treatment at Quantico

[sabrina 1]

P.J. Crowley AP/Charles Dharapak

P.J. Crowley was interviewed this week by Justin Elliott for Salon. Bradley Manning has been moved to a medium security facility at Leavenworth, ending his stay in solitary confinement at Quantico. Asked if his public criticism of Manning's treatment had anything to do with the decision, this is how he responded:


"The Vindication of P.J. Crowley"

Do you think Bradley Manning would have been moved from Quantico without your experience and all the press it got, as well as the pressure from activists and journalists on the issue?

There's no question that the public pressure, both domestically and internationally, helped propel the Pentagon decision to move him. But understand that, notwithstanding my public comments, there were many, many people inside government and outside government who were working on this for some time. The Pentagon finally realized it was in an unsustainable position.

You mentioned on Twitter that you believe what happened at Quantico should potentially be investigated. Can you elaborate?

Manning's civilian attorney has raised some very serious questions about command decisions at Quantico, and whether they had either a legal or medical foundation. That should be investigated.

And what form should that take?

This should be investigated within the Marine Corps chain of command.

Do you have other thoughts on what should be happening with Manning now?

Well during the Pentagon press briefing, the commander of the Fort Leavenworth medium-security facility acknowledged that Quantico was unsuited for long-term pretrial detention. So it took a while, but assuming that Manning passes his evaluation at Fort Leavenworth, it would appear it is a facility and an environment that is more consistent with the pretrial confinement of prisoners throughout our judicial system.

Interesting that he reveals that 'many, many people INSIDE and outside the government' have been working on ending the treatment Manning was receiving. There was obviously conflict and if he made the decision to lose his position (and an ambassadorship) by making his own feelings known, he is to be commended for doing so.

It's also interesting that he believes the treatment of Manning at Quantico needs to be investigated.

So much for all those who have been defending it.

[malaise]

1. K & R

He did a great job

[sabrina 1]

5. Yes, he did but for some people, (unrecs) hearing the

facts appears to be painful. I'd like to know what about his statements they don't agree with.

I hope there is an investigation of those at Quantico who were clearly lying about him needing to be on suicide watch eg.

[txlibdem]

2. I never thought the USA would operate a Gulag, Bradley Manning proved me wrong

Mr. Manning: you are a hero and an excellent example for your fellow soldiers to follow. I am proud to be a veteran because of your actions.

All members of the military swore to uphold the Constitution of the United States of America. When our own government is committing evil acts (like using the CIA to overthrow democratically elected leaders in Central America) IT IS YOUR DUTY TO REPORT EVERYTHING TO THE AMERICAN PUBLIC.

[sabrina 1]

3. Excellently stated txlibdem. P.J. Crowley, like you, is a veteran.

I am sure he is appalled also at the actions of the military that he served in and saw how damaging to the country he loves, these actions are.

I am truly grateful to him for speaking out. I wish more would have the courage to do so.

[crickets]

4. Agreed on all points. -nt

[Cleita]

6. I've seen the army prison at Fort Leavenworth.

I don't know if it's a big improvement. However, if he's been removed from solitary, it may be better for him.

[sabrina 1]

8. From what P.J. Crowley says, it seems he's not in solitary anymore.

I hope that's true and I hope there is an investigation as suggested by Crowley.

[xchrom]

7. Recommend

[EFerrari]

9. I'm glad he did this interview.

It's still not clear to me if Crowley just happens to be right on this one. His positions on most everything else are very much in line with the administration.

[sabrina 1]

10. Yes, I don't agree with him on much and was very unimpressed

with him while he was still with the State Dept and giving interviews on Al Jazeera eg. He was a typical bureaucrat who just repeated over and over what he was told to repeat I suppose no matter how good the interviewer was at asking questions. It was very frustrating.

I do think there has been some conflict in the State Dept. over the way they are handling this issue and probably others. I think Crowley is smart enough to know how bad this makes them look and how stupid it is to give ammunition to people who can point to this as proof of the lack of justice in this country.

I don't think he has any real interest in Manning himself, but at least he knows the law and wants people to abide by it.

At least he confirmed that the pressure from the public did have an effect also, which makes it worthwhile to keep it up.

[EFerrari]

11. That's a good point and an important one.

And his "resignation" did help get this story into higher relief.

[sabrina 1]

12. Yes, and his tweets have become a bit more human

since he quit, I noticed. I tweeted him when he was trying to defend the administration's initial support for Mubarak at the beginning of the Egyptian revolution to ask why the US always supports dictators and why he was attempting to defend it. Needless to say he didn't respond :-)

Now though, he seems freer and more approachable to people.

[Solly Mack]

13. K&R