With PR Stunt on Pfc. Manning, Pentagon Offers No Answers, Only Contrivance

Today the Army is hosting a "Media Day" at the prison where Private First Class (Pfc.) Bradley Manning, the Army soldier accused of leaking documents to WikiLeaks, is being held. Pfc. Manning was moved to the Joint Regional Correctional Facility, Ft. Leavenworth, from the Marine Corp Brig Quantico following criticism of his treatment there which may have violated his constitution rights.

Instead of answers and accountability for the potential mistreatment of Pfc. Manning, the Department of Defense only offers fake transparency in the form of a guided tour of his new prison. Instead of responding to criticism from the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture, the Army will offer the media a scripted fantasy of Manning's brand new facility. With this stunt, it is clear that the Department of Defense and the Army are more concerned with public relations than the rights and security of Pfc. Manning.

This fake transparency ignores the central question: How was Pfc. Manning treated during his long, solitary pretrial confinement at Quantico? What is his mental state after suffering the indignity of being left naked for an undetermined period of time, and after being continually disrupted in the manner of a continuous interrogation?

If it is determined that there has been a deliberate effort to break Pfc. Manning physically and/or mentally prior to his trial or subvert his rights in any way, then the news media, which is participating in the public relations exercise today at Ft Leavenworth, could become complicit in a cover up.

The Department of Defense must grant my legitimate request to meet with Pfc. Bradley Manning and fully answer serious questions about his treatment.

I urge the news media not to be taken in by this contrived pretension of transparency. The American people rely on the news media to investigate the cover up of abuses, not tell us about the nice, new prison the Army has built.

 

Follow Rep. Dennis Kucinich on Twitter: www.twitter.com/RepKucinich

Comments

[AZreb]

09:50 PM on 04/28/2011

Transparency? We were promised that over 3 years ago - haven't seen much since then. I hope Kucinich is allowed to see Manning and not just for 5 minutes.

[Edward Standley]

08:59 PM on 04/28/2011

Daylight is Manning's only hope. Our government has proven time and again that it will act illegally if it suits them and if given the chance.

[JustADumbFireman]

08:50 PM on 04/28/2011

Yeaaaaaa, Dennis!!!!!!

[Manx]

05:49 PM on 04/28/2011

Instead of addressing the real issue which is mistreatment of Bradley Manning, the Army gives us a dog and pony show.

[neighborhoodmole]

06:41 PM on 04/28/2011

They think it is a PR problem, not a human rights issue.

[jdevans]

04:16 PM on 04/28/2011

It appears the military is concerned that Pfc. Manning won't be determined mentally competent to stand trial after his treatment at Quantico, so they've moved him in hopes he'll improve.

[OliverTwist]

03:40 PM on 04/28/2011

Go Dennis.

[edejan]

03:31 PM on 04/28/2011

Thank you, Rep. Kucinich, for staying on this story while the media completely ignores the unethical treatment of PFC Manning. Your leadership is much appreciated by those of us who want the American state to return to a moral and lawful modus operandi.

[AZreb]

09:52 PM on 04/28/2011

fanned - seems like the media only reports what it is allowed to report. Someone is pulling the strings - hopefully one day the strings will break and we will get the actual facts on many things.

[Mr Hankey]

03:27 PM on 04/28/2011

Thank you Representative Kucinich. I appreciate that you are never afraid to speak the truth.
I wish you were President!

[MrStat1]

02:56 PM on 04/28/2011

Upon conviction this guy should be taken out and shot!

[JavaSavant]

06:27 PM on 04/28/2011

Exactly! How DARE he let me know the incompetence and immorality of my military! I DEMAND IGNORANCE of their corruption! I was MUCH happier then.

Where is my binky?

[Edward Standley]

08:52 PM on 04/28/2011

Why?

[pbjack]

09:59 PM on 04/28/2011

He's paid to rile people up. Ignore him.

[MikeDu]

02:24 PM on 04/28/2011

I recall when the Pentagon did a guided media tour of GITMO to show what nice guys we were. During the sit-down interview the commandant said something like 'American can be proud of what we're doing here", but i recall how he practically choked on those words when he said it, and had a look on his face like a six year old getting caught in a big fat lie. His body language so mismatched his words than I recall feeling a bit nauseated watching the interview.

[Genders]

02:06 PM on 04/28/2011

Thank you again Dennis! The accuracy of your moral compass is amazing!

[neighborhoodmole]

01:07 PM on 04/28/2011

This sounds like the Red Cross inspections of the German POW camps during WWII. As soon as the inspectors left, the clean, new blankets that were passed out just before were taken away.

[CAMBEL]

12:56 PM on 04/28/2011

Wikileaks exposed that both the U.S. and Japan knew of the issues with that reactor over there. That the U.S. was aware that Pakistan was working with the Taliban and yet still kept up the close relationship with them even though it lead to troop death's etc... The secrets seem much more dangerous to people's lives than their release so far.

[sheila]

12:30 PM on 04/28/2011

agreed. it is to our eternal shame that we have allowed this person whose only crime was to tell the truth to languish and be tortured in our name. if our government has so much to hide, maybe they should stop misbehaving instead of viciously attacking the person who let our DEMOCRACY know that our elected and non-elected officials are doing and saying awful things that make our country weaker.

obama is even worse than bush on whistleblowers - it's as though he is trying to live up to the accusations of stalinism but instead of offering a public option for healthcare, he establishes gulags for dissidents.

Rep Kucinich, please continue to stand up for freedom, transparency, and democracy, we need you!

[John Denton]

12:13 PM on 04/28/2011

Stay on this, Dennis.