Through the looking glass...
First, I thought the WikiLeaks thing was a tempest in a teapot. I thought it was more embarrassing for other countries than for the US. In many ways, there was some truth in that, as revelations from WikiLeaks are cited in helped spark the current waves of revolution in the Middle East and North Africa.
I also understood that Manning broke the law and would likely go to jail for that.
When his attorney and Jane Hamsher started protesting outside his prison in Quantico, I thought... OK, Jane Hamsher, not a ton of credibility there. And I still think some of what came out is overblown. From his own complaint, Bradley is no longer naked, though he's forced to wear some sort of hospital gown.
His guards are clearly messing with him and abusing their authority. The suicide watch that he's been put on is a way to control his every movement and make him miserable. And this is before he's been convicted of anything.
Obama said he was assured that Manning was being treated well. That's not good enough. Manning falls under the JAG corps, and frankly, I would like to see some civilian oversight. I would like to see the USAG's office poke around and see what the hell is going on.
Because if Manning is being abused, it should earn him a get out of jail free card. And if he's not, they need to stop this story.
The Left and Democrats were together on Wisconsin. But if the Left thinks the Obama Administration is abusing a prisoner - and given that Obama unwisely decided to not investigate Bush era torture regimes - then we are right back to the circular firing squad. As someone said (too lazy to look), Obama owns this now, and issuing assurances that Manning is being treated fine, isn't enough. Not in the era of Jose Padilla and Abu Ghraib.
This issue won't go away until we really know what's happening one way or another in Quantico.
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