• Quick note - the problem with Youtube videos not embedding on the forum appears to have been fixed, thanks to ZiprHead. If you do still see problems let me know.

USA torturing Bradley Manning

I don't know if anyone has covered this, but what exactly is the justification for not allowing him to exercise in his room?
 
Prisoners are those who have been found guilty by due process.

I don't believe that is a standard definition of "prisoner".

Random House Dictionary said:
1.a person who is confined in prison or kept in custody, esp. as the result of legal process.

Collins English Dictionary said:
a person deprived of liberty and kept in prison or some other form of custody as a punishment for a crime, while awaiting trial, or for some other reason

Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law said:
a person deprived of liberty and kept under involuntary restraint, confinement, or custody; especially : one under arrest, awaiting trial, on trial, or serving a prison sentence

Maybe you're thinking of "convict".
 
What has he done to suggest he does love his country?

He's shown that he's prepared to risk his liberty to improve it.

Committing treason for starters?

How has he hurt the USA?

"Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort."

-United States Constitution, Article III Section 3
 
So, if an extremely violent murderer is arrested, but has not been to court yet, what should be done with that individual?
In thaiboxerken world, he is told to please show up at his trial in 4 months, and released.
 
How has he hurt the USA?

"Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort."

-United States Constitution, Article III Section 3

By committing treason.
 
I don't know if anyone has covered this, but what exactly is the justification for not allowing him to exercise in his room?

Prevention of self harm in any number of ways. He could try to exert himself until inflicting self harm. He could do exercises in a purposefully wrong manner to harm himself. He could do activity that may be only harmful but claim exercise. An outright restriction allows guards to not delay to ensure the person's safety.
 
Apologies for a slight derail, but am I the only person who would prefer to be in solitary confinement as opposed to gen-pop if incarcerated?

Being alone with my thoughts doesn't scare me, violent prisoners, on the other hand, do.
 
How has that hurt the USA?

You may not be aware of this, but it is technically public knowledge: the information security parameters that allowed Manning access to classified data of such a wide range are the result of 9/11, whereafter it was determined that federal authorities may have had a better chance of preventing the tragedy if the various intelligence and intelligence-related agencies collaborated and pooled their data. Prior to that time, the intelligence community was stovepipe-organized, with each agency keeping their information to themselves and guarding what they saw as their "territory". In response, agencies were encouraged to pool intelligence so that law enforcement and military analysts could access it all and develop a "bigger picture" that would help them do their jobs better.

Recently some agencies have withdrawn their participation in the "pool" explicitly in response to the Wikileaks affair - most notably the State Department - because obviously the DoD has rodent issues. This is a tremendous step backward for American anti-terrorism efforts, and intelligence analysis in general, and might easily contribute to the success of an attack they may otherwise have been prevented with the help of intel that's no longer being shared by the spooked agencies.

In addition, contrary to popular opinion (which seems to be that "classification is spiraling out of control"), the trend lately is ever-slightly-more transparency; what with the passage of the FOIA act, overhauls of classification systems, and whatnot. Did you know, for example, that last year for the first time in US history, America's intelligence budget was publicly released on the numbers? Before, it had been "hidden" by simply being included in general funds or specific agencies' and departments' overall budgets, and secretly earmarked "after taxes", as it were. Tiny steps, to be sure, but in the right direction. The Wikileaks affair has thrown a stick in that bicycle's spokes, and agencies are being ordered to clamp down on secrecy and information security like never before. Manning actually short-circuited the slow but real progress of the federal government away from Cold War-era classification policy.

Hope this helps.
 
Apologies for a slight derail, but am I the only person who would prefer to be in solitary confinement as opposed to gen-pop if incarcerated?

Being alone with my thoughts doesn't scare me, violent prisoners, on the other hand, do.

No
 
Or are you now going to tell us that you believed the trained legal experts in the Bush administration over a bunch of posters on a forum, when it came to the question of whether it was legal to waterboard alleged terrorists?

I think that depends on the forum posters. The "trained legal experts" in the Bush administration were trained to be yes-men. I don't think their opinion is particularly strong evidence.
 
What has Manning done to suggest he doesn't love his country?

Uhm, he arranged for the publishing of a whole bunch of confidential information that his country would rather have kept confidential.
 

Back
Top Bottom