WikiLeaks: Is Bradley Manning being tortured?
The Army specialist accused of passing documents to WikiLeaks is allegedly being held in mind-numbing solitary confinement. Does the punishment exceed the crime?
Escalating the WikiLeaks controversy, Salon's Glenn Greenwald reported this week that the U.S. military is holding Bradley Manning, the Army private accused of feeding classified documents to WikiLeaks, in "inhumane" conditions. According to Greenwald, Manning has been a model prisoner since his May arrest, but is being held in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day: Forbidden to exercise, watched around the clock, drugged to prevent his mind from "snapping." By the standards of many nations, says Greenwald, such "personality-erasing, soul-destroying, insanity-inducing conditions" constitute "torture." Is that an exaggeration? (Watch an MSNBC discussion about Manning's treatment)
Yes, such treatment is nothing short of torture: "This is, frankly, horrifying," says Mike Masnick in Tech Dirt. Manning hasn't even been convicted of a crime, yet he has been caged with next to no human contact for far longer than most "modern civilizations" would allow — and, for good measure, his jailers won't even give him a pillow. Such prolonged solitary confinement is known to cause psychological damage; it's torture, plain and simple.
"U.S. is apparently torturing Bradley Manning, despite no trial and no conviction"
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Compared to stealing and selling state secrets, this is nothing: What a "prissy and hyperventilating" complaint, says blogger Lexington Concord in RedState. Manning stands accused of doing "everything in his power to see that American soldiers were killed and that Islamic terrorists were given access to our operational details." And we're supposed to be outraged because the warden won't give him "his pillow and blankie"?
"Give Bradley Manning his pillow and blankie back"
No matter what Manning did, this is wrong: Some people view Bradley Manning as a traitor; others think he's a patriotic whistleblower, says Henry Blodget in Business Insider. If he's a traitor, maybe he deserves to be "taken out and shot," but the Army accomplishes nothing by "depriving Manning of exercise, sheets, and a pillow." If this is really happening — the Pentagon hasn't confirmed Salon's story — it's a disgrace, to the military and to every American. "As was demonstrated in spades at Abu Ghraib, how we treat our prisoners matters."
"The U.S. Army's treatment of alleged WikiLeaker Bradley Manning is a disgrace"
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
The Duchy Files: how bad is the scandal for King Charles?
Today's Big Question Making millions in rent from the NHS and armed forces a 'PR disaster' for royal family
By The Week UK Published
-
'A stark choice'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
The Vietnamese migrants crossing the Channel
The Explainer 2024 has seen a surge in the numbers of Vietnamese migrants making the illegal passage into the UK
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published