Wikileaks (2 Viewers)

[Enron]

Bradley Manning's Detention: UN Probing Whether Case Counts As Torture

First Posted: 12-22-10 06:11 PM | Updated: 12-22-10 06:17 PM

Marcus Baram - Huffington Post

NEW YORK -- The United Nations is probing a complaint that Bradley Manning, the detained Army private suspected of giving classified documents to WikiLeaks has been mistreated in custody. And WikiLeaks chief Julian Assange called Manning "a political prisoner" during an interview on MSNBC.

As The Huffington Post reported last week, Manning's supporters went public with their concerns about the harsh conditions of his imprisonment aboard a floating brig in Quantico, Va. -- he has no access to exercise or even a pillow and bedsheets during his 23 hours of solitary confinement a day -- after their complaints to the military over several months went unheeded.

According to the Associated Press, the U.N. office for torture issues in Geneva said it received a complaint from one of Manning's supporters alleging conditions at the brig amount to torture. A spokesman for the Marines denied mistreating Manning, telling the AP he is being kept safe, secure and ready for trial.

Assange told MSNBC that he doesn't know if Manning is the whistleblower (due to the blinders of the software used by WikiLeaks), but he's a "political prisoner" in the U.S., adding that claims he conspired with Manning are "absolute nonsense."

Recently, Manning's lawyer, David Coombs, posted a blog detailing the conditions of Manning's detention. Though he is allowed to read books and watch television for a few hours a day, the ban on exercise in his cell is strictly enforced. "If he attempts to do push-ups, sit-ups, or any other form of exercise he will be forced to stop," wrote Coombs.

The lawyer also expressed frustration with the harsh conditions, describing multiple attempts to improve them and indicating that he is prepared to file a motion under Article 13 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which bans illegal pretrial punishment.

"The defense has raised the conditions of PFC Bradley Manning's confinement conditions on multiple occasions with the Quantico confinement facility and the Army Staff Judge Advocate's (SJA) Office assigned to handle this case. Our efforts, unfortunately, have not resulted any in positive results. To its credit, the SJA office is attempting to correct this situation. However, given the fact that Quantico is a Marine Corps facility, it has similarly had no success."

 

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[Osman]

I'm truly disgusted, I'm watching wikileaks documentary on swedish tv right now (recommend the swedes to go see it on svt.se), and they show that clip of that massmurder Manning. I cant stress enough how all of you NEED to watch the full clip. Its another thing to read about it, and watch it, all I can say is how horrifying it is that soldiers play real life as its a COD game. To say the least.

 

[Eddy]

Julian Assange, founder of whistle-blowing website, says thousands of documents related to Israel are due to be released over next six months.

 

[Dostoevsky]

Six months :wth:

I was expecting to go slow related to anything, but daaamn, 6 months?

 

[Quetzalcoatl]

I'm truly disgusted, I'm watching wikileaks documentary on swedish tv right now (recommend the swedes to go see it on svt.se), and they show that clip of that massmurder Manning. I cant stress enough how all of you NEED to watch the full clip. Its another thing to read about it, and watch it, all I can say is how horrifying it is that soldiers play real life as its a COD game. To say the least.

I don't get what you have there, "that clip of that massmurder Manning". What is the clip about?

 

[JCK]

I'm truly disgusted, I'm watching wikileaks documentary on swedish tv right now (recommend the swedes to go see it on svt.se), and they show that clip of that massmurder Manning. I cant stress enough how all of you NEED to watch the full clip. Its another thing to read about it, and watch it, all I can say is how horrifying it is that soldiers play real life as its a COD game. To say the least.

What is the documentary called?

 

[Osman]

Yes, the full clip of the slaughter iraqi civilians, truly absolutely sickening shit. They were outright bragging and willfully filling civilians with lead, like they were playing a game.


Jack: Wikileaks: Dokument utifrån.

 

[Quetzalcoatl]

Is it the one where they're shooting from the chopper, about 17 minutes long? That was disgusting. The whole world should see it.

 

[ALC]

Is it the one where they're shooting from the chopper, about 17 minutes long? That was disgusting. The whole world should see it.

Saw that. The guys were bugging to get a chance to use the guns. The way they were asking for permission and then the way they acted during and after. No way those cameras looked like AK-47's and RPG's. Fucking scumbags.

EDIT: And also when they shot the van who was picking up the wounded. :facepalm:

 

[Bjerknes]

Yes, the full clip of the slaughter iraqi civilians, truly absolutely sickening shit. They were outright bragging and willfully filling civilians with lead, like they were playing a game.


Jack: Wikileaks: Dokument utifrån.

As horrible as the video appears, at least one of the individuals in question on the ground was not a "civilian" per se. The video points to supposed cameramen, but another was later proven to be carrying an RPG. So he was obviously some sort of insurgent or at least a crazy local.

I'm not condoning the slaughter of civilians, just providing the facts. I think there are better ways in dealing with a situation like that, like eliminating the target from the ground. The only problem is that the RPG could have been aimed at US aircraft. And that is the reason they opened fire on them.

Killing everyone at the scene was the wrong move, and horrible, of course.

Many mothers and fathers of military personnel complain heavily to the federal government about the Rules of Engagement (ROE) forced upon the troops. Contrary to popular belief, the ROE are very strict, and certainly not trigger happy. This becomes very problematic when dealing with an enemy that has no uniform.

Moreover, this video probably pales in comparison to what Blackwater/XE has pulled in Iraq. Reports emerged that those terrorists get all coked up, strip down naked, and run around Baghdad shooting at civilian vehicles and houses. Does Wikileaks have some cables on them, or have they conveniently not emerged?

 

[Salvo]

Where is the RPG proof?

 

[Enron]

The column that showed up after the encounter found an RPG among the bodies.

 

[delrey]

RPG was kinda weapon of mass destruction.

 

[Sheik Yerbouti]

As horrible as the video appears, at least one of the individuals in question on the ground was not a "civilian" per se. The video points to supposed cameramen, but another was later proven to be carrying an RPG. So he was obviously some sort of insurgent or at least a crazy local.

I'm not condoning the slaughter of civilians, just providing the facts. I think there are better ways in dealing with a situation like that, like eliminating the target from the ground. The only problem is that the RPG could have been aimed at US aircraft. And that is the reason they opened fire on them.

Killing everyone at the scene was the wrong move, and horrible, of course.

Many mothers and fathers of military personnel complain heavily to the federal government about the Rules of Engagement (ROE) forced upon the troops. Contrary to popular belief, the ROE are very strict, and certainly not trigger happy. This becomes very problematic when dealing with an enemy that has no uniform.

Moreover, this video probably pales in comparison to what Blackwater/XE has pulled in Iraq. Reports emerged that those terrorists get all coked up, strip down naked, and run around Baghdad shooting at civilian vehicles and houses. Does Wikileaks have some cables on them, or have they conveniently not emerged?

But judging the behaviour of the people down there, I don't think they were even aware of the Apache. How could they still be a thread to them? It didn't even look like they were getting ready to fire the RPG, let alone see the RPG clearly.

 

[Enron]

RPG was kinda weapon of mass destruction.

It can take down a helicopter fairly efficiently.

But judging the behaviour of the people down there, I don't think they were even aware of the Apache. How could they still be a thread to them? It didn't even look like they were getting ready to fire the RPG, let alone see the RPG clearly.

If an Apache is flying in your vicinity and close enough to use it's guns you're well aware of it's presence.

In the video they say they see weapons, including the RPG. They ask for orders several times before they engage and then they ask for orders again later on. There are a lot of things not in the video, like intelligence reports on the area that may have told them to expect resistance.

However, I think the handling of the situation and the description to get engagement orders were bad. The pilots did a poor job of describing the situation to their C/Os and the result was collateral damage. There definitely should be some better way to confirm rules of engagement in these situations. Especially when helicopters have such poor sightlines of the situation.

As for the COD-like actions of the gunner, that's what he's paid to do. He's a killer and he's most likely fucked in the head. A fucked up individual as some might say. It shouldn't be surprising that after spending most of your career killing folks that one would begin to view the job so non-chalantly. Granted, this is not an excuse, it's just how it is.

I think a far worse engagement was when we blasted a bunch of Canadian troops a few years ago.

But yeah, this is another example of the horrors of war and why my nation should decrease it's imperialist tendencies.

 

[Bjerknes]

The ROE are already very restrictive. I mean, if you're going to be there fighting whatever "enemy" you make contact with, you just can't stand there and not eliminate a threat. E correctly said the pilot and gunner did confirm their orders with their superiors, so this Manning case wasn't some spur-of-the-moment slaughter.

But videos such as this harm our cause; one that isn't very apparent in the first place. Pull the troops out of that place once and for all, stop fighting a Globalist war, and lets get back on track being a civil society please. All of this commotion over the scary men in caves who apparently are more intelligent than our own intelligence agencies is not worth it.

Let the rest of the world burn each other on their own time.

 

[X Æ A-12]

I don't think the incident was surprising at all. There are plenty of people in this country, and many are the type who would do military service, who don't value the lives of "ragheads" in the Middle East.

Incidents like this are a part of war too. You can't really judge the U.S. military because a tiny minority are fucked in the the head.

 

[Quetzalcoatl]

The ambulance taking away the bodies was surely a threat.

 

[Enron]

It was a van, but yeah that was pretty fucked up. Probably the most fucked up part of the video.

 

[Eddy]

Can WikiLeaks blow up Azerbaijan from within?

A certain selectivity of “leaking” information plays into the hands of the U.S. which wants to put in their place some of the leaders of former Soviet countries. And the Aliyev-Pashayev family is the first in this list.

The week began, as it has lately become a tradition, with another portion of diplomatic dispatches of the US Department of State, released by WikiLeaks at the website of British newspaper The Guardian. “Hero of the Day” was the first lady of Azerbaijan, Mehriban Aliyeva, née Pashayeva. We intentionally specify the maiden name of the president’s wife so that you can better understand all those ties, without which the Aliyev clan could no longer be existent.

However, let us first see what the leaked dispatch says. “First Lady of Azerbaijan Mehriban Aliyeva is too keen on plastic surgery and wears provocative dresses. She has problems showing a full range of facial expression. The first lady wears dresses that would be considered provocative even in the Western world, not to mention the more conservative and predominantly Muslim Azerbaijan. Despite being an MP, the president's wife appears poorly informed about political issues.” Mehriban Pashayeva also manages the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, an organization judged by U.S. diplomats as non-transparent.

There is much more to be said about the family of Mehriban Pashayeva. Thus, her uncle, Hafiz Pashayev, is the first ambassador of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the United States, presently Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Director of the Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academy; father, Arif Pashayev, is Rector of the National Aviation Academy; sister of the first lady Nargiz Pashayeva heads the branch of Moscow State University located in Azerbaijan. The Pashayevs are known to operate extensively in sectors of construction, telecommunications and information technology. The family is believed to exert control over the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Ministry of Youth and Sport, the Ministry of Health, and the Ministry of Education, simply because these ministries fall under the areas traditionally of interest for a First Lady. In that regard, the Pashayevs have promoted the construction of museums and other cultural sites in Baku, opening a branch of the Guggenheim Museum. The museum was designed by Altay Sadikhzade, a local artist/designer married to Nargiz Pashayeva. Depicted by Altay, the portraits of Mehriban, Nargiz and Arif occupy the central part of the gallery. The property and capital of the Pashayev family is controlled by Pasha Holding, a conglomerate that includes Pasha Bank, Pasha Insurance, Pasha Construction, and Pasha Travel. The family owns local TV station Lider TV, as well as is the manufacturer of “Nargiz” cosmetics. In November 2009, Pasha Holding opened Baku’s first, and so far only, Bentley dealership. Nar Mobile (officially registered as Azerfon) is also linked to this family.

U.S. diplomats also note that the Pashayev family speak Russian better than Azeri, which is not surprising - rich people in Baku used to send their children to Russian schools and Moscow Universities.

According to independent and opposition experts, today’s Azerbaijan is run in a manner similar to the feudalism found in Europe during the Middle Ages. A handful of well-connected families control certain geographic areas, as well as certain sectors of the economy. By and large, there seems to be an agreement between the leading families to divide the spoils and not disturb one another’s areas of business or geographic control. As a result, an economy already burgeoning with oil and gas revenues produces enormous opportunity and wealth for a small handful of players that form Azerbaijan’s elite.

But the most interesting point about all this is that immediately after the publication Baku began to deny everything that was allegedly told by U.S. diplomats. However, it’s no use denying the publications of WikiLeaks. After all, disclaimers themselves indirectly witness that not all the dispatches are false. Similar is the case with the “details” of conversation between U.S. Undersecretary of State William Burns and Ilham Aliyev. It may well be that a certain selectivity of “leaking” information plays into the hands of the U.S. which wants to put in their place some of the leaders of former Soviet countries. And the Aliyev-Pashayev family is the first in this list. Perhaps especially with these actions the U.S. wants to neutralize the Aliyev clan and prevent the war in Karabakh. It’s not about American philanthropy; everything is calculated: a new war in the South Caucasus is utterly intolerable for Obama administration.