Slash The Truth

The War on Truth

In the current frenzied budget-cutting atmosphere choking Washington the administration has come up with a simple plan to placate their right-wing critics. The much ballyhooed wars on poverty, illiteracy, drugs, homelessness, pollution, crime and other bad stuff are officially over. In their place we have the War on Truth! Anyone who says this is a bad idea will be mercilessly attacked.

Pfc. Bradley Manning

Julian Assange and Pfc Bradley Manning have done the American people a great service by making hundreds of thousands of classified U.S. government documents available on WikiLeaks. Predictably, the U.S. government is not grateful. Manning, a former army intelligence analyst in Iraq, faces up to life in prison or the death penalty. He is currently being held in solitary confinement at a military base in Quantico, Virginia, where he is not allowed to see his parents or other outside visitors.

Assange, the organizing brain of Wikileaks, is under house arrest in England, under the close surveillance of domestic and foreign intelligence agencies. Not since President Richard Nixon directed his minions to go after Pentagon Papers leaker Daniel Ellsberg and the Washington Post have working journalists and their source been subjected to the kind of official intimidation and threats that have been directed at Assange and Manning by high-ranking members of the Obama Administration.

Julian Assange

Published reports suggest that a joint Justice Department-Pentagon team of investigators is exploring the possibility of charging Assange under the Espionage Act, which could lead to decades in jail. "This is not saber-rattling," said Attorney General Eric Holder, commenting on the possibility that Assange will be prosecuted by the government. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called the Wikileaks disclosures "an attack on the international community." White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs suggested in somewhat Orwellian fashion that "such disclosures put at risk our diplomats, intelligence professionals, and people around the world who come to the United States for assistance in promoting democracy and open government."

Watching Eric Holder, Hillary Clinton and Robert Gibbs turn into H.R. Haldeman, John Erlichman and John Dean, we might reasonably fear one day waking up to be hit with secret White House tapes of Obama drinking scotch and slurring his words while calling Assange bad names.

Unwilling to let the Democrats adopt Nixon's anti-democratic, press-hating legacy as their own, Republican Congressman Peter King said that the publication of classified diplomatic cables is "worse even than a physical attack on Americans" and that Wikileaks should be officially designed as a terrorist organization. Mike Huckabee suggested that Bradley Manning should be executed.

U.S. State Department official Phillip Crowley resigns after condemning treatment of WikiLeaks source

Philip J Crowley

Senior state department functionary and spokesman, Philip J Crowley, has resigned after making critical comments about the US Army's treatment of alleged WikiLeaks source, Pfc Bradley Manning. Crowley's caustic comments that the army's treatment of Manning was "ridiculous and counter-productive and stupid" were made at a seminar at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Manning is accused of leaking diplomatic cables to the whistle-blower website WikiLeaks. Private Manning is being held in solitary confinement at the US Marine Corps brig in Quantico, Virginia.

Secretary of state Hillary Clinton said in a statement Sunday: "It is with regret that I have accepted the resignation of Philip J Crowley as assistant secretary of state for public affairs."

As assistant secretary for public affairs Crowley has been conducting the daily briefs on behalf of secretary of state Hillary Clinton. A retired Air Force colonel, he served on the National Security Council staff under former president Bill Clinton. In his statement regarding his resignation, Crowley said, "My recent comments regarding the conditions of the pre-trial detention of private first class Bradley Manning were intended to highlight the broader, even strategic impact of discreet actions undertaken by national security agencies every day and their impact on our global standing and leadership," he wrote. "Given the impact of my remarks, for which I take full responsibility, I have submitted my resignation as assistant secretary for public affairs and spokesman for the department of state."

Manning, arrested last May, has been charged with providing thousands of classified documents to WikiLeaks. His treatment, while in confinement, has been diplomatically embarrassing and the subject of considerable debate. Private Manning’s lawyer has complained about his treatment, including being stripped naked at night out of claimed concerns by Defence Department officials that he may commit suicide, even though there is no evidence that he is suicidal. He's being held in solitary confinement 23 hours a day in a windowless 6-by-12-foot cell. Pentagon sources claim his confinement is standard operating procedure.

Twenty-two additional charges were recently filed against Manning, including ''aiding the enemy'' – a capital offense.

For the last few months, Phillip Crowley devoted much of his time to dealing with the fallout from the release of State Department cables by WikiLeaks. Officials credited him with handling that difficult task well, and he has developed strong opinions about the role of the government and the news media through this episode, some of which he voiced in his M.I.T. talk.

Last month, Michael Hammer, a former spokesman for the National Security Council, became Crowley’s deputy — a move that was widely perceived as setting the stage for Crowley’s departure. Secretary Clinton said that Hammer, a career diplomat, would serve as the chief spokesman on an acting basis, and officials said he was likely to become Crowley’s permanent replacement.

From the U.S. Department of State:

Press Statement

Hillary Rodham Clinton

Secretary of State

Washington, DC

March 13, 2011

It is with regret that I have accepted the resignation of Philip J. Crowley as Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs. PJ has served our nation with distinction for more than three decades, in uniform and as a civilian. His service to country is motivated by a deep devotion to public policy and public diplomacy, and I wish him the very best. Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary (PDAS) Michael Hammer will serve as Acting Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs.

Statement by Philip J. Crowley

The unauthorized disclosure of classified information is a serious crime under U.S. law. My recent comments regarding the conditions of the pre-trial detention of Private First Class Bradley Manning were intended to highlight the broader, even strategic impact of discreet actions undertaken by national security agencies every day and their impact on our global standing and leadership. The exercise of power in today’s challenging times and relentless media environment must be prudent and consistent with our laws and values.

Given the impact of my remarks, for which I take full responsibility, I have submitted my resignation as Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs and Spokesman for the Department of State.

I am enormously grateful to President Obama and Secretary Clinton for the high honor of once again serving the American people. I leave with great admiration and affection for my State colleagues, who promote our national interest both on the front lines and in the quiet corners of the world. It was a privilege to help communicate their many and vital contributions to our national security. And I leave with deep respect for the journalists who report on foreign policy and global developments every day, in many cases under dangerous conditions and subject to serious threats. Their efforts help make governments more responsible, accountable and transparent.