[Peace-discuss] Correspondence with our senator

[C. G. Estabrook]

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: Message from Senator Durbin
Date: Thu, 06 Jan 2011 14:22:50 -0600
From: C. G. ESTABROOK <cge at shout.net>
To: correspondence_reply at durbin.senate.gov

Senator Durbin:

Your staff has apparently not been keeping you up to date on the
administration's shockingly unconstitutional proceedings; your form letter -
dated January 6, 2011 - is at least seriously out of date.

Bradley Manning is not "currently being held at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait..."
Almost six months ago he was moved to a military jail in Quantico, Virginia,
where he was classified as a "Maximum Custody Detainee." He is in solitary
confinement for all but one hour a day; is not allowed to exercise in his cell;
has been denied a pillow and sheets; is under constant surveillance; and is
allowed no contact, even indirectly, with the media. His friends say his mental
and physical health are deteriorating.

Where is his constitutional guarantee of a speedy trial? A generation ago we
excoriated the treatment of Soviet dissidents, and now it seems our government
is behaving much worse.

You famously and correctly condemned illegal US imprisonment - and then
pusillanimously withdrew the criticism. The Manning case offers you a chance to
get the matter right.

If your staff has trouble discovering the details, I suggest they examine the
recent columns of Glenn Greenwald, with references.

In hope that you will do something to lessen the shame of the administration,
the Congress, and yourself on these matters,

(Dr.) C. G. Estabrook

Champaign IL


On 1/6/11 1:45 PM, correspondence_reply at durbin.senate.gov wrote:
>
> January 6, 2011
>
> Dr. C. G. Estabrook
> 5 Litchfield Lane
> Champaign, IL 61820-7314
>
>
> Dear Friends:
>
> Thank you for contacting me about the arrest of Private First Class Bradley
> Manning. I appreciate hearing from you.
>
> Private First Class (Pfc.) Bradley Manning, an intelligence analyst for the U.S.
> Army, assigned to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, in Iraq,
> was arrested on May 26, 2010, on suspicion of leaking classified intelligence.
> Approximately six weeks after his arrest, Pfc. Manning was charged with 12
> counts of illegally transferring and releasing classified documents to an
> unauthorized source. Pfc. Manning is currently being held at Camp Arifjan in
> Kuwait and is awaiting the results of a further investigation by the Army's
> Criminal Investigation Division (CID).
>
> Pentagon officials have stated that CID is currently engaging in two
> investigations. A broader investigation into the documents leaked to
> WikiLeaks.org is taking place alongside a continued open investigation of Pfc.
> Bradley Manning resulting from the release of a video recording of an Army
> helicopter gunship strike. Pfc. Bradley Manning is currently a person of
> interest involved in the document leaks but has not been formally sentenced and
> awaits the outcome of the investigation.
>
> I will keep your concerns in mind as the U.S. military moves forward with the
> investigation of Pfc. Bradley Manning and the broader investigation of the
> document leaks to WikiLeaks.org. Thank you again for sharing your views with me,
> and please feel free to stay in touch.
>
> Sincerely,
> Richard J. Durbin
> United States Senator
>
> RJD/kj
>
>