Mess of a Child’ Bradley Manning Should Never Have Gone to Iraq

Gawker ^ | May 28 ,2011 | Staff

[lbryce]

Army intelligence analyst Bradley Manning has been accused of leaking thousands of classified documents obtained during his tour in Iraq. But according to an officer, and a confidential military report, Manning was so psychologically unstable he should never have been sent to Iraq in the first place.

Interviews with friends and soliders who served with him, undertaken for a new investigative film from The Guardian — excerpts from which you can watch above — reveal Manning as an intelligent, passionate individual whose stint in the military only deepened the anger and alienation he'd struggled with since a difficult childhood in a conservative town. According to one officer, who asked to remain anonymous, Manning was obviously unfit to serve in Iraq:

"He was harassed so much that he once ****** in his sweatpants," the officer said.

"I escorted Manning a couple of times to his 'psych' evaluations after his outbursts. They never should have trapped him in and recycled him in [to Iraq]. Never. Not that mess of a child I saw with my own two eyes. No one has mentioned the army's failure here –- and the discharge unit who agreed to send him out there.

According to the same officer, Manning was routinely picked on during basic training, and after violent outbursts was diagnosed with "adjustment disorder." But, apparently because the army was in need of intelligence analysts, he was shipped off to Forward Operating Base Hammer, dealing with highly classified documents in an extremely loosely-secured setting. Two months after his arrival, the bolt was taken out of his rifle because he was considered a danger; later, he punched a female officer in the face and was told he'd be discharged.

[lbryce]

That Manning had difficulty serving isn't news (reports of his struggle as a gay man in a homophobic military surfaced a year ago) but the Guardian investigation, along with a recent Frontline report, would seem to show that Manning was more than just conflicted about his place in the army. Indeed, if his superiors knew about his apparent instability — some portion of which, to be clear, seemed to be generated by a hostile military culture — why was he given access to so much classified info. And further, why was security so loose? If Manning committed the leaks, he's guilty of a crime. But if the army is so cavalier about who sees classified information, and the settings in which it's seen, shouldn't it bear some portion of responsibility?

Frontline report, would seem to show that Manning was more than just conflicted about his place in the army. Indeed, if his superiors knew about his apparent instability — some portion of which, to be clear, seemed to be generated by a hostile military culture — why was he given access to so much classified info. And further, why was security so loose? If Manning committed the leaks, he's guilty of a crime. But if the army is so cavalier about who sees classified information, and the settings in which it's seen, shouldn't it bear some portion of responsibility?

"He was harassed so much that he once ****** in his sweatpants," the officer said.

"I escorted Manning a couple of times to his 'psych' evaluations after his outbursts. They never should have trapped him in and recycled him in [to Iraq]. Never. Not that mess of a child I saw with my own two eyes. No one has mentioned the army's failure here –- and the discharge unit who agreed to send him out there[.]"

Who knew that the shameful ordeal of Bradley Manning was the Army's fault? / sarc

[Iron Munro]

It’s about to get much, much worse.

In five years most of the people joining the ranks in the military will be those looking for a better check than they get from welfare, people looking for a GI Bill ride in college, prostitutes seeking a captive clientel, homos, lesbos, and other misfits.

I don’t see any politician on the horizon with the guts to turn it around, either.

“Our Country won’t go on forever, if we stay soft as we are now. There won’t be any AMERICA because some foreign soldiery will invade us and take our women and breed a hardier race!”

—Lt. Gen. Lewis B. “Chesty” Puller, USMC

[Amberdawn]

Of course it’s the Army’s fault-they let the gay prom queen enter in the first place. Naturally, this would have never happened had he been treated with kid gloves. /sarc

[SWAMPSNIPER]

He should have been culled out in basic.

It's going to get worse in the future if we don't get sanity back in government.

[Volunteer]

Put this POS on trial. If he is guilty, put him against the wall and execute him.

Treason, in time of war, deserves execution.

[Squeeky]

I guess Wiki wasn’t the only thing leaking???

[savagesusie]

Since they had DADT and obviously knew what he was and allowed him to stay in—they probably had a reason. (Nothing is done accidentally). They probably are going to use him to force PC homosexual indoctrination to normalize the behavior and force true Christians out of our military.

Then we will have a military of no morality which will turn on their own citizens...much like the atheists soldiers of Russia and that of Germany.

That is the only thing holding zero back...our military has not been indoctrinated enough yet or been infiltrated by homosexuals, muslims and Acorn thug types to actually kill grandma. They are working on it though through the repeal of DADT.

[Gene Eric]

>> the anger and alienation he'd struggled with since a difficult childhood in a conservative town.

What town is this exactly?

From what I've seen over the years, it's not the conservatives that psychologically abuse others to the point of insanity.

[HushTX]

I’m on the verge of enlisting in the Army. Once I’m in, there will remain at least one man who will honor the oath and refuse to turn on his fellow Americans. I do not believe for a minute that I will stand alone.

[savagesusie]

You definitely won’t....not yet.....the army hasn’t chased all the great men and women out of our service yet....not for lack of trying though. It is time to turn this ship around. I have had so many family members in the service including one in Afghanistan and in the Battle of the Bulge under Patton. I know there are still many wonderful people in the service.

When repeal of DADT happens, the massive brainwashing will begin in earnest. Then we will see what happens when evil becomes good and the Bible becomes hate speech. Something has got to give.

[Lancey Howard]

Don’t worry. Ubama and the Democrats told the military to fling open the doors for (mentally unstable, by definition) bone smugglers when they repealed DADT in January. Now they can recruit all the Bradley Mannings they want. They’ll just have to keep a special eye on them in case somebody get jilted by a boyfriend the way Manning did.

Pray for America.

[LadyDoc]

ah, but that was after a lot of pressure and complaints on why did the US language school dismiss so many “gays” who were working there?

Wonder if there was an understanding that one shouldn’t dismiss a gay man so they would overlook his problems, in the same way as they overlooked the Fort Hood shooter’s problems.

The rest of this is by advocates trying to get him off for his crime...playing the victim card.

[flowerplough]

So psychologically unstable he should never have been sent to Iraq in the first place, so psychologically unstable he should never have held security clearance in the first place, so psychologically unstable he should never have had access to classified information in the first place.

[KantianBurke]

That’s what happens when you lower the enlistment standards for the Army. Have a pulse but a criminal record? Waiver for that! 42 years old? Waiverable! No high school diploma and mental problems? No problems for the Army. And yes it happened on Bush’s watch. Some of us on FR called him and Rumsfield on it but got shouted down by the bots.