Military Resistance: thomasfbarton@earthlink.net 12.30.10 Print it out: color best. Pass it on.

Military Resistance 8L17

Military Kid Drugged To

Death By Incompetent
Shitheads:
“I Really Feel The Drugs Played
A Significant Role In Daniel’s
Death”
 “Nobody Ever Warned Her About
The Suicide Risks Associated With
The Drugs Her Son Was Taking”
“Her Son’s Death A Week Later ‘Was
Completely Preventable, Had He
Received Competent Care Instead Of
Being Herded Through The System Like
A Piece Of Cattle At An Auction’”
“In 2009, More Than 300,000
Prescriptions For Psychiatric Drugs
Were Provided To Children Under 18
Who Are Tricare Beneficiaries”
[Lt. Col. Blaine Radenz’s wife, Tricia, holds the last school portrait of their son Daniel
Radenz. Daniel took his own life at 12 years old after battling depression and being
prescribed psychiatric drugs while being treated at Darnall Army Medical Center at Fort
Hood, Texas.] Photo: Army Times: Mitch Green

Celexa, along with Wellbutrin, which Daniel was also taking at the time of his
death, carry “black box” warnings from the Food and Drug Administration — the
FDA’s most serious warning — about increased risks for suicidal thoughts and
behavior.

Moreover, neither drug is recommended for children, although doctors may

legally prescribe them after determining that they may benefit individual patients.

12.27.2010 By Karen Jowers and Andrew Tilghman, Army Times [Excerpts]

Before his father deployed to Iraq, Daniel Radenz was a well-adjusted fifth-grader
earning straight A’s and B’s in school near Fort Hood, Texas.

But shortly after Army Lt. Col. Blaine Radenz left home in June 2008, his 11-year-old
son became withdrawn and anxious. His grades at school slipped and his mother
noticed mood swings. The child’s longtime pediatrician referred him for counseling.

A psychiatrist at Fort Hood’s Darnall Army Medical Center prescribed the antidepressant
Celexa. Daniel also saw a psychologist there. Doctors added to and changed Daniel’s
drug regimen, but his problems grew worse, said his mother, Tricia Radenz.

Daniel started cutting himself and once used his own blood to write “the end” on a
bathroom wall at school. One day in band class, he began hallucinating and ran into the
hall, where teachers found him crouched and hitting and scratching his face.

On June 9, 2009, Daniel hanged himself from a bunk bed in his home.

“I really feel the drugs played a significant role in Daniel’s death,” said Tricia
Radenz, a 41-year-old emergency-room nurse.

It’s impossible to know precisely why a 12-year-old chose to take his own life. But the
boy’s problems — and the use of powerful psychiatric drugs to treat them — highlight a
concern for a growing number of military families who are struggling with the impact of
long, frequent deployments on their children left at home.

The use of psychiatric drugs by military children is on the rise. Overall, in 2009, more
than 300,000 prescriptions for psychiatric drugs were provided to children under 18 who
are Tricare beneficiaries.

That’s up 18 percent since 2005, according to data provided to Military Times — a

period when the under-18 population increased by less than 1 percent. And some
drug categories have shown even higher rates of increase — antipsychotic drugs
are up about 50 percent and anti-anxiety drugs are up about 40 percent.
That mirrors a similar trend in the active-duty force, which has seen a 76 percent
increase in prescriptions for psychiatric drugs since the start of the war in Afghanistan.

Tricia Radenz said nobody ever warned her about the suicide risks associated
with the drugs her son was taking.

“The psychiatrist never once told me Celexa was a risk. He said he’d had great
success with this drug,” Radenz said in an interview.

“Any antidepressant carries the warning, but I didn’t find out the seriousness until after
he died,” she said.

Celexa, along with Wellbutrin, which Daniel was also taking at the time of his
death, carry “black box” warnings from the Food and Drug Administration — the
FDA’s most serious warning — about increased risks for suicidal thoughts and
behavior.

Moreover, neither drug is recommended for children, although doctors may

legally prescribe them after determining that they may benefit individual patients.

Radenz said Daniel saw the psychologist and psychiatrist once or twice a month.

She said the psychiatry department didn’t respond to her pleas for help when she called
after Daniel had cut himself at school and used his blood to write on the bathroom wall.

The mother left a phone message with the psychiatry department, with details about
what had happened, asking that someone call back for an appointment.

Nobody returned her call, she said.

“I was essentially staying with him 24/7,” Radenz said. “I was outside the bathroom if he
was in there. He was sleeping with me.”

She said that after she was unable to get help from the child psychiatry department, she
e-mailed her husband in desperation, and he came home from Iraq on emergency leave
May 25.

Daniel was thrilled to see his father. For days as the family spent time together, Radenz
said, Daniel laughed and joked and said many times: “I’m so glad Dad is home.”

Daniel’s father went to the local clinic and asked why his wife’s phone calls had
not been returned, even by June 1. He told them he was on emergency leave
because of his son’s decline.

The clinic staff apologized, Tricia Radenz said, and explained that no one was checking
the answering machine because the staff was overwhelmed.

Her son’s death a week later “was completely preventable, had he received
competent care instead of being herded through the system like a piece of cattle
at an auction,” she said.
“I want someone held accountable, and I don’t want anyone to ever have to go
through this again.”

Officials at Darnall Army Medical Center said they conducted an investigation into
Daniel’s treatment, but a spokeswoman declined to disclose any of its findings.

Tricia Radenz knows nothing can bring her son back.

“But why can’t they say they were wrong? That they’ve made changes? All I want
is to know they’ve corrected their process that cost me my son.

“No other family should ever have to endure the agony my family suffers daily. My
husband made more than the ‘ultimate sacrifice’ ... he sacrificed his son to serve.”

*********************************************************************************

The wife of a Special Forces soldier who has deployed often during the past decade, the
mother said her child’s problems typically get worse, if only temporarily, after his father
goes overseas. “When my husband leaves, the first seven days, seven to 11 days, are
very hard on him. He’s very sad. He’s withdrawn. He rages more frequently. But once
we get past that period of time, he is the same as he always is.”

Her son sees an off-base civilian therapist once a week and receives better care and
treatment than he did from the on-base counselors, she said.

In addition, he also sees an on-base psychiatrist who typically sees the child for
about 15 minutes and focuses on medication [translation: psychiatric drugs].

“He doesn’t really know much about my son; he just gives out medications. He
relies on the parents.

He’s asking me: ‘What kind of medications is he on?’ “I’m like, ‘You’re the doctor,
shouldn’t you know? Look at the file.’ ”

“Many members of the pediatric psychiatric community are concerned about the
increases (in the use of psychiatric drugs).

They have concerns about the side effects and the lack of data showing their
effectiveness of those medications in children,” said Josephine Johnston, a
researcher with the Hastings Center, a New York-based research group.

Troops Invited:
Comments, arguments, articles, and letters from service men
and women, and veterans, are especially welcome. Write to Box
126, 2576 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10025-5657 or send email to
contact@militaryproject.org: Name, I.D., withheld unless you
request publication. Same address to unsubscribe.
 IRAQ WAR REPORTS

Resistance Action:
Insurgent Attack Kills Key U.S.
Collaborator And Destroys Mosul Police
Headquarters
Dec 29 (Reuters) & By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Three bombers attacked Iraq's federal police headquarters in Mosul on Wednesday,

leveling the building and killing the top police commander in the northern city, a
prominent figure who had escaped several past assassination attempts, officials said.

The attack in Mosul began when three men with explosives vests slipped though an
opening in the blast walls surrounding the compound housing Iraq's 1st Battalion of the
National Police at around 6 a.m. Wednesday, police said.

Police shot one of the attackers in an open-air yard, and his vest exploded — but while
the police were distracted by the blast, the other bombers charged into the police
headquarters building, police said.

One of the bombers entered the ground floor office of the battalion's commander, Lt. Col.
Shamil Okla Ahmed al-Jabouri, where he was sleeping, and blew himself up, killing al-
Jabouri instantly, a police officer at the scene said.

The other bomber detonated his explosives-laden vest on the ground floor of the building
shortly after the first blast, police said.

The twin explosions were so powerful that they brought the police headquarters down,
burying the slain commander and possibly others under the rubble, police said.

Hospital officials in the city, located 225 miles (360 kilometers) northwest of Baghdad,
confirmed the fatality and said they've treated one policeman who was wounded in the
blast.

Abdul-Raheem al-Shemeri, a top security official on the Mosul Provincial Council, said
he believed al-Jabouri was the target of Wednesday's attack.

Militants had tried to kill al-Jabouri several times before, al-Shemeri and several police
officials said. A few months ago, al-Jabouri's guards shot a suicide bomber who
approached the commander in an attempt to blow himself up, police said.

****************************************************************************
BAGHDAD - Armed men using silenced weapons attacked a police patrol in Baghdad’s
western Amiriya district, wounding two policemen, police said.

SALMAN PAK - A bomb attached to the car of a local judge wounded him when it went
off in Salman Pak, 30 km (20 miles) southeast of Baghdad, an Interior Ministry source
said.

MOSUL - Three bombers attacked a police battalion headquarters, killing the

commander, in western Mosul, about 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police
sources said. A fourth bomber was killed by police.

BAGHDAD - A government-backed Sahwa militia leader escaped unharmed when a

bomb attached to his car exploded in Baghdad’s southern Doura district on Tuesday, an
Interior Ministry source said.

AFGHANISTAN WAR REPORTS

Friends, Family Remember Fallen Soldier

DECEMBER 23 2010 By Tara Slate Donaldson and Dan Roem, Gainesville Times

A consummate athlete, a soon-to-be father, a son, a brother, a husband and a friend

who showed respect and fairness to everyone.

Army Spc. Sean Cutsforth was remembered this week as all of those things and more as
his family prepared for a celebration of his life after the 22-year-old Manassas soldier
died in the line of duty in Afghanistan.

“He was a great guy,” Cutsforth's 25-year-old brother Ryan said on Monday. “He always
respected everybody.”

The Brentsville District High School graduate was born in August 1988 to Robert and
Vickie Cutsforth. His father, Robert Cutsforth, said on Monday that he was in the Navy,
stationed at Fort Belvoir when Sean was born at the base.

“He was a very energetic, athletic kid,” he said. “He would do a lot of hiking, camping,
kayaking ...”

He also excelled in sports from a young age. As a child, he joined the Greater Manassas
Baseball League, the Ben Lomond Swim Team and the Greater Manassas Football
League.

His athletic prowess continued in high school. Cutsforth's high school baseball coach
Brian Knight described the left-handed pitcher as someone with two different
personalities when it came to baseball.
"I can say this: he was one of the most fierce competitors I've ever been associated
with," said Knight of his all-district player.

He recalled that Cutsforth did not wear his emotion on his sleeve during a game and
repeatedly said that he was not a "rah-rah" type of guy. Instead, Cutsforth "always had a
stern look" whenever Knight went to talk to him on the mound, in between innings or
before he stepped into the batter's box.

A "big, muscular guy" and year-round athlete, Cutsforth could overpower hitters with his
fastball while mixing in curves and change-ups, said Knight.

Cutsforth also threw the Tigers' only no-hitter in the 16 years

Knight has been a part of Brentsville District High School, according to the coach. "He
was a workhorse for us. He had the strength and experience to be able to throw deep
into a game just about every time he would go out onto the mound," said Knight.

Knight particularly highlighted the no-hitter against Central and an extra-innings district
playoff game against James Wood. Cutsforth threw more than 130 pitches during the
latter, all the way until there were two outs in the ninth inning when Knight pulled him so
he wouldn't blow his arm before entering college.

As the innings drew on, Knight approached Cutsforth. He recalled the following
conversation:

"How do you feel?" asked Knight. "I feel fine," Cutsforth responded.

"Good. Are you tired?" "No."

"Well, I know that's a lie ... (you) can't throw 100 pitches after 7 innings and not feel
tired."

"I feel fine."

According to Knight, "It was one of those gutsy performances. He just kept battling."

Cutsforth had a "sly grin and a little laugh" during practice to contrast with his game-face,
Knight said.

"He was more of a down-to-earth, nuts-and-bolts kind of guy," said the coach, who still
leads the Tigers. He added that Cutsforth was the type of guy who carried an attitude of
"I need to do it and I need to do it the right way."

While Cutsforth's class never got to enjoy the type of success Brentsville baseball teams
have enjoyed over the last few seasons, Knight said it was guys like Cutsforth that
paved the way to make district titles and state appearances possible.

"He was one of the reasons why those guys did so well," said Knight. "They saw how he
worked, how he prepared, and how determined he was and I think they got a lot from
him.
Cutsforth graduated from Brentsville in 2006 and earned a grant to play baseball at
Virginia Wesleyan College.

“He was a very talented left-hand pitcher,” his father said, but college wasn't for him.

After three semesters, he told his parents he was leaving school to spend some time
with his sister near Blacksburg and to do some research on a career in the military.

Ryan said his brother spent about a year-and-a-half in Blacksburg before enlisting in
September 2008.

His father added that after careful consideration of the various branches of the armed
forces, Sean decided on the Army, “even through he knew that Iraq or Afghanistan was
probably where he'd be deployed to.”

He was right.

Sean Cutsforth was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade
Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) in Fort Campbell, Kent.

Robert Cutsforth said that since Sean's death, he's heard from other soldiers who were
with him in basic training.

One colleague said that “Sean's words of encouragement helped him get through,” his
father recalled, adding that his son was “very modest” and “very nonjudgmental.”

Sean married his girlfriend, Ashley, in July 2009 and was deployed to Afghanistan seven
months later, in February 2010, according to his father.

While there, he became known as “very much a hands-on person,” his Robert said. “He
would scavenge stuff to build shower facilities,” and other equipment that his unit
needed.

Meanwhile, his new wife Ashley Cutsforth got very involved in helping other military
families.

“She was very proactive in helping to provide packages,” Robert said, especially for
soldiers and units who didn't receive a lot of gifts from home.

The last time they saw him was on leave in August, Ryan said. After that, he returned to
Afghanistan but, according to his father, was due to return to the U.S. in February 2011.

It wouldn't be a moment too soon for his family, especially after they learned that Sean
was to become a father; Ashley Cutsforth is pregnant with a son, already named Sean
Russell Cutsforth Jr. and due in April.

But instead of returning in February to Fort Campbell, Sean arrived Dec. 18 at Dover Air
Force Base, way station for fallen soldiers.
According to an Army statement, he died Dec. 15 in Ghazni Province “of wounds
suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using small arms fire.”

His father said on Monday that Army officers have indicated that Sean will be awarded a
posthumous medal. Ft. Campbell spokesman Sgt. Scott Miller didn't dispute that
assertion later in the day but said the Army is not releasing any information about it at
this point.

Robert Cutsforth said the family is holding up well, aided by a groundswell of support
from the Army and from the community.

Everyone, he said, has come forward to tell anecdotes about Sean, ranging from
humorous tales of his “drinking and debauchery” to stories of how he came to the rescue
of children who were bullied in school.

Robert said stories that begin with “I was in elementary school or I was in high school
and a lot of people picked on me and Sean always treated me fairly,” have been a
recurrent theme in the last week.

“Everybody's spirits were uplifted when he was around,” he said.

BEEN ON THE JOB TOO LONG:

HOME, NOW

A U.S. soldier of 2-327 Infantry during a visit to the district center in Chowkay in Kunar
province in the eastern Afghanistan, Dec 18, 2010. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
 Drivers’ Licence And Registration
Please?

Taliban staff a highway checkpoint in Nangarhar province in this December 13, 2010
picture. REUTERS/Stringer

IF YOU DON’T LIKE THE RESISTANCE

END THE OCCUPATION

MILITARY NEWS

The Pentagons’ Subtle, Careful,

Willful, And Deliberate Torture
Of Bradley Manning:
“Manning Has Not Been Convicted
Of Any Crime”
 “In My Visit To See Bradley At The
Quantico Brig, It Became Clear That
The Pentagon’s Public Spin From
Last Week Sharply Contradicts The
Reality Of Bradley Manning’s
Detainment”
Manning Has Been Held In The Brig At
Quantico Marine Corp Base For Five
Months “In Inhumane Conditions, With
Severe Restrictions On His Ability To
Exercise, Communicate, Or Even Sleep”

www.bradleymanning

Manning is also confined under a longstanding Prevention of Injury (POI) order

which limits his social contact, news consumption, ability to exercise, and that
places restrictions on his ability to sleep.

Manning has been living under the solitary restrictions of POI for five months
despite being cleared by a military psychologist earlier this year, and despite
repeated calls from his attorney David Coombs to lift the severely restrictive and
isolating order.

December 23, 2010 By David House, Firedoglake [Excerpts]

David House is a researcher at MIT who helped set up the Bradley Manning Support
Network, a group raising funds for Manning’s legal defense.

*********************************************************************

Bradley Manning, the 23-year-old Army private accused of leaking classified

information to Wikileaks, has been held in the brig at Quantico Marine Corp Base
for five months in inhumane conditions, with severe restrictions on his ability to
exercise, communicate, or even sleep.

Manning has not been convicted of any crime.

Nor is there a date certain for any court hearing.

The conditions of Bradley Manning’s confinement became a top issue in the press last
week as bloggers traded blows with US officials over allegations that Manning endures
inhumane treatment at the Quantico, VA detainment facility.

In the midst of this rush by the Defense Department to contextualize Manning’s

confinement, I traveled to see the man himself at the Marine Corps detainment facility in
Quantico, VA.

In my visit to see Bradley at the Quantico brig, it became clear that the Pentagon’s public
spin from last week sharply contradicts the reality of Bradley Manning’s detainment.

In his five months of detention, it has become obvious to me that Manning’s physical and
mental well-being are deteriorating.

What Manning needs, and what his attorney has already urged, is to have the
unnecessary “Prevention of Injury” order lifted that severely restricts his ability to
exercise, communicate, and sleep.

I am one of the few people allowed to visit Bradley Manning while he is detained in the
Quantico brig.

Manning is held in “maximum custody,” the military’s most severe detention policy.

Manning is also confined under a longstanding Prevention of Injury (POI) order

which limits his social contact, news consumption, ability to exercise, and that
places restrictions on his ability to sleep.

Manning has been living under the solitary restrictions of POI for five months
despite being cleared by a military psychologist earlier this year, and despite
repeated calls from his attorney David Coombs to lift the severely restrictive and
isolating order.

POI orders are short-term restrictions that are typically implemented when a
detainee changes confinement facilities and these orders are lifted after the
detainee passes psychological evaluation.
Our conversations, which take place in the presence of marines and electronic
monitoring equipment, typically revolve around topics in physics, computer science, and
philosophy; he recently mentioned that he hopes to one day make use of the GI Bill
towards earning a graduate degree in Physics and a bachelors in Political Science.

He rarely if ever talks about his conditions in the brig, and it is not unusual for him to shy
away from questions about his well-being by changing the subject entirely.

When I arrived at the brig on December 18th I found him to be much more open to lines
of inquiry regarding his circumstances, and in a two and a half hour conversation I
learned new details about his life in confinement.

Manning Detained Beyond “Maximum Custody”

The unusual nature of a longstanding POI order and the consequences it carries (such
as 23-hour per day cell confinement with no substantive exercise) has led Manning’s
lawyer David Coombs to make an uncharacteristic appeal in the press, to halt what he
says is punitive pretrial treatment of his client. Coombs appears in an interview with the
Daily Beast, released shortly after (and possibly in response to) Lapan’s statement on
Friday:

When he was first arrested, Manning was put on suicide watch, but his status was
quickly changed to “Prevention of Injury” watch (POI), and under this lesser
pretense he has been forced into his life of mind-numbing tedium.

His treatment is harsh, punitive and taking its toll, says Coombs.

Both Coombs and Manning’s psychologist, Coombs says, are sure Manning is
mentally healthy, that there is no evidence he’s a threat to himself, and shouldn’t
be held in such severe conditions under the artifice of his own protection.”

Manning’s Reality vs. Pentagon’s Spin

My meeting with Bradley this weekend provided new information to refute the
Pentagon’s assertions this week about Bradley’s detention, and that show the
Prevention of Injury (POI) order under which Bradley is held and restricted is
unnecessary and should be removed.

1 – Ability to View Current Events & Access to Newspapers

“Pfc. Manning, as well as every other maximum custody detainee, is allotted

approximately one hour of television per day. He may view any of the available
channels.” — Quantico brig official Brian Villiard, Interview with Glenn Greenwald,
posted online December 14 2010

“Defense Department spokesman Col. Dave Lapan said Friday that Manning has the
same privileges as all other prisoners held in what the military calls ‘maximum custody’
He said Manning is in a standard single-person cell and gets exercise, recreation,
access to newspapers and visitors.” — Col. Dave Lapan, Pentagon Statement released
to AP December 17 2010

Manning related to me on December 18 2010 that he is not allowed to view international

news during his television period. He mentioned that he might theoretically be able to
view local news, but his television period is typically from 7pm – 8pm such that no local
news is playing in the Quantico, VA area.

Manning told me explicitly on December 18 2010 that he is not, nor has he ever
been, allowed newspapers while in confinement. When I said “The Pentagon has
stated that you are allowed newspapers”, his immediate reaction was surprised
laughter.

Analysis:

Villiard skirts the issue of news censorship by playing word games with “available”
channels. Two days later Greenwald posts this update to his December 15 2010 Salon
article: “I was contacted by Lt. Villiard … he claims that Manning is not restricted from
accessing news or current events during the prescribed time he is permitted to watch
television.”

Although his word games are little more than evasive sophistry, the claim from
Villiard to Greenwald that Manning is not denied access to news or current events
directly contradicts what Manning clearly related during our December 18 2010
meeting.

Lapan’s December 17 2010 statement encourages the reader that Manning’s conditions
are no different than those of anyone else held in maximum custody.

In reality, Manning has an extra set of restrictions imposed upon his confinement — the
longstanding POI order — that by definition requires Manning to be denied basic
exercise and isolated for 23 hours per day.

Either Lapan is unaware of the harsh conditions imposed on Manning by a POI, or he is

(mistakenly or not) conflating “maximum custody restrictions” with “POI restrictions”, or
he is being deceptive to the media and the public about the conditions of Manning’s
confinement. Not a lot of good options here.

Lapan’s December 17 2010 statement concludes by claiming outright that

Manning has access to newspapers. This contradicts Manning’s explicit statement
during our December 18 2010 meeting that he has not, nor has he ever been,
allowed newspapers during his time in confinement.

2 – Ability to Engage in Outdoor Recreation

“Depending on the weather, his recreation time may be spend (sic) indoors or
outdoors. Activities may include calisthenics, running, basketball, etc.” — Quantico brig
official Brian Villiard Interview with Glenn Greenwald, posted online December 14 2010
“A maximum custody detainee is able to receive the same privileges that a detainee
classified as general population may receive. … A maximum custody detainee also
receives daily television, hygiene call, reading and outside physical activity without
restraint.” — Quantico information office Statement posted to Salon.com December 16
2010

Manning’s Response

Manning stated to me on December 18 2010 that he has not been outside or into
the brig yard for either recreation nor exercise in four full weeks. He related that
visits to the outdoors have been infrequent and sporadic for the past several months.

Analysis

The statement sent by Villiard to Glenn Greenwald on December 14 2010 and later
posted to Salon by the Quantico information office implies that Manning has the option to
spend time outdoors on days with fair weather.

Manning’s assertion in our December 18 2010 meeting that outdoor trips over the last
several months have been rare leads me to believe that the claim “Depending on the
weather, his recreation time may be spent indoors or outdoors” directly contradicts the
reality of Manning’s situation as expressed in his own words.

The statement released by the Quantico information office stating that detainees receive
“outside physical activity without restraint” is inconsistent with reports from Manning that
outside recreation is sporadic and rare.

3 – Ability to Exercise

“Depending on the weather, his recreation time may be spend (sic) indoors or outdoors.
Activities may include calisthenics, running, basketball, etc.” — Quantico brig
official Brian Villiard Interview with Glenn Greenwald, posted online December 14 2010

“Defense Department spokesman Col. Dave Lapan said Friday that Manning has
the same privileges as all other prisoners held in what the military calls
“maximum custody.” He said Manning is in a standard single-person cell and gets
exercise, recreation, access to newspapers and visitors.” — Col. Dave Lapan, Pentagon
Statement released to AP December 17 2010

Manning’s Response

Manning related to me on December 18 2010 that he does not receive any

substantive exercise and cannot perform even basic exercises in his cell. When
told of the Pentagon’s statement that he did indeed receive exercise, Manning’s
reply was that he is able to exercise insofar as walking in chains is a form of
exercise.

Analysis
As Manning stated during our December 18 2010 meeting and as David Coombs
confirms in notes on his blog, Manning’s only exercise is walking in an empty room for
an hour each day.

It is unknown whether Manning’s reference to chains during my meeting with him was
meant to imply that he is in chains during his period of circle-walking exercise, or if he
was instead referring to the action of wearing chains while being escorted through the
halls of the brig.

Regardless, it is safe to say that Villiard’s claim of “calisthenics, running,

basketball” is every bit as untrue as Lapan’s claim that Manning gets exercise at
all — insofar as walking in circles, potentially chained, is exercise.

4 – Conditions of Bedding

Pfc. Manning, as well as all other detainees, is issued adequate bedding.” — Quantico
brig official Brian Villiard Interview with Glenn Greenwald, posted online December 14
2010

“…First Lieutenant Brian Villiard, an officer at Quantico, said [Manning] is allowed

bedding of “non-shreddable” material. “I’ve held it, I’ve felt it, it’s soft, I’d sleep under
it,” he told The Daily Beast.” — Quantico brig official Brian Villard, Interview with Daily
Beast, December 17 2010

Manning’s Response

Manning related to me on December 19 2010 that his blankets are similar in weight
and heft to lead aprons used in X-ray laboratories, and similar in texture to coarse
and stiff carpet.

He stated explicitly that the blankets are not soft in the least and expressed concern that
he had to lie very still at night to avoid receiving carpet burns. The problem of carpet
burns was exacerbated, he related, by the stipulation that he must sleep only in his
boxer shorts as part of the longstanding POI order. Manning also stated on December
19 2010 that hallway-mounted lights shine through his window at night. This constant
illumination is consistent with reports from attorney David Coombs’ blog that marines
must visually inspect Manning as he sleeps.

Analysis

It is apparent from Manning’s description of his bedding and his explicit concern about
their propensity to cause carpet burn that Brian Villiard’s statement attesting to the
comfort of the bedding is without basis.

It would be useful to determine how many times per night Manning is rousted from sleep
as a result of either the blankets, the lights, or the guards. Such an analysis of his
sleeping conditions might give insight into his mental state determined by his overall
ability to maintain rest in conditions of isolation.
 Manning’s POI Order Should Be Lifted Immediately
Based on Bradley Manning’s description of his detention to myself and to his attorney,
there are clear, unavoidable contradictions with the Pentagon’s public statements about
Manning.

Because of the longstanding POI order, Manning is subjected to restrictions far

beyond the minimum right of other “maximum custody” prisoners held in the
same brig.

Since his arrest Bradley Manning has been neither a threat to himself nor others.

Over the course of my visits to see Bradley in Quantico, it’s become increasingly
clear that the severe, inhumane conditions of his detention are wearing on
Manning.

The extraordinary restrictions of Manning’s basic rights to sleep, exercise, and

communicate under the Prevention of Injury order are unnecessary and should be
lifted immediately.

Special note: No notepads, pens, phones, tape recorders, or other useful documentation
devices are allowed into the brig’s visitation rooms. For this reason the key points of my
conversations with Manning, his explicit replies to questions regarding confinement,
were temporarily stored mentally through repetition. I am fortunate that many of his
replies could be summed up in very few words. When visiting hours conclude I create a
voice memo with a brain-dump of the meeting that just took place. I’ll try to get the
relevant recordings online in the next few days.

Aside from that, I encourage any curious parties to file an FOIA request for the
government-curated audio tapes created in brig visitation room #2 on December 18 and
December 19 2010 from 1:00pm – 3:00pm.

POLITICIANS CAN’T BE COUNTED ON TO HALT

THE BLOODSHED

THE TROOPS HAVE THE POWER TO STOP THE

WARS

“The single largest failure of the anti-war movement at this point

is the lack of outreach to the troops.” Tim Goodrich, Iraq
Veterans Against The War
 25,000 Troops Off To Obama’s Imperial
Slaughterhouse “Soon After New Year’s”

12.27.2010 By Michael Hoffman, Army Times [Excerpts]

Nearly 25,000 troops will board planes for a yearlong deployment to Afghanistan starting
soon after New Year’s, the Defense Department has announced.

About 18,000 soldiers in five infantry brigade combat teams as well as two combat
aviation brigades and a headquarters element will deploy to Afghanistan as part of the
regular troop rotations.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates signed the deployment orders a day after President
Obama said he will start bringing troops home from Afghanistan in July. In the same
breath, he said the U.S. will not finish transitioning military forces out of Afghanistan until
2014. The U.S. has 100,000 troops in Afghanistan, 67,000 of them soldiers.
Soldiers will start deploying in early 2011 with departures continuing through the fall of
next year. There, these soldiers will continue to root out Taliban influence from
Afghanistan and train up Afghan military forces to take over defense of the country.

They units are:

■ I Corps Headquarters, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.

■ 159th Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky.
■ 82nd Airborne Combat Aviation Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.
■ 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Knox, Ky.
■ 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii
■ 1st Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Fort Wainwright, Alaska
■ 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y.
■ 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo.

December 16, 2010:

At The White House

Purple Heart, Iraq War veteran Zach Choate from Baton Rouge, La, one of 134 veterans
handcuffed to the White House fence, Dec. 16, 2010, moments before being arrested for
protesting the occupations in the Middle East in an action organized and led by Veterans
For Peace. [Photo and caption by Ward Reilly, Veterans For Peace]
Purple Heart Iraq "War" veteran, Zach Choate, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, stands with
Mike Hearington and another veteran, moments before their arrest at the White House
on Dec. 16, 2010, in protest of the occupations in the Middle East. They were among a
group of 134 veterans and supporters arrested, in an action organized and led by
Veterans For Peace. [Photo and caption by Ward Reilly, Veterans For Peace]
Portion of a group of 134 veterans, shortly before they were arrested at the White House
on Dec. 16, 2010, for protesting the occupations in the Middle East. The coalition of
veterans were arrested for refusing to the leave the sidewalk (that they own), as they
stood in protest to the criminal occupations in the Middle East.

They were representatives of Veterans For Peace, Iraq Veterans Against the War,
Vietnam Veterans Agonist the War, March Forward, Military Families Speak Out. Pulitzer
Prize winning war correspondent Chris Hedges, and VFP member Daniel Ellsberg, were
amongst those arrested. [Photo and caption by Ward Reilly, Veterans For Peace]

Traveling Soldier:
Posted At:
http://www.traveling-soldier.org/ci.php

THIS ISSUE FEATURING:

“A WAR WITH NO CLEAR OBJECTIVE”

http://www.traveling-soldier.org/12.10.war.php

“WE SHOULD JUST END IT. BRING THE TROOPS HOME”

“I never wanted my son to be a little old obituary in the paper”
http://www.traveling-soldier.org/12.10.troops.php

THE POLITICIANS WON’T TALK ABOUT THE WAR:

“But for the Olechnys, avoidance is not an option”
http://www.traveling-soldier.org/12.10.avoidance.php

TRAVELING SOLDIER
Telling the truth - about the occupations or the criminals running the government
in Washington - is the first reason for Traveling Soldier. But we want to do more
than tell the truth; we want to report on the resistance to Imperial wars inside the
armed forces.

Our goal is for Traveling Soldier to become the thread that ties working-class
people inside the armed services together. We want this newsletter to be a
weapon to help you organize resistance within the armed forces.

If you like what you’ve read, we hope that you’ll join with us in building a network
of active duty organizers. http://www.traveling-soldier.org/

Traveling Soldier is the publication of the Military Resistance Organization

 DO YOU HAVE A FRIEND OR RELATIVE IN THE
MILITARY?
Forward Military Resistance along, or send us the address if you wish and
we’ll send it regularly. Whether in Afghanistan, Iraq or stuck on a base in
the USA, this is extra important for your service friend, too often cut off
from access to encouraging news of growing resistance to the wars, inside
the armed services and at home. Send email requests to address up top or
write to: The Military Resistance, Box 126, 2576 Broadway, New York, N.Y.
10025-5657. Phone: 888.711.2550

DANGER: POLITICIANS AT WORK

CLASS WAR REPORTS

“Profits Of Six Of The Biggest Private

Health Insurance Companies
Increased By 22% Over Last Year”
They “Increased Their Profits And
Executive Salaries By Forcing People
Still With Insurance To Pay Much More
Money For Much Less Health Care”
Spark Issue no. 882; November 22 - December 13, 2010

The profits of six of the biggest private health insurance companies increased by 22
percent over last year. These companies include WellPoint Inc., UnitedHealth Group
Inc., Aetna Inc., Humana Inc., Cigna Corp. and Coventry Health Care Inc.

These companies drove up their profits, even as the number of people without health
insurance coverage increased by almost five million in just the last year.

How did the insurance companies make so much money in such a poor market?

The companies did it the old fashioned way: by jacking up premiums, spending fewer
premiums on medical care, purging unprofitable members, and burdening consumers
with higher cost-sharing limits.

In other words, the insurance companies increased their profits and executive salaries
by forcing those people still with insurance to pay much more money for much less
health care.

There is no answer to the problems so long as health care is organized with the aim of
making profit.

Military Resistance Available In PDF Format

If you prefer PDF to Word format, email contact@militaryproject.org
 Troops Invited:
Comments, arguments, articles, and letters from service men
and women, and veterans, are especially welcome. Write to Box
126, 2576 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10025-5657 or send email to
contact@militaryproject.org: Name, I.D., withheld unless you
request publication. Same address to unsubscribe.

Vietnam GI: Reprints Available

Vietnam: They Stopped An Imperial War

Not available from anybody else, anywhere

Edited by Vietnam Veteran Jeff Sharlet from 1968 until his death, this newspaper
rocked the world, attracting attention even from Time Magazine, and extremely
hostile attention from the chain of command. The pages and pages of letters in
the paper from troops in Vietnam condemning the war are lost to history, but you
can find them here.

Military Resistance has copied complete sets of Vietnam GI. The originals were a
bit rough, but every page is there. Over 100 pages, full 11x17 size.

Free on request to active duty members of the armed forces.

Cost for others: $15 if picked up in New York City. For mailing inside USA add $5
for bubble bag and postage. For outside USA, include extra for mailing 2.5
pounds to wherever you are.
Checks, money orders payable to: The Military Project

Orders to:
Military Resistance
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10025-5657

All proceeds are used for projects giving aid and comfort to members of the
armed forces organizing to resist today’s Imperial wars.

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