Day One at the Bradley Manning Pre-Trial

Choike explained that he was just following orders, when Bradley Manning was held in conditions ruled torturous by the United Nations.

Taking the stand at the pre-trial on November 27th 2012, Choike confirmed that, during his command at Quantico, he had held Manning in solitary confinement for months on end. It was in a room 6ft by 8ft.

His prisoner had been checked every five minutes, and forced to sleep with the light on at all times. His belongings had been taken away.  Moreover, Manning was required to be naked overnight, and during morning inspection.

But it seems that the directives came from Lt Gen George Flynn, a three-star general based at the Pentagon.

Manning's lawyer David Coombs produced an e-mail, sent by Flynn to Choike shortly before Manning's arrival at Quantico.  Flynn wrote that he "would like to be proactive and make sure we hold the moral high ground if this issue takes hold in the press". 

While Choike confirmed that Flynn had been kept informed at every step of the way, he also insisted that the day to day decisions were his own.  Flynn merely set the parameters.  However, those parameters made it clear that this was to be a tough regime.  No changes could be made to Manning's status without first informing the general.

Flynn deliberately put nothing in writing.  His thoughts and instructions were all made verbally.  He also appeared concerned that politically embarrassing information would be circulated in the press.

It was judged that Bradley Manning was at high risk of suicide, so his possessions were taken away from him. 

He then sarcastically quipped that, if he wanted to harm himself, he could do it with his flip-flops or underwear.  So they took them away too. 

The POL status seems to have legitimized a whole range of confusing or highly restrictive procedures. He was placed under it because of 'erratic' behavior, which included dancing in his cell and playing 'peek-a-boo' through the bars.

While under medication, he had also licked the bars of his cell.  Choike finished with stating that 'poor judgment in the past and poor family relationships' had contributed to ruling Manning a POL case.

At night, this involved Manning lying naked, with the lights on at all times.  Each morning, he was to stand to attention, feet placed shoulder-width apart, while Quantico's guards filed past. He was still naked.  He'd been offered a choice between a blanket or a suicide smock, but when he reached for the blanket, it was snatched away.

The situation appears to have amused one of his captors, who composed a ditty on a theme of Dr Seuss's Green Eggs and Ham.

"I can wear them in a box,
I can wear them with a fox,
I can wear them in the day,
I can wear them so I say,
But I can't wear them at night,
My comments gave the staff a fright."

David Coombs asked Choike if he thought that the circumstances were a joking matter. The colonel replied that he did not.

Cross-examining for the prosecution, Army Major Ashden Fein affirmed that the decision to place Manning on POL status had a little more substance.  He told Choike, "You were aware of (Manning) licking the bars at night, that he wouldn't interact with staff, that there were times when he wouldn't be responsive at all, that there was an incident of him crying behind an exercise machine."

It was also mentioned that Bradley Manning had crafted some nooses, in his early days at Quantico.  None of this had been revealed earlier, when Colonel Choike laid out his reasoning for the POL status.

Choike added that he had initially advised that Quantico was inappropriate, as a holding bay for Manning, for more than ninety days.  Unfortunately, his prisoner was there for nine months.