By Greg Hazley
The top public affairs official and spokesman for the State Department, P.J. Crowley, resigned on March 13 after pointedly criticizing the Pentagon’s detention of a soldier suspected of providing WikiLeaks with reams of data.
Crowley called the Defense Dept.’s treatment of Pfc. Bradley Manning “ridiculous and counterproductive and stupid” at a Massachusetts Institute of Technology event, according to a BBC report.
Crowley
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“My recent comments regarding the conditions of the pre-trial detention of [Manning] were intended to highlight the broader, even strategic impact of discrete actions undertaken by national security agencies every day and their impact on our global standing and leadership,” Crowley, Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs, said in a statement, which did not retract the remarks. “Given the impact of my remarks, for which I take full responsibility, I have submitted my resignation…”
Manning is being held in Virginia under conditions that have been criticized by his lawyer and Amnesty International. President Obama said Friday that his treatment meets “basic standards.”
The resignation also came after Crowley posted a Twitter message, since removed, about the Japan tsunami that raised some eyebrows. “We’ve been watching a hopeful tsunami sweep across the Middle East,” said the tweet. “Now we’re seeing a tsunami of a different kind sweep across Japan.”
Sec. of State Hillary Clinton said in a three-sentence statement accompanying Crowley’s resignation that she accepted his exit “with regret” and praised his more than three decades of service in the military and government.
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Michael Hammer, formerly of the National Security Council, will take over Crowley’s role on an “acting” basis, Clinton said.
State Dept. reporters say that Crowley and Clinton never forged a tight bond and the New York Times reported that he had been seeking reassignment.
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