| The State Department spokesman, Philip J. Crowley, resigned on Sunday, three days after publicly criticizing the Pentagon as "ridiculous and counterproductive and stupid" in its treatment of Pfc. Bradley E. Manning, the soldier imprisoned on charges of leaking classified government documents to the antisecrecy group WikiLeaks. Mr. Crowley's comments, which were made to a small group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, stirred a political tempest in Washington and were rejected by President Obama at a news conference on Friday. Mr. Obama said the Pentagon had assured him that its procedures in Private Manning's confinement were "appropriate and are meeting our basic standards." White House officials were infuriated by the episode, administration officials said, which one described as "the last straw" in a series of incautious remarks by Mr. Crowley. (NYT) |
Read the rest of the story HERE:
At www.nytimes.com
At www.nytimes.com
