WH forces P.J. Crowley to resign for condemning abuse of Manning - WikiLeaks - Salon.com
State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley was forced to resign after publicly criticizing the military's detention conditions for Bradley Manning—specifically calling them "ridiculous, counterproductive and stupid"—prompting Obama to defend Manning's treatment at a press conference. The incident exemplifies what the author sees as a glaring double standard in the Obama administration: those responsible for torture and illegal surveillance face no consequences, whistleblowers are prosecuted aggressively, yet a government official is fired simply for speaking out against abuse of a detainee. Greenwald draws a sharp contrast with Democrats' past criticism of the Bush administration for crushing internal dissent, arguing that Obama's intolerance for Crowley's candid remarks contradicts his campaign promises to welcome challenging voices and form a "team of rivals."