State Dept. Spokesman Crowley Resigns After Comments

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton today accepted the resignation of the State Department Spokesman, P.J. Crowley.

Crowley had been critical of the Pentagon on the detention of Private Manning, the service member that illegally delivered thousands of United State secrets to WikiLeaks.  While attending an MIT event, Crowley responded to an audience question on the treatment of the accused traitor:

[O]ne young man said he wanted to address “the elephant in the room”. What did Crowley think, he asked, about Wikileaks? About the United States, in his words, “torturing a prisoner in a military brig”? Crowley didn’t stop to think. What’s being done to Bradley Manning by my colleagues at the Department of Defense “is ridiculous and counterproductive and stupid.” He paused.

A few minutes later, I had a chance to ask a question. “Are you on the record?” I would not be writing this if he’d said no. There was an uncomfortable pause. “Sure.” So there we are.[1]

During the Egyptian overthrow of Hosni Mubarak, Crowley used twitter to say that Mubarak’s proposed actions were nothing more than a “reshuffle the deck chairs” – a reference to a popular Titanic euphemism. The White House expressed displeasure with the Spokesman as his comments had not been approved and were not appreciated.

P.J. Crowley seems to have misunderstood the role of a Spokesperson. It is not a role of one that wishes to affect policy or disseminate  opinion. The spokesperson is the mouthpiece of the entity which they represent – nothing more.

Mr. Crowley, what went down in your head.. [2]

Sources:
[1]- https://philippathomas.wordpress.com/2011/03/10/the-state-department-spokesman-and-the-prisoner-in-the-brig/
[2] – Lyrics – “Mr. Crowley” – Ozzy Osbourne