Let's not forget about Pvt. Bradley Manning

[LAGC]

He's still languishing in solitary confinement in a military prison for the "crime" of allegedly exposing the deep, dark secrets of the U.S. military-industrial complex over our illegal wars in the Middle East.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/08/04/bradley.manning.wikileaks/index.html?hpt=C1

The 22-year-old U.S. Army private, suspected of involvement in the largest-ever intelligence leak in American history, is in solitary confinement at Quantico, the Marine Corps base in Virginia. He's facing eight counts of violating U.S. Criminal Code for allegedly leaking a secret military video from the Iraq war that made its way to WikiLeaks.org.

If convicted, he could go to prison until he's a very old man.
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Judging by his Facebook page, the young soldier's politics appear to be left-leaning, and he's an ardent supporter of groups working to achieve full civil rights for gays. Manning listed on his page causes such as "Repeal the Ban - End Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and included links to "No on Prop 8," a California ballot measure that eliminated the right to marry for same-sex couples, Human Rights Campaign and the National Center for Transgender Equality.

Give him your support, visit: http://bradleymanning.org and donate a little to his defense fund if you can.

[Voice for Peace]

1. kick nt

[Rage for Order]

2. Tough shit Bradley

He'll be lucky if he isn't hanged. He committed what could be interpreted as treason or sedition at worst, at best giving aid and comfort to the enemy during a time of war. Either of those is a real crime, not a "crime" as you have inferred. How do you think Truman or FDR would have reacted if Bradley had pulled this stunt during their presidencies? He did the crime, now he gets to do the time. On the bright side, he should be really good at making license plates by the time he is released from prison (if ever).

:nopity:

[LAGC]

3. Let's not assume he's guilty just yet.

All we have is the testimony of a low-life snitch who says he chatted with Manning and he confessed over instant messenger.

The government better have more damning evidence than just that.

[Rage for Order]

6. True, I may have jumped the gun just a bit

I thought it had been pretty well confirmed that he disclosed the video a couple months back, but at this point is only a prime suspect in the wikileaks documents? Even so, the fact that the video he released was classified is enough in and of itself to earn him many years in prison. He doesn't get to decide what is classified and what is not. The military is not a democracy. If he believes in the righteousness of his cause then he should have no problem doing the time to draw attention to it, a la Nelson Mandela or some other political prisoner.

[RaleighNCDUer]

13. OTOH, it is also a crime to classify something in an attempt to hide

a crime - that would make him not a traitor, but a legitimate whistle blower. All he was doing was exposing a crime AGAINST the mililtary.

There is nothing about the military that makes it not accountable for war crimes.

[cherokeeprogressive]

4. +1

[Mudoria]

5. +1

[EFerrari]

7. You don't know any of that.

It always surprises me how fast people are to buy into the Official Story especially when the Official Story has been proven to be wrong so many times, like the EPA's official story about the air at Ground Zero.

[Rage for Order]

8. Touche

Well played, EFerrari. Let me clarify by saying, if it was not Manning who leaked the info, then insert the name of whoever did into that post. I'm 99.999999999999% sure that the Pentagon didn't do it as some sort of Psy Ops program, so somebody is guilty of the crime even if it isn't Bradley Manning.

[EFerrari]

11. Somebody did leak that. And it might have been Brad.

I was reminded the other night that McCrystal leaked his opposition to Obama's plan not too long ago. Do you remember that? Maybe it was about three months ago, when he was stateside and about to meet with Obama? His disagreement was leaked to the media.

That happens constantly. Why is it that when someone like Brad leaks, it's a crime but when McChrystal leaks and tries to hijack our president's position in the media, we don't even blink?

We really have to straighten out, for ourselves and each other and our national wellbeing, what the Official Story is and who it benefits. And get that really clear before we start passing it on.

[proteus_lives]

10. +1

[Arctic Dave]

14. I hope goes free and writes a book and becomes a millionaire over it.

On the other hand anyone who has killed an Iraqi in this occupation, for whatever reason, can suck a fat turd in hell.

[MikeNY]

16. Re: Tough Shit

Here we go with the Nazi Germany argument.. This guy saw illegality and chaos reigning supreme, and quite possibly, leaked it. There are some in the upper echelons of power, who think over 1 million people can be trusted with classified information about how they are systematically destroying our society through their interventionist policies. The wars we are fighting in the Middle East have nothing to do with World War 2. We are fighting, now, wars of aggression and occupation.

[Lost4words]

19. you are the one who should be interned,

Manning is a hero,

[iamtechus]

9. Something just doesn't ring true with this case.

Doesn't it seem strange that a mere private would have the kind of access to classified material that would allow him to do what he's accused of?

What I mean is: if that information is considered so damned sensitive, shouldn't it have been more closely guarded?

[MikeNY]

17. You wouldn't care if you were above the law anyway...

The entire war is illegal. There is no basis for any occupation of Afghanistan. There are no Al Queda there, just Taliban militants that want political control of the country. They act with impunity. If its public, its a scandal that lasts for a week, and then they go onto bribing more dictators. Come on, now.

[Cid_B]

12. Let him rot...

It couldn't happen to a nicer POS.

[Lost4words]

20. what a fool you must be,

[AnArmyVeteran]

15. The truth has been exposed, so why is that a crime?

It's sad when the truth must be hidden and the propaganda is the lifeblood of politicians and businesses. So one soldier who decided to expose the truth sits in prison, while the real liars (propagandists) are being rewarded for their lies.

Yes, I understand about national security issues, but so far I haven't seen one thing proven against this private. I'd certainly be willing to give him the benefit of the doubt over the people who are running the war, the government, the businesses and the Pentagon, all of which has the same lifeblood of dishonesty running through their veins.

[disillusioned73]

18. War crimes must NOT be exposed....

of coarse, when WE do it it's A-OK - move along, nothing to see here :sarcasm: