bradley manning Archives

Bradley Manning vs. SEAL Team 6

Okay, give them this much: their bloodlust stops just short of the execution chamber door. The military prosecutors of the case against Bradley Manning, presumably with the support of the Obama administration, have brought the virulent charge of “aiding the enemy” against the Army private who leaked state secrets. Yet they claim to have magnanimously … Continue reading

Bradley Manning Is Guilty of ‘Aiding the Enemy’ – If the Enemy Is Democracy

Of all the charges against Bradley Manning, the most pernicious—and revealing—is “aiding the enemy.” A blogger at The New Yorker, Amy Davidson, raised a pair of big questions that now loom over the courtroom at Fort Meade and the entire country: “Would it aid the enemy, for example, to expose war crimes committed by American … Continue reading

The Moral Imperative of Bradley Manning

Although we had to swelter in the Maryland sun on Saturday, I found the pre-trial rally at Ft. Meade to support Bradley Manning particularly spirit-filled. It seemed there was an unspoken but widely shared consciousness that Manning is as much Biblical prophet as Army private. I think Manning can be seen as a classic prophet … Continue reading

Thanking Bradley Manning, From Afghanistan

A few evenings ago, as the sky began to darken here in Kabul, Afghanistan, a small group of the Afghan Peace Volunteers, (APVs), gathered for an informal presentation about WikiLeaks, its chief editor Julian Assange, and its most prominent contributor, Bradley Manning. Basir Bita, a regular visitor to the APV household, began the evening’s discussion … Continue reading

Imperial America and the End of Progressivism

As America hardens into empire, and the assumptions and conceits of imperialism become the social and political norm, the American “left” is morphing into a mutant caricature of itself: we see this in the recent decision by the San Francisco “Gay Pride” parade committee to revoke an earlier decision to honor whistle-blower Bradley Manning. Manning, … Continue reading

16 Years for Espionage, Life in Jail for Whistleblowing

Spc. William Millay, a 25-year-old military policeman, was sentenced yesterday to 19 years in jail, a sentence reduced to 16 years after a plea deal, minus time served, for attempting to commit espionage and for illegally communicating "unclassified national defense information that could be used to the advantage of a foreign nation," according to an … Continue reading

The War Against Bradley Manning

“The war against Bradley Manning is a war against us all.”—Chris Hedges, author and journalist “I wanted the American public to know that not everyone in Iraq and Afghanistan are targets that needed to be neutralized, but rather people who were struggling to live in the pressure cooker environment of what we call asymmetric warfare.”—Bradley … Continue reading

Bradley Manning’s Own Words: Blowing the Whistle on War Crimes

What would you do if you had evidence of war crimes? What would you do if ‘following orders’ meant participating in grave abuses that you opposed? Would you have the courage to risk everything – even your life – to do the right thing? Most of us would keep our mouths shut. Not Pfc. Bradley … Continue reading

We Must Not Fail Wikileaks Whistleblower Bradley Manning

As I sat in court last Thursday at Fort Meade, watching Bradley Manning take responsibility as the Wikileaks whistleblower, two things struck me: (1) his thorough intelligence fueled by intellectual curiosity and (2) his empathy for other people when so many in war had lost their humanity. This was the second time I had heard … Continue reading

Honor Bradley Manning

Bradley Manning has slipped off the media’s radar, and not because he isn’t newsworthy: his "trial"—which has now reached its 1000th day – has been conducted largely in secret, with motions classified and testimony not available to the general public. This underscores the significance of and motive behind Manning’s "crime," and highlights the fear his … Continue reading