Bradley Manning; HERO!!

[Mr. Shaman]

3/12/13

A Salute To Bradley Manning​

"Some of the most critical documents leaked by Manning revealed torture by the Iraqi government, which the US knew about, and according to the international treaty on torture, the US should have required investigations.

In fact, the Iraq war logs show hundreds of instances of cases of torture, and in every case, the soldiers were given the illegal order not to investigate.

In his statement to the court, Manning talks about an incident where he thought men who were apprehended shouldn't have been, and that they were being handed over to the Iraqis to possibly be tortured. He went to his superior and was told to forget about it.

Bradley Manning, by releasing this information, is the only solider who actually obeyed this law, the international treaty, and by extension, the Constitution."

 

[waltky]

Granny says, "Dat's right - Assange gets the glory while Manning sits inna pokey...

Pvt. Bradley Manning’s WikiLeaks trial also a test for government
June 1, 2013, WASHINGTON — Army Pfc. Bradley Manning already has confessed to mishandling classified information for sending hundreds of thousands of U.S. intelligence documents to the WikiLeaks website, including reports of airstrikes that killed civilians, assessments of terror captives, and diplomatic cables. On those charges alone, he could spend 20 years in prison.

But on Monday, the 25-year-old Army computer whiz who lost his faith in the government over the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, will go on trial on charges of aiding the enemy and putting American lives at risk, and for that he is facing a possible life sentence. His general court-martial at Fort Meade, Md., will place the enlistee in wire-rim glasses against the might of the U. S. government. But in many ways, the government also will be tested in this military trial expected to last most of the summer.

The trial could prove a further embarrassment to a government that granted a low-level disgruntled Army private from a small farm in Oklahoma wide access to the nation’s top secret vault and then unwittingly allowed him to compromise an estimated 700,000 state secrets. “It’s disappointing on a diplomatic level,” said Donald J. Guter, president of the South Texas College of Law and a former Navy judge advocate general. “And the lack of any efficient control over the content of the material was a huge issue. He shouldn’t have been able to do what he did. It’s disturbing and embarrassing.”

Legal experts say that government lawyers do not have an open-and-shut case because they must prove that Manning knew he was jeopardizing U.S. national security. “The government can’t win just by showing up,” said Elizabeth Goitein, an expert on government secrecy and co-director of the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law. “It has to prove that Manning had reason to believe his disclosures would harm national security.” While most eyes have focused on Manning and his effort to avoid a life sentence, another kind of drama has played out beyond the small military courtroom.

Just outside Fort Meade, protesters descended in support of Manning on Saturday, disembarking from eight buses from New York, Philadelphia and Connecticut. Among the planned speakers was Daniel Ellsberg, the Pentagon Papers whistle-blower from an earlier era. The Bradley Manning Support Network, which organized the protest, said it has raised more than $1 million on his behalf. Julian Assange, the editor in chief of WikiLeaks, has seized the glory of Manning’s scoops while Manning has languished for three years in a military brig.

MORE

 

[Crackerjaxon]

Manning belongs in the pokey. Assange did the right thing. Manning was a soldier. Assange is a private citizen.

Manning betrayed the service and his country.

I have no sympathy for him.

If he was concerned about wrongdoing, he should've used the chain of command.

 

[waltky]

Uncle Ferd says, "Yea - he shouldn't a-tooted his own whistle...

Manning guilty of violating Espionage Act, not guilty of aiding the enemy
July 30, 2013 —A military judge has ruled that Army Pfc. Bradley E. Manning violated the Espionage Act when he gave a trove of classified material to the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks. But Army Col. Denise Lind found Manning not guilty of aiding the enemy, a charge that carries a possible life sentence.

She did not offer any explanation of her findings. Manning, wearing a dress uniform in the small courtroom at Fort Meade, did not react when Lind read the verdict. The sentencing phase of his court-martial is scheduled to begin Wednesday. Considered a whistle blower by some, a traitor by others, he now could be sentenced to decades in prison. The one-time Marylander, who served as an intelligence analyst in Baghdad in 2009 and 2010, has acknowledged giving hundreds of thousands of classified war logs , diplomatic cables, and battlefield video footage to WikiLeaks to post online.

The eight-week court-martial focused largely on his state of mind and his intent. Manning said during a pre-trial hearing that he wanted to provoke a public debate about U.S. military and foreign policy. Prosecutors said Manning was seeking "worldwide notoriety" when he leaked the materials. His lawyers said he was well intentioned but naive. Analysts said a guilty finding of aiding the enemy would have expanded the definition of the charge. Traditionally, the charge has been used to prosecute individuals suspected of giving information directly to a U.S. adversary. Manning was accused of giving material to WikiLeaks to publish on the Internet. Prosecutors argued that he knew from his training that al Qaida and other enemies would see it there.

Scott L. Silliman, a professor at Duke Law School and director emeritus of the Center on Law, Ethics and National Security, said the verdict is not a surprise. He noted that military prosecutors unlike civilian prosecutors have to charge all possible crimes. "Giving aid to the enemy is a very serious charge. It's a very heavy burden of proof that Manning knew the information he was releasing would be used by the enemy... "It's not going to have an effect as a matter of law, but the dialogue is going to go on. It's going to continue to be how you look at Bradley Manning: Is he a hero? Is he someone who did great damage to the country?" Silliman said. "Everyone knew he would be convicted, he pleaded guilty to a number of charges. It's not a surprise."

Before the verdict, Manning supporters rallied outside the main gate to Fort Meade, waving signs that read "Free Bradley" and wearing T-shirts emblazoned with the word truth. Manning did not testify during the court-martial. The Oklahoma native lived with his aunt in Potomac and studied at Montgomery College before he enlisted in the Army in 2007. He served in Iraq from 2009 until his arrest in Baghdad in May 2010. He has been detained since the arrest.

Source

 

[Noomi]

Manning is a hero, and Julian is a hero. Give them both medals.

 

[TheOldSchool]

Him and Snowden should share a cell. But Manning should be allowed many more privileges for at least being a man about it.

 

[OriginalShroom]

I hope Manning never sees the light of Day again.

That they bury him so deep that even flashlights won't work.

If he ever gets out of jail, I hope he is stripped of his citizenship and sent packing.

 

[candycorn]

Him and Snowden should share a cell. But Manning should be allowed many more privileges for at least being a man about it.

Sentence him to 20 years at the Moscow airport

 

[TheOldSchool]

Him and Snowden should share a cell. But Manning should be allowed many more privileges for at least being a man about it.

Sentence him to 20 years at the Moscow airport

Then put it on 3D Imax! You think Tom Hanks could reprise his role but as Snowden? Let's see how far our make-up technology has come!

 

[ScienceRocks]

Nah,

I'd just launch him to mars He can live there and won't be harm of anyone.